I know this has been brought up more than a couple of times on Hardcore Gamer over the past few months, but is it not surprising how “mob simulator” has become a notable subgenre in the indie gaming scene lately? Perhaps the ability to simply command a huge group of people and have them wreck everything around you is just too irresistible of a way to take out our frustrations on any officials above us whose actions are regularly questionable. Or it could just be that such games are really, really fun. And much like this year’s earlier entry of Anarcute, we have another game about dethroning an oppressive regime with a bunch of adorable citizens thanks to New Blood Interactive and developers Pixel Pushers Union 512 in the form of Tonight We Riot, this time with even more of a classic beat-’em-up twist.

Controlling one of two upstarts behind a revolution against their oppressors, Tonight We Riot has you taking to the streets of the city it order to take it all back. And the classic retro look of said streets immediately stands out, with the 16-bit style providing some nifty and detailed backgrounds, not to mention the super-deformed citizens with little pixel eyes providing a nicely adorable contrast to all of the carnage behind you. And much like other title such as Anarcute and Okhlos, your ever-growing crowd of revolutionaries acts as your lifeblood as well. Once they all go down, it’s game over. So you have to keep an eye out for certain marked buildings, head in, and with a triumphant noise and unfurling of banners, have the place liberated and the workers freed, adding to your power.

Aside from the aesthetics of its era, Tonight We Riot also plays tribute to the likes of Streets of Rage in its simple yet fun gameplay, albeit this time with a bigger emphasis on weapons for throwing such as bricks and molotov cocktails. As expected with such a game, the controls are easy to learn, and smashing through the night while taking down a squad of riot cops while avoiding fires and other obstacles provides a good challenge. That said, I was also playing the demo with one of the developers, as these sorts of brawlers are at their best when played with a friend or two. But given that even with our combined might, we just barely made it past the end-of-level boss (a soldier in a power loader-style mech suit) with the skin of our teeth, it’s easy to worry that it might be too hard for those going solo. Hopefully, the end product will provide a solid single-player experience in addition to multiplayer.

Tonight We Riot still has some stiff competition in this odd, growing subgenre (the developers even directly acknowledged that Okhlos was alongside them at previous events they’ve attended), but between its solid gameplay, catchy synth music, retro feel, and challenging gameplay, it definitely looks like this is one mob more than ready to put up a spectacular fight. Hopefully it still winds up spectacular when the revolution ends up being televised and Tonight We Riot comes out for PC later in 2017.