Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 79 | 30 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 84% | 78 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 79% | 73 | 5 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 14 reviews sampled · 9 total reviews in window · weighted 6.5 up / 1.8 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (57)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“River City Girls is a vibrant, colorful, and surprisingly fresh take on the classic beat 'em up series. While small annoyances may hinder its pacing, the overall package from WayForward still packs a few good kicks and punches.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“For a beat ’em up, River City Girls is a solid game. The combat is impactful, the boss fights are great, the story and dialogue are fun, and the graphics and music are top-notch.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Arc System Works and WayForward managed to revive the classics qualitatively. Interesting gameplay, stylish graphics, funny story and four unique characters to choose from should please fans of the genre. And if you are one of them, then this game is definitely worthy of your attention.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“River City Girls is an absolutely fantastic beat 'em up with a simple, funny plot, great dialogue, awesome music, solid production values, and a mystery box-style shopping system. Unfortunately, the controls are so incredibly clunky that they knock the game down a whole notch in my rating, at least when playing on a keyboard. Plus, for a price of just under thirty euros, a three-hour playtime is really not enough. In co-op, however, it’s a fun beat ’em up, as long as you’re not crammed next to each other and fighting over the right buttons.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Not since Scott Pilgrim vs The World was released nine years ago have we played such an entertaining, satisfying beat 'em up. Whether you're playing alone or teaming up with a friend in co-op mode, River City Girls is a visually superb, aurally fantastic, out-and-out love letter to the genre. Fans of River City Ransom and other Kunio-kun games will adore how it respects the past but makes it relevant today, while those new to the series will simply find a hugely enjoyable and infectiously cheerful scrapper.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“It’s fantastic to have a couch co-op game that takes all of the classic elements of beat-’em-ups and gives them an upgrade that feels modern and fresh.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“If you miss the good old days when Technos wasn’t bankrupt and you had an inkling over what the Double Dragon/Kunio-kun series are, you owe it to yourself to try out River City Girls. It’s fun to play, it’s best with a friend, and it’s just gorgeous to look at in motion. If you hate brawlers and simple beat-em-ups with a slight grind, this won’t change your mind.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Tiresome combat scenarios, tedious backtracking, and a lack of transparency with consumables, accessories, and moves undermine its potential, but strong momentary gameplay and extraordinary production values help buoy the experience.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“While the beat-em-up genre was absolutely a staple of both the arcades and the early console days more recently titles have been few and far between...”
read full review ↗ - 80
“I’m pretty confident in saying River City Girls is the best game to use the River City IP. It has a fantastic understanding of why people play beat-em-ups but typically avoids the pratfalls this genre can fall into. You can also pick up giant fish and smack people in the face with them. That makes this game good enough for me! ”
read full review ↗ - 70
“With a bright, pixel art infused splash, River City Girls throws you headlong into an old-school brawler that at times evokes the best of the genre.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“River City Girls’ energetic storyline may falter near the end but this beat’em up is a prime example of what the genre is capable of as it delivers some great combat set in a fantastic world that thrives in its uniqueness. These girls are ready to kick butt in the name of love and those that take that journey with them are in for an amazing game.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
cublikefoot
GameMAG
Gaming Professors
Nintendo Life
RPGamer
Kakuchopurei
VGChartz
Nindie Spotlight
PC Invasion
Push Square
Capsule Computers…and 45 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
No patch announcements found on Steam yet.