izigame.me

During Capcom's dark age that lasted between 2012 and 2017, this reboot of Strider was probably the best title to come from the, at the time, struggling company.
Strider 2014 was created from the combination of the arcade classic, Strider 2, and the NA-only released Strider for the NES. Strider 2014 retains the same idea from it's arcade predecessors for it's gameplay: the game is simple to play and can be very satisfying especially when mastered. Returning from the NES title are the "search-action" elements, Upgrades you will find aside from the basic stuff are the repurposed options from the original Strider and new ciphers, which are used to not only progress in the game, but to add more possible strategies for the combat. One thing that is completely new is this temporary double-damage state that Hiryu can achieve if you max out the meter next to your HP. As you inflict damage, the meter increases; however, getting hit lowers it and will entirely empty if you take too long to add damage. I wanted to spotlight this mechanic as well as the slight HP and energy gain per kill because the game is encouraging and rewarding aggressive, but not quite reckless play. I think it works well - even with the bosses.
I also want to compliment the game's art direction. It gives me kinda this American comic book vibe, similar to that of Sucker Punch's InFamous or the 2007 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film though these are from my own experience. It is different from what came before, but I do think it fits given the events on paper, and the existing characters made the transition perfectly fine unlike Bionic Commando or DMC: Devil May Cry. It also helps that Strider never really settled on a single style with each title bringing something new. The only major gripe I have with this game visually is that it sometimes zooms in on character models for some of the cutscenes. It can remind you that this was a budget game that was made over a decade ago now.
The only other major gripe I have with the game is the map. While the game does have a waypoint to your main objective, this only appears if you are in the area or an adjacent area, Beyond that, nothing. You also can't mark points-of-interest, exits/entrances to areas aren't labeled, and not every area has a shortcut or fast travel of some kind. My first playthrough probably took an hour or two more than it should've due to this. I also wonder if not having iframes for a game like this did more harm than good in some instances.
Definitely pick this up on a sale. The gameplay and design are both a proper evolution to the series. I have seen arguments made against this title, but I find that this one looks and feels great to play. Moreso than many titles in this genre.