Review - Midnight Fight Express

Developer: Jacob Dzwinel

Publisher: Humble Games

Available on: PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch

Review system: Nintendo Switch

You’ve heard of this before. A city under siege. Gangs run the streets. Every block is in total chaos. There’s a lot of danger, and nowhere is safe. However, one lone hero will rise to take the city back. The catch is that his story is so insane, no one believes him. Also, he is accompanied by a talking drone. 

Midnight Fight Express takes the crime noir style of the John Wick movies and infuses it into an action spectacle, where melee fighting is the focus. The journey isn't easy, but it is incredibly satisfying to take down crime. 

Fight for Your Life

A police station. One detective, looking for questions under the fog of smoke, his hand firmly grasping a brightly burning cigarette. Another detective is pondering the insanity of what is before him. Our hero is cuffed, retelling the events of a fateful night. It's a night so insane, it's hard to even put logic to it. 

As our hero slowly collects his fleeting thoughts into a narrative, a night of pure chaos begins to take shape. A picture of a city under siege by rival gangs, a talking drone, and one here named Baby-face form an unbelievable narrative. With a few simple words, the story begins. 

Express Train To Hell

Midnight Fight Express is an action game that focuses on close-quarters combat. Players fight through various levels, facing hordes of gang members in a quest to save the city. Players punch, kick, throw, tackle, and grapple their way through the likes of thieves, maniacs, street gangs, and much more. 

At the end of each level, players are evaluated based on their performance. Various factors in scoring include speed, combos, and finding secret golden teeth. Additionally, players keep score by not just eliminating enemies, but how they are eliminated. Using weapons, counters, and finishers builds the combo meter and increases the score. 

Flex Those Muscles

Following the grading, skill points are allocated to specific move sets and skills. Here, more devastating grapples and counts can be unlocked, including devastating finishers. Over time, Babyface becomes a one-man martial arts army. 

Players begin with their usual assortment of fighting skills, with punching and kicking. Soon, the layers of the combat begin to open. Certain enemies are tougher than others and will block basic attacks. A charged attack breaks the block. These enemies also attack with unstoppable heavy attacks. 

Fists of Fury

The key to the combat lies in the ability to parry and counterattack. When prompted, players parry and counter various attacks. At the right prompt, Babyface can unleash a devastating counter that can finish off enemies or disarm them. 

The enemies use more than their fists. Enemies will throw items, use melee weapons, and even use firearms. What they use can be used as well. A quick prompt can hurl a trash can at an enemy’s face. A nightstick can make quick work of a corrupt cop. Using a firearm can rapidly eliminate a threat. It’s an ebb and flow that makes the fighting in Midnight Fight Express cinematic and fluid. 

Midnight Rumble

Even when there are loads of enemies on-screen, fighting never gets old. It’s a constant euphoric rush of fighting excellence, where the right button press can get you out of a jam, and enemies are brutally taken down in a flurry of fists and kicks. That’s not to say that Midnight Fight Express is easy. This game is tough, and it doesn’t let up. 

While the first few enemies are a cakewalk, the enemies get tougher and more numerous. Aggression and quick thinking are essential not only to survive but to build that high score. Midnight Flight Express can become an overwhelming game to play, especially in later levels where environmental hazards are introduced to give players a hard time. 

The City that Never Sleeps

Midnight Fight Express does more than just send many bad guys against the player. Each of the 41 missions keeps things entertaining. This is a true fight across the city, from the docks to the airport to the subway and midtown. While the main focus is to fight and survive, each level introduces something different, whether it's different enemies or gameplay aspects. 

A few levels have thrilling chase sequences on a motorcycle. One level has a moving cargo container to avoid while fighting fiendish dock workers. Another level has a helicopter strafing the fighting area and peppering it with bullets. Midnight Fight Express keeps players on their toes and their skills razor-sharp. This change in scenery also helps combat the repetitiveness of the game. 

The Big Apple

The scenery provides changes of pace but also shows the developer's enthusiasm on-screen. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile at the many nods to various other games, clearly showing the developer wanted to tip the hat to games that came before. Scattered through levels are nods to games such as Hotline Miami, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and even Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It’s clear that these were the games that inspired the developer, and I love seeing that on-screen. 

Midnight Fight Express also has a sense of humor that I appreciate. Each of the various gang players they fight has its own personality, from literally rat people to Russian terrorists. There’s even a segment that had me laughing quite a bit in which players fight game developers in massive pillow fights. The wisecracks from your drone companion are also humorous. 

Fight, Win, Repeat

Midnight Fight Express sinks its claws into your hands and doesn’t let go. Between the constant battle for the leaderboards, the combo fighting system, and the wildly entertaining story, Midnight Fight Express feels just right. It’s an action masterpiece that comes as fast as the express train. 

It’s an additive ebb and flow. Every blow landed builds a score. Every enemy defeat builds a multiplier. Every finisher and parry maximizes the score. It’s tremendous and rewarding, and with secrets in each level, there is plenty to dive into in each of the 41 missions. It’s sharp, strong, and exceptionally rewarding. Finally, it’s all accompanied by a thumping soundtrack of high-octane electronic music not unlike Le Castle Vania from the John Wick movies. 

The Midnight Fight Express

Perhaps the only drawback to Midnight Flight Express is the repetitiveness of the action. Long play sessions aren’t recommended, but the mission-by-mission structure makes it so that Midnight Fight Express is excellent in short bursts. Despite having sharp visuals and a thumping soundtrack, the lack of voice work kind of leaves an empty hole in the storytelling. I could only imagine what talent could have been featured in the voice work. 

Ultimately, Midnight Fight Express is an exceptional action game, filled with style, charm, heart, and an impactful gameplay loop that keeps players going and rewarded. Its style is matched with a thumping soundtrack and intuitive control system that kept me wanting to play long after the credits rolled. Get aboard the Midnight Fight Express. There’s a city to save. 

MIDNIGHT FIGHT EXPRESS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED