Cobra Commander has returned, and it’s time to put him back in his place, as G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra will bring the classic multimedia franchise back to the video game industry. In this upcoming retro brawler, the members of G.I. Joe will face the forces of Cobra, bringing all their weapons to bear, most importantly, their fists.
Many cartoon franchises have successfully made the jump to the world of gaming, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appearing in modern titles. Despite its popularity and suitability for video games, there have only been fourteen G.I. Joe games made since 1983, with the most recent being G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout in 2020.
Related: New triple-A G.I. Joe game revealed in Wizards of the Coast job ads
Beat Up Enemy Soldiers In G.I. Joe: Wrath Of Cobra
After a few years in the barracks, G.I. Joe is being revived in a new video game developed by Maple Powered Games and published by Freedom Games. It was announced during The MIX Next show that G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra is an arcade-style beat ’em up title coming to Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store in Q1 2024.
In G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra, up to four players can team up and take on the role of classic characters like Duke, Scarlett, and Snake Eyes as they battle Cobra in stages set across the world, including Cobra Island, as well as taking a trip to outer space to foil Cobra Commander’s plans. Along with their fists, the G.I. Joe team can use weapons and special abilities to defeat their foes as they face the ever-growing Cobra army. It’s also possible to parry and dodge enemy attacks in order to avoid being taken down in the field.
Sporting both online and couch co-op, G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra lets up to four players team up to take on the Arcade or Story Mode. The hand-drawn pixel art in the game evokes the days of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon from the ’80s, with a soundtrack composed by Tee Lopes (Sonic Mania, TMNT Shredder’s Revenge, and Streets of Rage 4 – Mr. X Nightmare DLC.)
Related: Fortnite teaser points to G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes becoming next character skin
It was long believed that the age of the arcade beat ’em up was over, but there have been many retro brawlers released over the past few years, some of which went on to great critical acclaim, such as Streets of Rage 4. G.I. Joe is a perfect fit for the genre, both in terms of its source material and its harkening from the era when cartoon heroes were among the most popular faces seen in arcade machines around the world.
