Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Operation: Cleanstreets throws you into the role of a one-man anti-drug crusader armed only with your fists and feet. The objective is straightforward: beat up dealers, collect their stash, and burn the contraband outside of town to regain health. Over the course of nine vertically stacked screens, you’ll encounter a rotating cast of adversaries—from street punks to chain-saw wielders—each demanding precise timing and clever positioning to overcome.

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Combat is built around a simple punch-and-kick system, but the challenge ramps up quickly as you progress. You start on the main thoroughfare facing a lone punk; dispatch him to collect his cache, then head to the stairwell to confront a chainsaw-wielding thug. Along the way you’ll lock horns with ninjas, amazons and other low-lives, each requiring different strategies to subdue without weapons. Your only savior is the barrel of flames waiting outside the town limits, where sacrifices of seized drugs restore your dwindling energy bar.

The level design encourages a balance of aggression and caution. Since every enemy hit drains your health, you’ll need to time your assaults and retreats carefully. The interplay between exploration—navigating narrow alleyways and staircases—and burning drugs to refuel your life meter adds an engaging risk/reward loop. Though the nine-screen world is compact, replay value emerges from learning enemy patterns and optimizing your drug-burn routine.

Graphics

As Silmarils’ inaugural release, Operation: Cleanstreets showcases surprisingly well-crafted sprites and a distinct visual identity. Characters are drawn with bold outlines and vibrant palettes that help them pop against the urban backdrop. Punks, ninjas and amazons each feature unique color schemes and animations, making it easy to recognize threats at a glance.

The environmental art leans into gritty street aesthetics: cracked pavement, graffiti-scrawled walls and flickering streetlamps. Transitions between the main street, the stairwell and the outdoor burn site are smooth, and the barrel’s flickering flames offer a dynamic focal point when you reclaim lost health. While backgrounds remain fairly static, small touches—like debris falling when you land heavy blows—lend a sense of impact.

Performance is stable throughout your crusade. Scrolling remains jitter-free even when multiple foes appear on screen, a testament to Silmarils’ tight programming on limited hardware. Occasional sprite flicker is present but never disrupts gameplay, making for an overall polished visual experience that punches above its weight for a debut title.

Story

Operation: Cleanstreets hands you the role of an urban vigilante reminiscent of the classic “Dirty Harry” archetype, driven to purge the city of illicit substances. While there’s no elaborate cutscene narrative, the premise is clear: drugs empower your enemies and sap your vitality, so only by incinerating them can you restore both order and your own health.

The plot unfolds implicitly through level progression rather than dialogue or exposition. Each successful street cleansing brings you closer to a safer city, reinforcing the moral loop at the game’s heart. Though minimalistic, this straightforward tale of justice served by bare knuckles carries enough thematic weight to motivate repeated runs through the nine screens.

It’s worth noting that the storyline’s simplicity works in its favor: you never lose sight of your goal, and each punch lands with the satisfaction of progress. Fans of deeper narratives might find the lack of character backstory limiting, but for a pick-up-and-play beat ’em up, the clean, action-driven premise hits the mark.

Overall Experience

Operation: Cleanstreets is a compelling debut from Silmarils that delivers tight beat ’em up action wrapped in a gritty, drug-fueled urban setting. Its straightforward mechanics—beat foes, collect drugs, burn for health—create a satisfying loop that keeps you engaged across all nine screens. Each enemy encounter feels tactical, as you weigh health preservation against the need to push forward.

While the game’s brevity and repetitive backdrop may limit its long-term appeal for some players, the compact size ensures there’s little filler. Mastering enemy patterns and optimizing your route becomes a game of skill, rewarding those who appreciate old-school challenge. The lack of weapons beyond your fists and feet adds to the purity of combat, though some may crave additional move sets or power-ups.

In the end, Operation: Cleanstreets stands out as a polished, action-driven experience—especially impressive for a first title from a new developer. If you’re drawn to retro-style brawlers with tight controls, varied enemies and a no-nonsense premise, this game is well worth a look. It may not redefine the genre, but it delivers exactly what it promises: ruthless street justice, one punch at a time.

Retro Replay Score

6.2/10