I love cheesy movies and shows. I love beat-em ups. So naturally, when a beat ’em up based on one of the most iconic cheesy movie (and its short-lived animated spinoff) series of all time is on the horizon, you know I have to check it out.

Toxic Crusaders is a retro-inspired beat ’em up in the same vein as TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge but stars the Toxic Crusaders — Toxie himsel, No-Zone, Junkyard, Major Disaster, Headbanger, Yvonne, and Mrs. Junko. The game is developed and published by Retroware, the same team behind Neon Inferno, another game I’ve told you about in the past.

The game features local four-player co-op, allowing you and up to three friends to defend the streets of Tromaville from the Radiation Rangers and other ne’er do-wells.

The classic beat ’em up action will be broken up with story bits narrated via beautifully-drawn motion comics:

For the uninitiated, this game is based on Toxic Crusaders, a 90s animated kid’s show, which was based on The Toxic Avenger, a set of low-budget and incredibly gory superhero flicks starring the titular Toxic Avenger. Affectionately known as Toxie, he defends Tromaville, New Jersey — and the world — from your typical set of human and chemically-modified bad guys.

An old friend of mine introduced me to The Toxic Avenger and the entire Troma catalog back in the mid-00s. Naturally, I was mostly drawn to a series that was set in my beloved New Jersey and ended up falling in love with the series as a teenager. It’s been far too long since I’ve interacted with it — it might be time to watch the films again.

Toxic Crusaders releases on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation and Xbox consoles December 4, 2025. You can wishlist the game on Steam and download a free demo for the game now. For more information, check out official Toxic Crusaders website and learn how to receive a free poster.