This latest batch of Strider  screens is my favorite yet, and it comes alongside a whole slew of positive press from our recent preview tour. Check out all the highlights after the jump.

“All good impressions aside, boss battles definitely seem like they’ll be the best part of Strider, with even the early ones pose a significant challenge.”
( Venture Beat )  

“Even in my brief encounter with  Strider , I felt it successfully toed the line between those old-school sensibilities of punishing platforming segments and unforgiving enemies with modernized mechanics such as ciphers and catapulting.”
( Joystiq )  

” Thankfully, the character snaps quickly to commands. This is a useful quality when fighting bosses, which are immense and leave little room on the screen for hiding. As in the original, making use of Strider’s flexibility is essential.”
( Polygon )  

” And all that swiping is a blast, but one of the most enjoyable new aspects of slashing up all those bad guys is that you can select different elemental effects for your blade.”
( GamesRadar ) 

“I’m rather glad that this next-gen reboot of Strider is out to forge its own identity; and to its credit, it looks great and its action is crisp and exciting.”
( US Gamer )  

↑ Hiryu’s greatest weapon is his agility. Also all his actual weapons. 

↑ The long-awaited return of Mecha Pon!

↑ A true Strider can stare death in the face and still keep his striding suit dry.

↑ Doing what he does best–stridin’!

↑ Arm-stridin’.

↑ More difficult vertical traversal will require skillful use of the new catapult shot.

↑ The return of the panther! Ride this thing to victory!

↑ Hiryu packs a charge slash to turn this poor guard into some sort of, like, y’know,  dead guard.

↑ STARJUMP

↑ Aaaand the launcher. 

Look forward to this action-packed romp in early 2014.