Presidential Beatdown

Presidential Beatdown is a local, couch-based 2D fighting game in which super-soldier Presidents battle for political dominance. It supports two players, and its currently available fighters are Trump, Obama and Washington. Battles are nonfatal and contain no blood; the Presidents’ and celebrities’ names and likenesses are used fictitiously and parodically.

Available fighters

Each fighter has a distinct set of attacks and abilities:

• Trump: A hard-hitting fighter who wields a golden lance fashioned from Old Glory and can use a U.S. Space Force directed-energy weapon.
• Obama: A fast fighter who uses tools from his Obamacare utility belt to harm opponents or heal himself. His Executive Order combines damage with health replenishment.
• Washington: Fights with a battleaxe and throwing hatchets, and can use the Model-1776 Chainsaw.

The game currently has 100 settings, including Mount Rushmore, the deck of a U.S. Navy battleship and the Oval Office.

Profiles and progression

Player 1 and Player 2 have separate profiles. They share unlocked Presidents, but level progression, Coins and unlocked cosmetics are tracked separately for each profile. Battles award XP: the winner receives 100% and the loser receives one-third. Leveling up grants Red, White or Blue Coins according to the fighter’s team; these can unlock cosmetics for any fighter on that team.

Planned content

Additional characters and features are only possibilities, and there is no guarantee they will be completed. The proposed Heart of a Nation Pack includes Lincoln, JFK and Ben Franklin; the Bad-Boys Pack includes Nixon, Clinton and Andrew Jackson. Other proposed Presidents include Reagan, FDR, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter and John Adams.

Seven proposed guest characters are Elon Musk, Saint-Pope John Paul II, St. Joan of Arc, Dr. King, Columbus, Einstein and Hitler. Their described fighting styles include Musk’s jetpack and space-age technology, John Paul II’s light-based incantations, Joan of Arc’s sword of light, Columbus’s anchor and naval cannon, and Einstein’s chemicals and nuclear-powered gadgets. The proposed characters have not been confirmed for completion.

Possible game modes

The modes under consideration include two-player 3-on-3 tag battles, four-player 2-on-2 simultaneous battles, a four-player platform-fighter mode and a tournament mode. In tournaments, two players would fight several back-to-back battles with continuous health bars until one team remains. Character-specific story modes and a larger story featuring the Presidents and guests have also been considered.

Other possible features

A proposed Create-a-Prez mode would let players design a President, and profile images could be selected from unlockable icons and backgrounds. These features, like the planned characters and modes, may never be developed.