Wanted: Dead would have totally banged in the late 2000s. It’s a no-nonsense hack-and-slash with some sickeningly wicked dismemberment, B-tier voice acting, and heaps of jank. It’s exactly what developer Soleil was aiming for, backed by several ex-Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive workers. But in the year of our lord 2023, its unapologetic vision isn’t going to sit right with everybody.
Unfortunately, I’m one of those people. I’m a huge Team Ninja lover and a regular Dead or Alive defender, so I was excited to dive into the Hong Kong Police Department’s Zombie Squad, a group of former criminals. You take on the role of Hannah Stone, and Wanted: Dead’s flimsy narrative is played out across a number of missions.
They’re linear, which I dig. But the structure of each level is uninspired and samey. Waves of enemies are dotted between sporadically placed checkpoints, most of them identical in how they attack and move. Gun-wielding enemies can be easily rushed, while a number of melee enemies offer different challenges. Then there are your brutes who deal big damage and require precise timing with parries. Most of them are easy enough to deal with in isolation but become frustrating to fight in larger numbers.
Stone can deal with enemies through a mixture of melee and gun combat. She can slash and parry with her katana, stagger enemy movement with a handgun or go classic third-person shooter behind cover. When it flows, the combat feels great. Wanted: Dead is full of gloriously gory finishing moves that never get old.
FEELING BAD
この記事は PC Gamer US Edition の June 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は PC Gamer US Edition の June 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.
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