It’s almost February, the month of love, and something I loved playing at PAX East last year is about to hit your Steam wishlist (hopefully). Wanted: Dead was in Alpha stage at that point, and getting a glimpse of the game + meeting the team was intriguing. The captain of Technical Fowl and I had a chance to see the first gameplay as we ran from an invading squad of baddies trying to take out our flack-jacketed Zombie Unit. Well… except for one with sneakers and jeans.
There’s not a lot we know at this stage. Hack-‘n-slash melee combat combines with Third-person shooting as objects and people explode all around you. The combat feels good, and its got some heart-thumping aspects. This game was a challenging play, you have to pay attention or you’ll find it a short playthrough. Apparently, when we get farther into the game, our unit uncovers a major corporate conspiracy in a dystopian version of Hong Kong.
At first, you might be tempted to dismiss the game if you play on the PS5. When compared to GOW or even Horizon, the graphics don’t shine. However, a second look at the purpose of this style reveals that the team is hoping to recapture the old-school PS2 days of nostalgia for many of you. YOU… young things that you are. So this should feel like home and potentially a flashback of happier days.
There are some exciting side items to this game, like an arcade-like area where you can play mini-games, as well as a cooking show on Youtube that reveals snippets of gameplay while you make recipes and enjoy jaunty banter with Viviene. I’m now in obsessed with her btw.
While we’re in the dark about a lot of this, I have to say the love child of the team who made Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive has my attention.
Now a minute to showcase the press kit they sent my way. Full disclosure, it’s been 7 months since I played, and I totally forgot about the game. Clever girl Soleil Ltd and 110 Industries SA. You got me thinking about it again. It’s also an amazingly nice physical kit, so I’m going to brag a little and applaud their efforts.
The records are super nice, and I’m lucky enough to have a player to spin these red beauties right round. There’s a CD of the soundtrack just in case though. The cookbook with the aforementioned Viviene will be useful as a holiday gift as you know I don’t cook things. Inside the last item was a pink…PINK granade prop to keep as a keepsake. There’s even a plastic key card with a QRC to the presskit…which is not working for some 404 reason so I ripped these images off the developer site. Sorry guys.
Overall, this was a knockout kit and I’m super impressed.
Add this one to your Steam wishlist for you or your special someone! It’s also available on the PS4/PS5, Xbox or physical disk.