Probably one of the most soulful video games ever, I don't think I've been charmed by a game like this in ages. Wanted: Dead can go from being totally nuts with over the top, unbelievably satisfying action gameplay with gore and awesome body dismemberment to a cozy moment where the crew is sitting at their favorite diner just chilling and chatting to a shockingly hard rhythm minigame to an anime flashback cutscene without an explanation or a reason. Minor spoilers ahead
Now Wanted: Dead can feel a bit janky for a few reasons: no enemy lock-on, the camera has some collision issues, music with poor looping, tough gameplay on a mechanical level, a rushed final two chapters, and a story that's a bit confusing and obtuse, but I feel the love in it even in some of the bad. The lack of lock-on may seem odd at first but it makes sense with the way the levels are structured and designed makes it work. The camera may have some collision issues but tends to stay in a good spot and they've got some sick angles for the finishers (which are brutal and satisfying to do) plus it's really snappy when you're aiming your gun. The music may loop poorly at times but the OST slaps and is catchy and memorable. The game's tough but it's really rewarding once it clicks, with skills/abilities that synergize, a rallying health system like Bloodborne so aggression with your melee attacks is rewarded, personalization of your guns' stats, different partner combinations in the missions, and a good variety of tools for any situation (I think the sole skill I never made use of was the Charge Attack, and even still thinking back I could have effectively used it in several encounters)
I think the only things that I can't find much positive about are the lack of enemy variety and the final two chapters. While I think the core combat is really fun and satisfying and the overall combat encounters are well designed, there's a only like a dozen enemy types in the whole game (not counting bosses). They're all relatively simple and don't use much strategy to fight you. Melee enemies walk at you and attack with simple combos, gun enemies duck behind cover, ninja enemies slash at you and get distance after being hit to throw their kunai, big guys charge and shoot at you while throwing grenades. I think this isn't a major issue with the game since it's so short, but I still would have loved to see more enemy types in this cyberpunk world. The bosses are overall really solid though, they keep with the game's combat mantra of being punishing but you always have the tools to take care of them so none of them feel unfair
Now the final two levels, they're designed with way more enemies and combat encounters with less story to them and it's kind of obvious the budget was dwindling, leading to a clumsy rush to the end. The few present cutscenes feel very rigid and mechanical, the voice acting is generally somehow worse (with the third to last boss has some of the worst voice acting I have ever heard) and the second to last boss is just the very first one (but you fight two so it's somewhat different I guess). Even still, the game still wraps the plot up (unlike another charming, mis-maligned game D4) so there's still resolution for what main plot there is upon getting to the end. The story's definitely wishy-washy, the anime flashbacks can come out of nowhere, the final pre-credits cutscene comes out of nowhere, and there's rarely more than a sentence that explains what you'll be doing next, but I feel it's completely feasible to make all the connections required to understand what's being told
Besides the silly tone and the fun action, the minigames are another major strength to this game. I really like how they change the tone at the drop of the hat, plus they aren't just shoved in with barely any effort put into them. Target practice lets you feel how good the gunplay is on a precise level. Seeing all the various models in the crane game is really silly and it's nice to get new music for the jukebox or the noodles minigame. Karaoke, despite having a single song, has some great animation work, a high difficulty floor, and a very obvious joy put into it by the actors. The random history of noodles before the minigame had me cackling and they do a good job at adjusting it so it's different from karaoke in how it plays. The Space Harrier homage plays shockingly well and feels like it was made with a lot of care. They all feel completely random but I'm glad every single one of them is present
I think one of this game's strengths that I haven't seen talked about much is the game's ability to slow things down and show you the world. The character interactions and moments between chapters are bizarre, lengthy, and don't serve a major plot purpose and yet they stood out to me. Not for those reasons, but because they're very intimate and make the world feel more lived in. Games don't do this very often, even in ones with character-driven plots (which this one doesn't have, I couldn't even tell you what really drives the story). I feel like all of these nonsensical choices were incredibly deliberate and exactly what the developers and writers wanted even at the expense of other aspects of the game
Wanted: Dead is anything but boring. It feels like a lost PS3 game with an uncompromised vision and no corporate mismanagement. I can't say anything about the game at launch (I heard there were a ton of performance issues and people thought it was too hard) but I think the current post-patch reception is far too negative. This game is silly, extravagant, unrefined, satisfying, bizarre, and has no quality through-line and I absolutely adore it.
Now Wanted: Dead can feel a bit janky for a few reasons: no enemy lock-on, the camera has some collision issues, music with poor looping, tough gameplay on a mechanical level, a rushed final two chapters, and a story that's a bit confusing and obtuse, but I feel the love in it even in some of the bad. The lack of lock-on may seem odd at first but it makes sense with the way the levels are structured and designed makes it work. The camera may have some collision issues but tends to stay in a good spot and they've got some sick angles for the finishers (which are brutal and satisfying to do) plus it's really snappy when you're aiming your gun. The music may loop poorly at times but the OST slaps and is catchy and memorable. The game's tough but it's really rewarding once it clicks, with skills/abilities that synergize, a rallying health system like Bloodborne so aggression with your melee attacks is rewarded, personalization of your guns' stats, different partner combinations in the missions, and a good variety of tools for any situation (I think the sole skill I never made use of was the Charge Attack, and even still thinking back I could have effectively used it in several encounters)
I think the only things that I can't find much positive about are the lack of enemy variety and the final two chapters. While I think the core combat is really fun and satisfying and the overall combat encounters are well designed, there's a only like a dozen enemy types in the whole game (not counting bosses). They're all relatively simple and don't use much strategy to fight you. Melee enemies walk at you and attack with simple combos, gun enemies duck behind cover, ninja enemies slash at you and get distance after being hit to throw their kunai, big guys charge and shoot at you while throwing grenades. I think this isn't a major issue with the game since it's so short, but I still would have loved to see more enemy types in this cyberpunk world. The bosses are overall really solid though, they keep with the game's combat mantra of being punishing but you always have the tools to take care of them so none of them feel unfair
Now the final two levels, they're designed with way more enemies and combat encounters with less story to them and it's kind of obvious the budget was dwindling, leading to a clumsy rush to the end. The few present cutscenes feel very rigid and mechanical, the voice acting is generally somehow worse (with the third to last boss has some of the worst voice acting I have ever heard) and the second to last boss is just the very first one (but you fight two so it's somewhat different I guess). Even still, the game still wraps the plot up (unlike another charming, mis-maligned game D4) so there's still resolution for what main plot there is upon getting to the end. The story's definitely wishy-washy, the anime flashbacks can come out of nowhere, the final pre-credits cutscene comes out of nowhere, and there's rarely more than a sentence that explains what you'll be doing next, but I feel it's completely feasible to make all the connections required to understand what's being told
Besides the silly tone and the fun action, the minigames are another major strength to this game. I really like how they change the tone at the drop of the hat, plus they aren't just shoved in with barely any effort put into them. Target practice lets you feel how good the gunplay is on a precise level. Seeing all the various models in the crane game is really silly and it's nice to get new music for the jukebox or the noodles minigame. Karaoke, despite having a single song, has some great animation work, a high difficulty floor, and a very obvious joy put into it by the actors. The random history of noodles before the minigame had me cackling and they do a good job at adjusting it so it's different from karaoke in how it plays. The Space Harrier homage plays shockingly well and feels like it was made with a lot of care. They all feel completely random but I'm glad every single one of them is present
I think one of this game's strengths that I haven't seen talked about much is the game's ability to slow things down and show you the world. The character interactions and moments between chapters are bizarre, lengthy, and don't serve a major plot purpose and yet they stood out to me. Not for those reasons, but because they're very intimate and make the world feel more lived in. Games don't do this very often, even in ones with character-driven plots (which this one doesn't have, I couldn't even tell you what really drives the story). I feel like all of these nonsensical choices were incredibly deliberate and exactly what the developers and writers wanted even at the expense of other aspects of the game
Wanted: Dead is anything but boring. It feels like a lost PS3 game with an uncompromised vision and no corporate mismanagement. I can't say anything about the game at launch (I heard there were a ton of performance issues and people thought it was too hard) but I think the current post-patch reception is far too negative. This game is silly, extravagant, unrefined, satisfying, bizarre, and has no quality through-line and I absolutely adore it.
sondi
19 days ago