So this is what Medabots is now...




Can't give a serious review, there's a glimmer of a game in here but it's boring and repetitive unless I'm missing something due to the language barrier. Teambuilding doesn't seem to be a relevant factor once you just use the better weapons you got on hand, but who wants to replay this game like 16 times? Just a fanservicey game in the wrong way, really.


...Wait, seems really quiet around here, don't it?

Now this is a good video game. Ignore the bad reviews. They are all by fake gamers who cannot understand the value of this mastahpiece.
Never before have I entirely felt like John Wick in a video game since the Minecraft Mob Arenas back in the early 2010s. But this game made me feel that way for a whole half an hour. With the premise of the mafia ransacking your place and unfortunately your entire family along with it, while you, an old Russian man, decide to show them that they messed with the wrong guy, I knew this was the game for me.
The game greets you with two difficulties, Easy and Hardcore. Now, if you're a journalist or the average Steam gamer, you're going to pick Easy. But that's why you're not doing it right. You see how there's a big fat baby under Easy? Yeah. That's you if you pick that mode. I thought we were playing the ol' grandpa, who looks like he's out for blood. Because we are - I'll get to the wonders of the true mode in a second.
Armed with a gun of your choice, you make your way through the streets gunning down all those bastards who are after you. You can tell that grandpa is gonna kick ass, but within a single minute of playing the game do you truly understand the depth behind what is a deceptively simple game. Instead of having your guns blazing, you have to properly time your shots according to a bouncing gauge that appears under the closest enemy. If you just spam shoot them, sure, they'll probably drop dead, but what you REALLY want are those juicy green critical hits. Why? Because it's cool as hell, and you won't have time to waste your ammo when you can take that extra second to time your attack right. You need to go out with class.
Since your movement is limited and you can get overwhelmed easily, this basic mechanic makes you really need to think fast about what you're doing in the next moment. Are you going to conserve your dashes so you can run away from your foes? Are you going to use them to pick off enemies one by one? Who are you killing first? How confident are you to get a critical in the heat of the moment. It's time like these when you REALLY feel like John Wick. Except cooler.
Now, if you picked Easy mode, you're not actually gonna need to use your brain. Because on easy, the gauges for the enemies are always full. You're always doing max damage. Is that really fun? Is spamming your gun really that fun? Is it, you fake gamer?
Maybe it is. But there's always a sense of adrenaline to be had with making sure every shot counts. Every second is important within these stages - poor planning and tactics might leave you with no resources, letting you get swarmed easily by the mob. The game makes everything else easy - enemy types are clearly defined and their patterns are really simple, yet none of it is unfair and they all complement the idea of needing to carefully pick your standoffs. Between each stages, you can upgrade your stats, also letting you mold a sort of long-term strategy to take on each level however you see fit - do you wanna dash more? Maybe focus on maxing out damage and get regen while you're at it? While the shotgun is probably the stronger choice, the options given to you in this already-simple game lets you, the player, express your skill in whatever fashion you see fit.
DED remarkably closes up everything together. You fight through several strange areas, passing by foreign districts, chaotic streets, and horrifying commercials of women twerking or shaking some other bodily appendages everywhere you go. After losing the last thing keeping you alive, you can truly feel the bleakness and last-ditch mindset of the game, all propelled by the upbeat city-street-inspired music you listen to in each battle. Everything seems wrong, and truly, it's you versus the entire world. When you finally use your gamer skills to reach the final stretch of the game, at the very least Hardcore begins to really make sure you know your stuff.
At this point, enemies are super bulky. You HAVE to do your best to get those crits or you're in for a very hard time as more and more enemies swarm you, requiring you to make better decisions and prove that you haven't been slacking. Finally, the Big Boss you're seemingly after can only be hurt by said crits and nothing less. DED strives to challenge you, and once you figure out how to take the final level, finally finding that light at the end of the tunnel...
It's over. You've gotten payback, and there's nothing left other than an angel on your shoulder.
The art in this game was already very visually pleasing to look at, with backgrounds being detailed yet unobtrusive, and your character being incredibly polished and beautifully drawn within its pixellated limitations. But the ending screen, while up for interpretation, gives you an utter sense of catharsis, signalling that this is the end of your bloody, ruthless journey, which began and passed just like a rainy night. You might have felt like John Wick, but now you feel your old age catching up to you.

I don't remember when I added DED to my library, but I'm glad I did and that I eventually played it today. While incredibly short, the game's pleasing visuals and classic, challenging gameplay is not worth glossing over, even if there's not much to be gained from its completion other than a good dopamine rush. However, DED will likely remain more memorable to me than other games I've played on Steam - in fact, this game reminds me all-too-much of classic older flash games, and given this is a webapp, it makes all the more sense. Perhaps DED is a love letter to these simple yet enjoyable minigames from the past, but like other forms of art, there's something to take away from the experience for everyone. In any case, DED is entirely free - so unless your mind will explode at any sort of challenge and don't have an hour to spare, I highly recommend the game, on Hardcore no less. Perhaps you too will feel like an old Russian John Wick.

8/10, has a little something for everyone.