waited 30 hours for the gameplay to get even remotely good. it didn’t. the only thing this game has going for it is the fact that it’s decently charming. other than that you’ll have a completely dogshit job system that’s tied to your players level for some reason rather than being it’s own separate thing, actively discouraging trying out new jobs due to the fact that grinding will be mandatory. there’s the atrociously boring combat where you’ll only ever get to use your main character, making the job system feel even worse considering you can’t actually do direct commands for party members and just hope they’ll do something beneficial. it’s so needlessly limited and i seriously can’t comprehend why there’s not even the option to control party members. the “dungeons” that make early NES rpg dungeon designs look like fun and exciting areas to explore through due to just how unfathomably boring they are. walk a straight line, occasionally choose a different pathway, rinse and repeat for the next 30+ hours. there’s little to no variety here whatsoever, and even when sped up it feels like such a slog because of how fucking boring it all is. and even more stupid shit littered throughout the game to sour the experience. this game is actually so awful it’s not even funny, it genuinely confuses me as to this game seems to be held in such high regards.

Wanted: Dead is a great game and I'll die on that hill, it's just super fun and entertaining above all else. I won't pretend the game isn't rough around the edges and the gameplay isn't pretty janky because it is for sure and there's no denying that, but many miss the fact that is also kinda the point considering the game is trying to emulate the sixth gen of consoles (in every way, even the ones most would consider outdated) where a lot of the games were exactly that, rough around the edges and janky though there's also so much creativity, charm and passion put into every inch of the product that it is simply impossible for me to not love it.

I will tolerate no slander or hate against the devs and especially the creative director and writer Sergei Kolobashkin because he never lied nor did he ever give false promises and the game is exactly what he said it would be. A passionate love letter to the sixth gen of consoles back when devs weren't afraid to do different and unique things and put out games that simply weren't going to be for everyone and wouldn't get critical praise, but they put these games out because they had a vision and they wanted to make it a reality. That's exactly what Wanted: Dead is for better or for worse because I have never played anything else quite like Wanted: Dead which reminds me heavily of many things like Deadly Premonition, Ninja Gaiden, Yakuza, Metal Gear Rising and basically anything with Suda51's name attached to it all rolled into one insane hybrid fever dream of a game.

Wanted: Dead is unapologetic about its influences down to its core and everything from the unique blend of gory, flashy melee hack and slash and 3rd person cover shooter combat (Which just gets better the more you play as you unlock more skills and abilities) to the over-the-top and slightly convoluted B-movie plot about a group of former war-criminal inmates who get a second chance at freedom and become an elite team of police officers that also happen to get tangled up into a corporate conspiracy complete with eccentric archetypal characters (Like the loose canon katana wielding badass cop who plays by her own rules Hannah Stone, the awkward pop culture referencing, cat loving genius gunsmith Viviane or the ramen connoisseur and ladies man Herzog) and influenced by Hong Kong action cinema and 80s/90s Cyberpunk anime like Ghost in the Shell or the purposefully amateurish voice acting done by the devs themselves, the awkwardly lip-synched cut-scenes, self-aware goofy dialogue, weird mini-games and especially the linear to a fault level design and punishing difficulty with checkpoints few and far between (I would go as far to say that your enjoyment of the game could hinge upon how good you are at action games with nuanced controls) was all deliberately added to further fully encapsulate that PS2 era charm in every way possible.

Wanted: Dead feels like a long-lost classic PS2 game in the best (and some of the worst) ways possible and while that isn't going to be for everyone, hell it won't even be for most people, but I personally adore it and respect the creator for sticking entirely to their creative vision and simply putting out a game for no other reason than it was something they were passionate about and wanted to release for the ones who will enjoy and truly "get" it and for the ones that do "get" it, you'll get an incredible retro throwback to a time when games weren't afraid to just be weird and fun.

P.S. I can already tell that much like games such as Deadly Premonition, NieR, God Hand, Killer7 or Killer is Dead this is the epitome of a truly misunderstood gem of a game that will be heralded as a cult classic 5 or 10 years from now, but for now it has already reached that status for me.

F.I.S.T. has been brought to us with the aid of "China Hero Project", Sony’s big initiative to help fund small indie devs based in and around China in order to help bring their games to a more global stage, and to more platforms. An exciting little prospect for me, as I've always wanted to see some decently-backed singleplayer entries to come out of China.

Honestly I kind of love this game, despite a few shortcomings by way of bizarre difficulty spikes, somewhat bloated playtime, poor localisation, it all feels palpably ambitious and filled with heartfelt detail! A Brawler Metroidvania with a wide array of combat and movement abilities that feel gr8, and everything from bosses to projectiles are parryable if you can react fast enough, which is my personal catnip.
Lovely furry-noire setting with vibes immaculate. The locales being widely varied and stunningly realised lent the city a lived-in feeling I tend to only yearn for in this genre. It's all very endearing!