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Wanted: Dead | Review Thread

8BiTw0LF

Banned
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"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."

"110 Industries’ website describes Wanted: Dead as a “love-letter to the sixth generation of video game consoles,” which includes the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and the original Xbox. And if that’s what the devs set out to achieve, they nailed it — frankly, too well."

"Ninja Gaiden Black is my favorite action game of all time, so if you describe something as “a hybrid slasher/shooter from the makers of Ninja Gaiden” like Wanted: Dead does on the back of its box, you’ve got my both attention and hopes up right out of the gate. But as quick as they rose, they fell even faster, because Wanted: Dead is a bad game even removed from any comparison to Ninja Gaiden."

"A hangover of abandoned game design, dressed up in unruly aesthetics and powered by cyberpunk Pat Benatar. The unforgiving gameplay and repetitious action will leave some utterly appalled, but the radiant cast of reprobates, silly mini-games, baffling dialogue, and shameless commitment to the bit results in one of the most bewildering, hypnotic releases in some time. Simply put: Wanted: Dead is a fucking train wreck, and you better get your ticket punched."

"Again, I do have a sneaking affection for Wanted even at its worst, inasmuch as it channels that long-forgotten, early-noughties spirit of abject chaos. At a time when all games above a certain budget threshold seem to have congealed into a single, insufferably complete and glossy open world action-RPG with service-game elements, it's bracing to dip into one that's more like a box of malfunctioning toys at a car boot sale. I can't in good conscience recommend the results, but there's something at the heart of this rickety period pastiche that craves to be understood and acknowledged, if not celebrated."

"You know what it's like when you're playing a game and you just want to skip all the story and dialogue to get to the action? Well, Wanted: Dead is a little like that in reverse. It is very much an action game, and with its mix of gun and sword play, fancies itself a bit of a John Wick. Except it's all rather wonky and repetitive – and the stuff in between the combat, while also pretty wonky, is far more entertaining."

"I'm genuinely a bit gutted about Wanted: Dead. I really wanted the game to be a stylish hack n' slash romp with a quirky, cyberpunk edge. The result, sadly, is anything but. It doesn't know what it wants to be! And in many ways, it's bucket of ideas and force-fed zaniness only serves to make it feel both incomplete and directionless. Save your money folks."

"Wanted: Dead is a commendable effort from this team and a sign of much better things to come. It is unapologetic in what it wants to be, and so despite all of its quirks and faults, it offers a charming and memorable action game experience that is backed by a captivating presentation. Come for the brutally effective combat but stay for the utterly surreal game world filled with fun distractions and addictive carnage. With this debut title, 110 Industries takes us back to a time when a standout vibe made up for a lack of polish."

"Wanted: Dead is going to annoy a lot of players. It’s also going to please plenty more. Soleil has made a game that leans heavily into its PS2-era inspirations, and that includes an unforgiving difficulty level. Without any real way to make things easier, some players may never see the ending of an otherwise enjoyable campaign, outside of watching a streamer perhaps. For those who can manage to hone their skills, however, the time put into Wanted: Dead will be worth it because this slasher-shooter offers so much visceral joy when things go your way that it makes all the painful death worth it."

"Wanted: Dead is an incredibly disappointing action effort that presents some decent ideas but fails to execute any of them properly. The idea of fusing hack and slash combat with shooter mechanics has lots of potential here, and the cyberpunk setting is initially intriguing. However, in practice it's all very clunky and janky and frustrating and beset by performance issues. There's a bunch of odd side activities thrown in to try to lighten the mood between battles, but it's just not enough in the end. With a very weak narrative, poor voice-acting, rubbish action and drab level design, this is one game that's best avoided."
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Missed the best part.







And for the cherry on top...

GKhmFs6.jpg


Yes. The game is arguably not great. But this is so much worse.

Perfect example of some wannabe "critics" too. Can dish it, but the moment they're the ones on the receiving end of criticism, they go ballistics. 🤔

Well, hats of to the devs, they really made the dude seethe hard.
 
Missed the best part.







And for the cherry on top...

GKhmFs6.jpg


Yes. The game is arguably not great. But this is so much worse.

Perfect example of some wannabe "critics" too. Can dish it, but the moment they're the ones on the receiving end of criticism, they go ballistics. 🤔


Is he the guy who was arrested for trying shove an entire bicycle pump up his arse in a busy shopping precinct?
 
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FBeeEye

Banned
We all knew this game would suck. The graphics look like something you'd see in Dave and Busters.

It's like the developers were stuck in 2001. All the voice actors sound like they were all working from home in different time zones. No chemistry and no performance. It's like they uploaded some dialogue to a voice recording site and picked their voice actors based on race and gender.
 
Been reading a bit of these reviews. The reviewers really seem lousy at the game and bust points for that. I had a hunch this game would get trashed since the trailers. These kind of games don't fare well with the modern reviewers in these times.

Also, apparently the game only has 'normal' and 'hard' modes. I imagine if it had something like 'stroll in the park' or 'handholding' mode they'd be lean more friendly towards it.
 
Been reading a bit of these reviews. The reviewers really seem lousy at the game and bust points for that. I had a hunch this game would get trashed since the trailers. These kind of games don't fare well with the modern reviewers in these times.

Also, apparently the game only has 'normal' and 'hard' modes. I imagine if it had something like 'stroll in the park' or 'handholding' mode they'd be lean more friendly towards it.
There's a ninja dog mode I think
 

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
That first review in the OP is the usual unreadable dipshit drivel. Is the game getting bad scores because it's bad or because it's making the liberal arts crowd uncomfortable with their feelings.

The first line of every review should start by stating the framerate, that would help these dorks be helpful.
 

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
Wow. I honestly think every one of these reviews I've read so far is written by a twat who got lost up their own asshole.
 

SaintALia

Member
Yup, that's about what I expected when I saw the extended gameplay videos. People in the preview thread seemed excited about it, but I dunno. Was kinda giving me Yaiba Z and Devil's Third vibes.

Hopefully people genuinely excited for it don't get too burned when they play it and find some enjoyment in it, but that 56 hits hard(and Yaiba Z and Devil's Third scored lower, so small win I guess).
 
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VN1X

Banned
Despite the poor reviews I would've still picked this up if the price was right but for some reason they completely misjudged the market and put it up for 60EU on Steam. Instead, it should have been half that amount (or lower) and it would've also set expectations accordingly.

I get that they might've poured a lot of resources into it but the current pricing makes people think it's an AAA release when in reality it's not even a double-A title but a straight up B-Tier one. I'm fine with that btw but only for the right price.
 
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GHG

Gold Member
I don't get why some people are so desperate for this to be good? Even though some individuals might be able to derive some enjoyment from it (as is the case with any game), it's clearly not very good.

If people want games that are a homage to the games we typically got on the PS2 there are better games out there, one of which even released this year and is half the price.
 
Apparently it's under 4hrs on normal mode, has NG+ and "Japanese Hard" modes.

The main criticism is that there are too much mini games crammed in just for the sake of being edgy, at the demand of the publisher, when those resources could have been allocated to what the devs (Soleil) wanted to achieve, even more depth in gameplay, which is pretty barebones (same handful of moveset for the entire game) even at endgame.

Looks like this is pretty much an under-$10 Steam sale pickup, or maybe even less...
 

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
I'm happy I got it.

I would never recommend it to anyone. It's a journey you must decide to walk on your own. Similar experience with Devil's Third, which I also really enjoyed.
The last few low scoring games I have bought I really enjoyed: Callisto Protocol and Forspoken

I might take the risk with this game too
 
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stn

Member
Never heard of this "Cliffo" guy but I can already tell I would hate his channel.

"DONT DO THIS"
"THIS SUCKS"
"THIS GAME SUCKS"

He's just going for click-bait. Meh.
 

RedC

Member
Not going to lie, I'm kinda fascinated by this game and will definitely get it once it hits bargain bin prices.
 

Kikorin

Member
Hope they'll port it to Switch, I'm one of the few person on the Earth that like Devil's Third and this one have the same vibes. I'd enjoy it for what it is I guess, but I'd like having it portable.
 
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