Developer: Soleil
Publisher: 110 Industries
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S (reviewed), Xbox Series X
Release date: February 14, 2023
While the makers of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive were involved with the making of Wanted: Dead , their new title doesn’t come close to matching those older games. Meant to be an homage to older action games, Wanted: Dead certainly looks the part, but it took what was flawed in those other games instead of their best parts. The action is the highlight here, and when it works, you can certainly feel like a genuine bad ass. Sadly, controls and camera angles often work against you, leading to many cheap deaths. Coupling that with poor checkpoint placement and the inability to manually save leads to plenty of frustration.
PROS
Fast paced action
Decent skill trees and weapon customization
Nice variety of kill animations
Decent story
CONS
Controls not tight
Poor checkpoint placement
No manual saves
Poor camera angles
Faceless and repetitive enemies
Cheap deaths
Poor voice acting and bland characters
In all, Wanted: Dead never measures up to the action games it wants to emulate. The flaws outweigh the parts done well, making the game far more frustrating than fun. Eventually an “easy mode” pops up to use, but it doesn’t fare any better. If you have to, wait for a sale for this one.
5/10 stars
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