Wanted: Dead review

Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight

Wanted: Dead signals its inadequacies early, with cinematics that attempt to ape the simmering intensity of Michael Mann and the cadenced banter of Quentin Tarantino. The opening scene reveals protagonist Hannah Stone locked away in a maximum-security prison cell. Communicating with an unseen warden, she understands the lure of an early release is contingent upon some serious ass-kissing. Sure, it’s the same premise as two Suicide Squad movies, but her disinterested tone and cybernetic hand at least hint at digression.

But it soon becomes clear that Minato-based developer Soleil (Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, Ninjala) can’t stage exposition. A subsequent clip shows Hannah and the other three members of the Hong Kong-based Zombie Squad gathering around a diner table, apparently preparing for an imminent assignment.

Cinematics that Feel like Bad Student Films

But instead of any kind of stylish banter, each team member orders a meal and appears in their own world. There’s no real character development beyond Stone having an enormous appetite and the pacing is abnormally languid. Subsequent cinematics don’t fare any better, with Wanted: Dead squandering over a minute as Stone enters and looks around a police station cafeteria without any payoff. Sure, the game drops the use of the in-game engine for some anime-driven flashbacks, but it all feels like a knockoff of the O-Ren Ishii’s backstory from Kill Bill. It’s never sharp enough to be satirical and not unconventional enough to be amusing. Instead, you’re treated to cringy jokes from a member named Herzog and the defiance of authority that was cliched back when it was in ‘90s cop films.

But a catalog of PS2-era titles demonstrated that sloppy storytelling is forgivable if a game can deliver feverish action. Given that Soleil was founded by former Tecmo staffer Takayuki Kikuchi, Wanted seems eager to replicate the taut mechanics that elevated the Ninja Gaiden series. A condensed tutorial uncovers Stone’s proficiency with a katana, while her trusty handgun provides for parries and finishers, evoking the offensive duality of Bloodborne.

But as soon as you face your first conflict, it’s evident that the game’s systems won’t gel. Sadly, individual components aren’t even realized, leading to one of the most disappointing experiences in recent memory.

Ranged Combat That’s as Fun as a Root Canal

Sporadically, the linear campaign tosses you into arenas filled with rifle-toting adversaries. Here, Wanted: Dead yearns to deliver the thrills of a cover-based shooter, as Stone seeks the protection of environmental objects. Like a game from the mid-2000s, she’ll automatically hug walls or duck under objects, waiting for the suitable moment to return fire. But peculiarly, adversaries can shoot right through corners, undermining Stone’s defensive efforts.

These kinds of firefights are most exhilarating when you’re working the angles, pouring hot lead into the prone side of oblivious foes. But Wanted’s opponents are constantly scurrying around erratically. Not only do their actions look completely unrealistic, but targeting the darting enemies isn’t enjoyable. Woefully, your allies tend to do the same, seemingly hunting down opponents but never really doing much damage. Given the game’s fondness for murky lighting, firefights devolve into crowds of similar-looking combatants who all run around for no good reason. Apparently, this is when you’re supposed to use the game’s Adrenaline Shot, prompting Stone to shoot elusive enemies around her, setting things up for a succession of finishers.

Second-rate Swordplay

Eventually, you’ll run out of ammo for your rifle, prompting you to use your blade to carve up opponents. Evidently, this is how you should play Wanted: Dead, since most of your ranged weapons are brutally underpowered. But battling waves of spawning enemies is also quite joyless. Games like Wanted: Dead are supposed to capture the exhilaration of being a one-woman army, as you use your athleticism to gradually eliminate a crowd of blood-thirty opponents. But without the benefit of any lock-on ability, swordplay can feel indistinct, especially when off-screen foes attack. While Stone has access to a tech-tree that adds some offensive options, these perks don’t fix the underlying issues with combat.

Adding additional tedium are stages that stretch on for far too long and five boss battles that can feel unfair. Even if you appreciate elevated tests of skill, getting killed by a single hit by say, a spider tank is aggravating. Of course, these tests of patience might be worth it if the reward were great. But heading back to police headquarters to play Wanted: Dead’s Yakuza-style mini-games isn’t the payoff you might expect. Sure, the eccentricity is here, offering rhythm-game karaoke or simulated ramen eating. But about half the time, the difficulty is tuned too high, wrecking any interest in a replay.

And Sub-Par Performance?

And here’s the decisive deal-breaker: Wanted: Dead runs poorly. Not only did desktop crashes occur, but other several flaws were unforgivably conspicuous. Mostly, they were audio-based, with some sound layers such as music or dialog disappearing. Although mostly cosmetic, it was difficult to look past animation glitches that have no place in a paid retail build.

The ultraviolence includes hacking off appendages, which usually makes for some mischievous enjoyment. But here, the bloodshed is dull and tedious as you make your way through the game’s tortuously long levels. However, the chainsaw-driven carnage is covered by a censor sign. This inconsistency isn’t just limited to how Wanted: Dead depicts physical injury. It’s present in the disjoined combat, the difficulty spikes, and cutscenes that feel like a waste of time and resources.

Wanted: Dead was played on PC with
review code provided by the publisher.