Review
Played on: Xbox Series X
Released: 2023
Some movie classics seem to live forever through videogames. As far back as I can remember there's been RoboCop games. I recall playing one way back on either a NES or GameBoy. Based off the first movie in 1987 by Paul Verhoeven, the best one in the series. While I really enjoy the movie, I'm not a hardcore fan, buying anything the franchise offers.
As such, I've never finished a RoboCop game, let alone play any outside of just trying one of the 8-bit versions. Fast forward to some digital sale earlier this year, and I bought the RoboCop: Rogue City title which came out in 2023. I fancied some shooter action and why not play RoboCop while I'm at it?!
Rogue City is developed by Teyon, a small Polish team which have incidentally also made a Terminator game I might play down the line. They're published by Nacon, which up until a few years back released the WRC rally games. In other words; a lower budget title, and indeed that's the first impression of this release, but it somehow works as RoboCop always had this kind of b-movie vibe to it.
Let's go on a patrol downtown and take a look!
At first glance you'd be forgiven for seeing cracks in the seams as you realise the budget on voice overs and character models seem to be at the lower end of the scale. Indeed, the dialogue is probably the weakest part, not so much for their authenticity as Murphy, and a couple of the other characters, are the authentic actor's voices from the movie, but more about the way they're delivered. Sure, Murphy is intentionally robotic, but the pacing combined with stiff animation in faces and bodies make the whole thing have a budget vibe.
Yet, once you allow this to be a part of the charm you gradually begin to see the clever sides of this title. RoboCop is deliberately robotic in his movement, oddly slow moving and aiming at first, but then you realise he's a walking tank. Allowing the player to use his main pistol, super precisely and like a machine gun. Ploughing through tons of 80s rough neck punks in the most violent shooter I've seen in a while. Needless to say, it's very violent, but hey that's the ironic fun of RoboCop!
Soon the hip fire aiming and the 1980's HUD in green becomes second nature, bringing back the nostalgia of old school shooters. Where gameplay is straight to the point and the best tactic is taking things slow and meticulous. Meanwhile, each completed mission racks you points to upgrade RoboCop in various manners. It's in no way a deep upgrade system, but more health, armour, damage and slow motion is always welcome.
At first the levels seem like linear corridors, but as you keep returning to downtown of the city in each mission, it occurred to me that I'm often returning to a tiny open world of a city square. Allowing me to revisit locations, with a handful of indoor environments and some side missions. Charming places like a dry cleaner an arcade and a video rental bring back memories of a simpler analogue era.
Not all missions are located here though, with other places like a quarry and a modern corporate office building comes to mind. All places I feel have the vibe of typical places 80s action movies take place!
Studying the environments is the point where the visuals begin to shine. Where the first impression of simple animations and character models fades behind how detailed and realistic looking the environments look. Brought to life by the Unreal Engine 5, complete with ray traced reflections and a fantastic look to materials like concrete, glass and metal. Lighting is well done with the colour palette and charm of the movie, think neon lights, glowing streetlights and flickering fluorescent tube lights in shops.
It makes stomping into a dry cleaner, with the shiny tiled floor as RoboCop and people recognising you as such, a charming nostalgic affair that brings a smile to any fan of the movie. Allowing you to feel how it is to wander an 80s city back in the day, albeit in a crime filled city as such. Not a place you'd like to hang out.
Graphics options offer performance and fidelity modes, but they're mostly just about resolution and impressively look very alike. As such, the performance mode is the best pick, where the slightly fuzzier picture keeps most of the visual detail, while at the same time giving a precise and responsive feel needed for a shooter like this. Visual effects, like sparks from explosions, are on the other end of the scale, they look low resolution and grainy.
Main missions are few in total, moving the story along at a steady pace, with a small handful of side missions to take on. I'd recommend squeezing the extra hour or two of lifespan by doing all the side missions. Although short, it's an experience I wouldn't want to last longer. It has a concept, it throws tons of enemies at you, you get to live out your RoboCop fantasies and leaves the player feeling more than satisfied when the credits roll.
I appreciate the return to the police precinct each time a main mission ends by entering the patrol car. At the precinct you can chat with fellow cops and get a taste of the busy and overworked police station you're familiar with from the movie. Even take part in standing at the desk taking complaints from citizens!
Theres an attempt at making you take moral choices too, thus affecting the narrative in the ending, mostly done through a questionnaire at the end mission screens where Robocop is analysed by a psychologist. However, I felt I wasn't really engaged in that part, and it didn't affect much change during gameplay. It's there, alongside the simple upgrade system, as an attempt of being an RPG super lite, but fails to make an impactful change to straight forward shooter formula which players buying this game are there for in the first place.
Overall, it's a charming way of feeling how it is like being RoboCop through a handful of missions, it by no means a long game but will challenge you later in being a little cautious in your approach and demanding some shooter skills.
The way RoboCop move will probably be the deciding point of your enjoyment of this title. Again, its deliberately slow and robotic movement, on the other side it's not ideal for people who prefer old school, fast paced, shooters where player movement is a big part of the gameplay. I could imagine the movement rubbing some people off the wrong way, and indeed at the beginning it did for me too, but as I progressed I got use to the sensation and it felt right considering the setting.
Undoubtedly fun when firefights become hectic and enemies blow up into pieces, but in no way revolutionary or sporting any innovative ideas. It's a true to nature old school shooter that allows you to live out those memories of the first RoboCop movie. Although there are some references to RoboCop 2 too!
It's by no means a top rating contender but a neat pickup for fans of the movie or classic shooters for sure, with a wonderful visual charm of walking down memory lane in an 80s city and being RoboCop.
