Huntdown: Overtime Is a Goofy, Retro, and Delightfully Violent Roguelike | IGN Game Preview

I confess that I had ne'er heard of 2020’s pixelated arcade shooter Huntdown, but aft playing (and replaying) done the demo for its upcoming prequel, Huntdown: Overtime, I instantly went backmost and did so. That’s due to the fact that I was truthful wholly hooked by the hr oregon truthful of roguelike enactment that I was fiending for more. Playing the archetypal was besides a batch of fun, but this followup seeks to amended successful conscionable astir each way, making it a spot hard to spell back. The cheeky retro ‘80’s code appeals to my thirst for nonsense, the run-and-gun sidescrolling enactment channels the likes of Contra oregon Metal Slug, and the roguelike strategy of upgrades and repeated nonaccomplishment against daunting likelihood made it highly hard to enactment down. I went from this not being connected my radar astatine all, to eagerly anticipating erstwhile it comes to Steam Early Access aboriginal this year, making this an aboriginal contender for my astir anticipated indie crippled of 2026.

You tin infer astir everything you request to cognize astir Huntdown: Overtime’s absurd 80s pulp enactment vibe by its rubric alone. Taking spot successful the dystopian, crime-ridden metropolis of Detroit successful 2084, you play a cybernetic rogue robocop who battles against flamboyant thoroughfare gangs similar thing retired of each VHS enactment movie you’ve ever seen. You’ll spell toe-to-toe against the likes of a shirtless bouncer who pummels you with his fists and climbs astir connected the ceiling similar a monkey, to a six-fingered rockstar called Sammy Sixfingers who tries to termination you with an electrical guitar portion performing a guitar solo successful beforehand of a unrecorded audience. The full happening is conscionable incredibly implicit the apical successful the close benignant of way, making it precise casual to replay each conception arsenic you effort and neglect to get done levels successful emblematic roguelike fashion.

It surely helps that adjacent erstwhile you’re replaying done the aforesaid bid of levels, things are ever a small different. For one, the bosses and levels you extremity up with connected each tally person a spot of randomness to them successful presumption of which you’ll get and successful what order, which is aided by the information that you’re fixed 2 routes to take from if you’d similar to debar 1 you’ve seen much of than you’d like. The levels themselves look to beryllium procedurally generated arsenic well, and kept maine connected my toes with somewhat antithetic layouts and enemies ne'er appearing successful the aforesaid order. This procedural constituent isn’t thing we haven’t seen before, and the level layouts and enemies you’ll find are akin capable playthrough-to-playthrough that you’ll fig retired the patterns beauteous speedy and tally retired of things to beryllium amazed by (at slightest successful the abbreviated conception I played).

It really benignant of reminded maine of Hotline Miami, reimagined from a sidescrolling perspective.“

Combat is besides not thing new, modeled aft the likes of Contra oregon Mega Man, wherever you’re moving and jumping done 2D levels blasting everytc hing successful show arsenic you debar incoming bullets and biology hazards. That said, though it doesn’t person galore caller tricks, the look it apes is highly polished here, adjacent successful this pre-release state. While initially I was dying a batch and felt destined to beryllium outmaneuvered by the galore gangsters coming aft me, it took little than an hr earlier I was sliding around, flying done the air, and shooting my mode done full sections without taking a azygous hit. That’s the benignant of rewarding mastery I look for successful games similar this. It really benignant of reminded maine of Hotline Miami, reimagined from a sidescrolling perspective, due to the fact that though you tin instrumentality much than 1 hit, there’s thing precise pleasantly acquainted astir the crisp gunplay and melee combat, particularly erstwhile you deed idiosyncratic with a shot bat and spot their pink, pixelated giblets spell soaring crossed the screen.

The item of each tally is erstwhile you travel into interaction with the larger-than-life bosses that tin beryllium recovered successful each level. Some of these look successful regular sidescrolling levels, whe re possibly idiosyncratic named Frankie Starsimmon Sr. volition onslaught you with a large ol’ shotgun and permission you with the enactment to harm her earlier taking her alive, oregon conscionable sidesplitting her for a lesser bounty. The quality to instrumentality bounties live for an added bonus to your reward is simply a peculiarly bully interaction that I’m gladsome to spot they added aft the original. But things get particularly brainsick during the brag fights wherever you spell up against idiosyncratic with a dedicated brag wellness bar. The main combat successful the demo was against a rockstar who utilized his stage’s pyrotechnics to effort and pain you alive, and ever had his stagehand adjacent to manus him a caller electrical guitar aft helium mislaid the past 1 trying to hurl it done the backmost of your head. These fights tin beryllium truly challenging, arsenic roguelikes are wont to do, and 9 times retired of 10 erstwhile I failed a tally it was the responsibility of 1 of these deadly weirdos. But they were besides immoderate of my favourite moments, and made gearing up for the adjacent large combat that overmuch much exciting.

The retreaded crushed you’ll brushwood arsenic portion of the roguelike look feels particularly casual to get done due to the fact that of the dependable watercourse of unlockables, upgrades, and buildcrafting options that travel with each caller playthrough. In 1 playthrough, for example, you mightiness determine to forgo guns for a axenic melee limb build, grabbing perks and upgrades that heighten your close-range combat skills, portion successful different you mightiness get your hands connected a caller plasma firearm you conscionable unlocked and blast your mode done rows of thugs with ease. Like galore of its genre peers, the joyousness is successful having a physique travel unneurotic perfectly truthful you tin bring it to carnivore against the drawstring of challenging bosses that person been sending you backmost to the opening again and again.

The awesome happening astir Huntdown: Overtime is that, astatine slightest successful the afloat portion I played during the demo, I ne'er started a caller tally without a ton of caller worldly to level up and effort out. Sometimes that meant I’d unlock a caller limb that could past beryllium recovered and powered up during runs, portion different times it meant buying a definite imperishable upgrade that made my healing items much potent, made maine determination faster, oregon immoderate different utile boon to springiness maine an borderline connected my adjacent run. The gait of unlocks and progression felt perfectly balanced truthful I ne'er felt similar I’d deed a partition oregon had thing absorbing and caller to bring into conflict adjacent time. It was truthful casual to instantly spell from 1 tally to the next, that adjacent though I primitively sat down for a 20-minute session, I ended up playing until I bushed each brag successful the demo successful a azygous sitting, wholly incapable to teardrop myself distant erstwhile I was definite the adjacent playthrough would bring maine victory. And adjacent aft I had my archetypal palmy run, I past was returned to basal to find adjacent much worldly had unlocked that I conscionable had to try, and recovered myself instantly going consecutive into my adjacent tally conscionable to effort retired immoderate caller stuff. I can’t retrieve the past clip I recovered myself truthful instantly hooked!

Even though I primitively sat down for a 20-minute session, I ended up playing until I bushed each brag successful the demo successful a azygous sitting, wholly incapable to teardrop myself away.“

One happening that piqued my involvement aft I went backmost to play the archetypal Huntdown is the information that this prequel lone has 1 playable quality versus the galore agents you could instrumentality connected the relation of successful the archetypal game. While it feels weird to spell backwards with the fig of playable characters, Overtime’s demo was truthful polished and finely tuned that I honestly didn’t consciousness similar I was missing much. It seems to beryllium their focusing successful connected 1 circumstantial playstyle and trying to marque that enactment highly good vs. the buffet-style protagonists, each with their ain container of tricks, that was successful the archetypal Huntdown.

I wasn’t expecting to extremity up truthful wholly won implicit by specified a abbreviated glimpse into Huntdown: Overtime, particularly aft seeing its dorky communicative and retro creation style, but you tin number maine among the believers. For immoderate roguelike fans retired there, this is perfectly 1 to watch.