From 2001 to 2006, there was a wide variety of action games to play on the sixth generation of video game consoles. Whether it was on PlayStation 2, Xbox, or the Nintendo Gamecube, there was no shortage of adventures to go on as the character-action video game took the reign after platformers had subsided. Devil May Cry, God of War, and Ninja Gaiden are just a few examples of the brutal, challenging games that took the world by storm. Now, in 2023, Wanted: Dead looks to recreate that nostalgic run-through of baddies. Does it stick the landing?

It’s easy to ascertain exactly what developer Soleil Ltd. was going for when making Wanted: Dead. With developers of games like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive on staff, they understand more than anyone what it was like to dive into a 2000s action title. That was a time that many are nostalgic for.

Many future franchises opted for open worlds and fetch quests instead of action corridors where you’re stretched thin on every life-or-death encounter. Wanted: Dead does just that. Every fight could be your last if you’re not adept with your skills. If you die, you risk returning to a checkpoint and losing precious minutes of playtime.

This isn’t to say Wanted: Dead is as hard as a Souls-like. It’s not going to make you want to chuck a controller at the wall in frustration. Instead, it’s a game that pulls no punches and demands the best of you. Unfortunately, it is lost in a bit of an identity crisis in the process. While running up to enemies and slicing-and-dicing feels like the best course of action, there are cover-shooter elements mixed in as well. The problem is that enemies are bullet sponges to bullets, whereas they will go down in a few katana slices once you get up close to them.

Since the bread and butter of a game like Wanted: Dead is its gameplay, it’s a shame that it fumbles so much to make fights more antagonizing than rewarding. Hearing the same “Grenade!” voice clip for the tenth time in the first level is a pain in the ears. Almost every time you take damage, one of your squadmates calls your intellect into question. Headshotting in cover is great until you run out of your three clips and are forced to move closer, risking death on the way there. All of this culminates into a janky, risk-vs.-reward kind of action experience where the tedium comes a little too soon despite the game’s 9-hour runtime.

While there’s a lot holding it back, Wanted: Dead isn’t in unplayable territory. It’s satisfactory enough for those that remember a time when most games played exactly like this. It also doesn’t hurt that the well-scoped cyberpunk setting and compelling dystopian plot breathe some life into the title.

Sadly, it’s not enough to make this even remotely a must-buy, even for those keenly interested at a full-price $59.99 tag. I could see this hitting the bargain bin in no time, where it might be worth it if the game could see some polish in its combat. Truth be told, you’d do better to hold off on Wanted: Dead for now.

A PC review key for Wanted: Dead was provided by 110 Industries for this review.

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Wanted: Dead

59.99

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Truly Feels Like a PS2 Game
• Solid Setting

Cons

• Poor Steam Deck Performance
• Unflinching Difficulty
• Awful AI
• Rough Voice Acting