I remember being excited when Robocop Rogue City was announced way back in 2021, but back then, I was fueled by a love of the franchise and never expected the game to be much more than a few hours of silly fun.
Having just beat the game, I can confirm that it is dumb fun, but it also tries to offer more than I expected. RPG elements are rolled into some of the best gunplay I’ve experienced in any game recently, and a story that tries to get inside Robocop’s thoughts works well. However, keep your expectations in check as it’s not without a few moments of jank that stick out.
Released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 2 November 2023, see players step into the heavy metal boots of Robocop/ Alex Murphy. For fans of the movies, this story is set between the events of Robocop 2 and 3 (which is excellent, as I refuse to accept that Robocop 3 actually happened). Peter Weller reprises his role as the titular character, and we also get another movie return with Nancy Allen playing Anne Lewis once again.
Although I love seeing the movie cast return, the voice acting in the game ranges from good to dreadful, and even Peter Weller’s delivery feels slightly off for parts of the game. The voice acting, paired with some dreadful lip-syncing, can be extremely rough at times, but a massive shoutout to the voice actor who played The Old Man…that has to be one of the worst impersonations in the history of games.
Thankfully, what the game does get right is its recreation of Old Detroit. Using Unreal Engine 5, the game’s environments are stunning and ooze the atmosphere created in the original movie by director Paul Verhoeven. I’m not too fond of the term photo-realistic, but, oh my, this game world is astonishing at times and an excellent showcase for what we could see with all the tools Unreal 5 has. Even more impressive is that it comes from an AA studio and has left me wondering what we will see when big dogs like Gearbox or The Coalition use it to create their next games.
Although it looked great, there were some issues, like texture pop-in at times. I wondered if this was an issue only for me, but after looking online, many others have noted the same thing. It’s not game-breaking, but it did break my immersion in the game from time to time.
Performance-wise, the game was good for me, with plenty of scope for tweaked settings. Older PC hardware will struggle, thanks to the demands of Unreal 5. Console performance also seems okay, but expect dips below 60fps when the game gets busy with multiple effects on screen, which happens a lot in the last few sections of the game.
Moving on to the story, I’ll keep this as spoiler-free as possible, but beware.
RoboCop rescues hostages from a local gang at Channel 9 news studio. During the mission, he hesitates due to visions of his past as Alex Murphy but is helped by partner Lewis. The incident is caught on film, leading to OCP assigning Max Becker as RoboCop’s overseer and planting a monitoring chip in his head.
The game uses the above story point well, as the implant helps score you by grade after each mission. I liked this; it is a good way of adding replayability to the game.
This sets the tone for the story, with Robocop seeing visions at the worst times and affecting his ability to keep the city safe.
From here, you’ll complete missions and investigations into “the New Guy”, who seems intent on trying to take over Old Detroit. The missions will see you explore a few city areas with open-world-style mini-maps and a more prominent central area that will be revisited a few times. You can also complete side tasks that see you do things just like any average police officer, like ticketing incorrectly parked cars and other public misdemeanours. It’s a strange choice, but I enjoyed doing them in between the main missions, mostly being like huge shooting galleries.
During the game, you’ll talk with several other characters and get a handful of options from which to pick a response. This isn’t anything like the Mass Effect options and outcomes, but I’m impressed they even tried to use a system like this for the game, giving an element of making it YOUR Robocop for your play-through.
After completing your investigations, you’ll head for a battle with a big bad at the end of the game. Please note that this drags on quite a bit, and as I hit stage 4 of the final battle, I was ready for it to end.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, which significantly adds to the existing lore from the movies. Anyone jumping in without knowledge of the film might find it a little cheesy, but that’s bang in line with the original film’s tone and its sequels.
What makes this game fun then?
Gunplay and violence. Simple.
This feels better than most FPS games (although I’m not much of an FPS fan, to be fair). The weapons feel heavy, and the recoil feels substantial. Then, pair that with the beautiful pop and feedback you get when you catch a target in the head. Greatness achieved. There is a good choice of weapons to pick up in the game, but time and time again, I found myself going back to Robocop’s personal weapon, the Auto 9. What a thing of beauty.
50-round magazine and a three-round burst firing mode. When you make contact with enemy limbs or heads, you are going to know about it. As you progress through the game, you will also get access to upgrades for both your Auto 9 and Robocop’s abilities, again with an element of choice to make the character play how you want them to. You can focus on psychology and enjoy better interactions with the public and new dialogue options or get a new skill that lets you bounce bullets when aiming by investing your points in scanning. You start the game feeling like a walking tank, but you’ll be a one-man army by the time the skill tree is complete.
Robocop Rogue City has had fantastic social media feedback, but review scores are more mixed. That’s a sign of the game, with a few issues but nothing major, but keep in mind, it wasn’t even a full-price release. Developer Teyon has nailed this take on Robocop, and coming after their take on Terminator (which was also good), I’d love to see them get to work on other classic franchises.
Die Hard? Total Recall? My shout would be a Predator game!
-Couchy
