Robocop: Rogue City

I finally got around to playing and finishing RoboCop: Rogue City last month, and man, what a ride! This game is a fantastic throwback, not just to the gloriously silly action movies of old, but also to the straightforward game design of yesteryear.

Right off the bat, let's be clear: this is a low-budget, AA-at-best kind of game from Teyon, the same studio that did that Terminator game in a similar vein. Temper your expectations accordingly, the pricing even reflects this. But here’s the kicker: the low budget almost enhances the experience, perfectly fitting the satirical, B-movie heart of RoboCop. The sometimes poorly written, nonsensical dialogue? The occasionally flat voice delivery from NPCs? RoboCop’s deadpan one-liners? Other characters looking like they escaped from a PS2-era polygon nightmare? The story taking convenient shortcuts to avoid complex boss battles or sprawling levels? The inevitable bugs? It all wraps around to become unintentionally hilarious and, dare I say, charmingly authentic to the source material's own schlocky appeal.

Speaking of authenticity, they absolutely nailed it where it counts. Getting Peter Weller back to voice RoboCop? Chef's kiss. The Old Detroit they’ve created is a genuinely dystopian, crime-infested shithole, and I’m sure some might even argue it’s not too far off the mark from reality, judging from all the memes.

Now, onto the gameplay. It’s simple, it’s brutal, it’s hilariously over-the-top, and it’s just plain fun. The whole thing feels like a lost gem from the late 2000s FPS era. You’ve got straightforward skill trees and some dialogue choices that can actually be influenced by your skills, leading to different outcomes and affecting your public trust. The shooting feels incredibly satisfying, with chunky sound design and gratuitous gore. Punching a creep with RoboCop’s fist is immensely gratifying, watching them fly 20 meters away is a joy, as is grabbing one dude and yeeting him into his buddies. It's nothing revolutionary, but it perfectly captures the silly power fantasy of being RoboCop.

The guns are generally fine, but let's be real, the Auto-9 is the undisputed star. Later in the game, you can mod it into a monstrosity shooting explosive flechette rounds on full auto, with a 100+ round magazine, near-instant reloads, and, of course, infinite ammo. Oh, and did I mention it ramps up the gore even more? Even on the hardest difficulty, you can just point, spray, and delete entire rooms. Though, personally, I never got tired of using the booster dash to time a perfect, bone-shattering punch to an unsuspecting creep's face!

The missions themselves are decent, offering some variety between all-out slaughter, open-map silliness, and actual cop duty like ticketing illegally parked cars. My advice? Play it in chunks. The mission structure can feel a bit repetitive if you binge it, so take breaks to keep the fun fresh.

My only real complaint, keeping in mind the understandable budget limitations, is the movement speed during the open-map segments. RoboCop moves slowly, even when "running," and it could get a bit tedious trekking across the map just to find someone breaking a minor law.