PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
In one of the most over the top boomer shooters of recent years, Turbo Overkill casts players as Johnny Turbo, returning to his neon cyberpunk hometown of Paradise to find that it’s been taken over by Syn, a rogue AI that has possessed the local population. Desperate for cash, Johnny takes on the mission of defeating Syn and restoring order to the city, although rival bounty hunters and an army of cyber-augmented minions stand in his way…
Put simply, Turbo Overkill may well be the absolute pinnacle of retro-inspired first-person shooters. From the very first moments, it’s lightning fast and extremely chaotic, with enemies swarming the screen and bullets flying all over the place while an incredible pounding synthwave soundtrack elevates the exhilaration to a whole other level. Weapons feel weighty and impactful and never need to be reloaded (a small touch, but one that makes all the difference in terms of keeping the action going), and Johnny’s chainsaw leg (yes!) is ridiculously fun to use. The action builds fantastically well as you progress through the game, increasing the pace and tension at the perfect rate to keep your attention and regularly throwing new toys and mechanics at you so there’s always something new to discover.
With 24 levels across 3 distinct episodes taking you to places you’d never expect, it’s just glorious from start to finish (and it’s absolutely mind boggling to consider that the majority of the game was developed by one single person). Stunning locations, memorable characters, secret areas, upgrades, alt-fire modes that are actually useful, tough but thrilling boss fights, occasional levels that shake things up in creative ways that are best left for you to discover on your own, and post-game replayable arcade and endless modes all combine to make this a truly unbelievable experience.
This new Ultimate Edition includes a stunning in-game comic book that dives deeper into the backstories of both Johnny Turbo and Syn (with some welcome zoom options that make enlarging each panel an absolute breeze), a soundtrack sampler with full-length audio files of some of the game’s greatest tunes (seriously, the OST is incredible), and a 140-page digital art book that goes into great detail about what went into designing the game and its weapons, mechanics, environments and enemies. A phenomenal package that does great justice to one of the best (quite possibly the best) games in its genre!
