$29.99Wanted: Dead Swords, guns and ramen
Lead the Zombie Unit through a dystopian Hong Kong, cutting down mercenaries with blade and bullet in a proudly scrappy PS2-era action game.
Is Wanted: Dead worth it?
Wanted: Dead is worth it if…
- you have a soft spot for PS2-era jank, B-movie writing and games with attitude
- you want blade-to-gun combat with gory finishers instead of an open world
- you can laugh at a story that makes no sense and love it anyway
- you would rather play something scrappy and strange than smooth and safe
Screenshots
Combat with teeth
The heart of the game is a hybrid of hack-and-slash and third-person shooting that flows as one rhythm. You parry a blade, carve through a mercenary, then snap straight into your rifle or pistol without breaking stride. Bullet time lets you slow the chaos and punish everyone on screen. There are over fifty execution finishers, each more grotesque than the last, and the gore is unapologetically the point. The fights are demanding and occasionally unfair: enemies block, punish sloppy button-mashing and can kill you fast. It takes a few hours before the flow clicks, but once it does, cutting a room apart feels great.
A week in the life of the Zombie Unit
You play Lt. Hannah Stone, leading an elite Hong Kong police squad through a corporate conspiracy in a dystopian, neon-soaked city where 1980s fashion and music are somehow back in style. The campaign is linear and story-rich, told through a long run of cutscenes, and it lurches without warning from grim ultraviolence into something much stranger. Fair warning: the plot makes little sense and the acting ranges from earnest to laughably bad, which is part of the charm for some and a dealbreaker for others. Between missions you wander the police station, chat with your squad and unwind.
Gloriously, unapologetically weird
Finish a savage boss fight and the game may sit you down for a lovingly rendered ramen-eating minigame, a round of karaoke or a session on an arcade cabinet. There are rhythm segments, a crane game, and a lot of cats.
How hard is it, really?
How hard is the combat?
Hard enough that it matters. It feels unsmooth to a button-masher, but once you learn the systems, parry timing and the sword-and-pistol flow, it becomes surprisingly fluid, with a real skill ceiling. If you want a challenge rather than a power trip, this delivers.
Can you play it solo?
Yes, it is a single-player campaign from start to finish. You lead a four-person squad who fight alongside you and occasionally pull you out of trouble, but this is your story: linear missions, cutscenes and boss fights, no multiplayer anywhere.
What are the minigames about?
They are the game's signature oddity. Between missions you can eat ramen in a rhythm-style contest, sing karaoke, play an arcade cabinet or try a crane game. They are short, strange palate cleansers between the carnage, and they say a lot about how seriously this game refuses to take itself.
Is the story any good?
Whether it is good is the wrong question: it is entertaining, frequently nonsensical and prone to strange line deliveries. Some players find it a highlight, others find it a mess, and both are right.
