I confess that I had by no means heard of 2020’s pixelated arcade shooter Huntdown, however after taking part in (and replaying) by means of the demo for its upcoming prequel, Huntdown: Overtime, I instantly went again and did so. That’s as a result of I used to be so fully hooked by the hour or so of roguelike motion that I used to be fiending for extra. Taking part in the unique was additionally a lot of enjoyable, however this followup seeks to enhance in nearly each manner, making it a bit arduous to return. The cheeky retro ‘80’s tone appeals to my thirst for nonsense, the run-and-gun sidescrolling motion channels the likes of Contra or Steel Slug, and the roguelike system of upgrades and repeated failure towards daunting odds made it extraordinarily arduous to place down. I went from this not being on my radar in any respect, to eagerly anticipating on the subject of Steam Early Entry later this 12 months, making this an early contender for my most anticipated indie sport of 2026.
You possibly can infer nearly every little thing it’s good to learn about Huntdown: Overtime’s absurd 80s pulp motion vibe by its title alone. Happening within the dystopian, crime-ridden metropolis of Detroit in 2084, you play a cybernetic rogue robocop who battles towards flamboyant avenue gangs like one thing out of each VHS motion film you’ve ever seen. You’ll go toe-to-toe towards the likes of a shirtless bouncer who pummels you together with his fists and climbs round on the ceiling like a monkey, to a six-fingered rockstar known as Sammy Sixfingers who tries to kill you with an electrical guitar whereas performing a guitar solo in entrance of a stay viewers. The entire thing is simply extremely excessive in the proper of manner, making it very simple to replay every part as you strive and fail to get by means of ranges in typical roguelike style.
It actually helps that even while you’re replaying by means of the identical collection of ranges, issues are at all times a little completely different. For one, the bosses and ranges you find yourself with on every run have a little bit of randomness to them by way of which you’ll get and in what order, which is aided by the truth that you’re given two routes to select from in the event you’d prefer to keep away from one you’ve seen extra of than you’d like. The degrees themselves appear to be procedurally generated as nicely, and saved me on my toes with barely completely different layouts and enemies by no means showing in the identical order. This procedural element isn’t something we haven’t seen earlier than, and the extent layouts and enemies you’ll discover are related sufficient playthrough-to-playthrough that you just’ll determine the patterns fairly fast and run out of issues to be stunned by (no less than within the brief part I performed).
Fight can also be not something new, modeled after the likes of Contra or Mega Man, the place you’re operating and leaping by means of 2D ranges blasting everytc hing in sight as you keep away from incoming bullets and environmental hazards. That stated, although it doesn’t have many new tips, the system it apes is extraordinarily polished right here, even on this pre-release state. Whereas initially I used to be dying a lot and felt destined to be outmaneuvered by the quite a few gangsters coming after me, it took lower than an hour earlier than I used to be sliding round, flying by means of the air, and taking pictures my manner by means of total sections with out taking a single hit. That’s the type of rewarding mastery I search for in video games like this. It really type of jogged my memory of Hotline Miami, reimagined from a sidescrolling perspective, as a result of though you’ll be able to take multiple hit, there’s one thing very pleasantly acquainted concerning the crisp gunplay and melee fight, particularly while you hit somebody with a baseball bat and see their pink, pixelated giblets go hovering throughout the display screen.
The spotlight of every run is while you come into contact with the larger-than-life bosses that may be present in every degree. A few of these seem in common sidescrolling ranges, whe re perhaps somebody named Frankie Starsimmon Sr. will assault you with a huge ol’ shotgun and go away you with the choice to break her earlier than taking her alive, or simply killing her for a lesser bounty. The flexibility to take bounties alive for an added bonus to your reward is a notably good contact that I’m glad to see they added after the unique. However issues get particularly loopy throughout the boss fights the place you go up towards somebody with a devoted boss well being bar. The principle battle within the demo was towards a rockstar who used his stage’s pyrotechnics to strive and burn you alive, and at all times had his stagehand close by at hand him a new electrical guitar after he misplaced the final one attempting to hurl it by means of the again of your head. These fights will be actually difficult, as roguelikes are wont to do, and 9 instances out of ten after I failed a run it was the fault of one in all these lethal weirdos. However they have been additionally a few of my favourite moments, and made gearing up for the subsequent huge battle that rather more thrilling.
The retreaded floor you’ll encounter as a part of the roguelike system feels particularly simple to get by means of due to the regular stream of unlockables, upgrades, and buildcrafting choices that include every new playthrough. In a single playthrough, for instance, you would possibly resolve to forgo weapons for a pure melee weapon construct, grabbing perks and upgrades that improve your close-range fight abilities, whereas in one other you would possibly get your palms on a new plasma rifle you simply unlocked and blast your manner by means of rows of thugs with ease. Like lots of its style friends, the enjoyment is in having a construct come collectively completely so you’ll be able to carry it to bear towards the string of difficult bosses which have been sending you again to the start once more and once more.
The spectacular factor about Huntdown: Overtime is that, no less than within the full area I performed throughout the demo, I by no means began a new run with out a ton of recent stuff to degree up and check out. Typically that meant I’d unlock a new weapon that would then be discovered and powered up throughout runs, whereas different instances it meant shopping for a sure everlasting improve that made my therapeutic objects stronger, made me transfer sooner, or another helpful boon to offer me an edge on my subsequent run. The tempo of unlocks and development felt completely balanced so I by no means felt like I’d hit a wall or had nothing attention-grabbing and new to carry into battle subsequent time. It was really easy to instantly go from one run to the subsequent, that although I initially sat down for a 20-minute session, I ended up taking part in till I beat each boss within the demo in a single sitting, fully unable to tear myself away after I was certain the subsequent playthrough would carry me victory. And even after I had my first profitable run, I then was returned to base to seek out much more stuff had unlocked that I simply needed to strive, and discovered myself instantly going straight into my subsequent run simply to check out some new stuff. I can’t keep in mind the final time I discovered myself so immediately hooked!
One factor that piqued my curiosity after I went again to play the unique Huntdown is the truth that this prequel solely has one playable character versus the quite a few brokers you could possibly tackle the function of within the first sport. Whereas it feels bizarre to go backwards with the variety of playable characters, Overtime’s demo was so polished and finely tuned that I actually didn’t really feel like I used to be lacking a lot. It appears to be their focusing in on one particular playstyle and attempting to make that work extraordinarily nicely vs. the buffet-style protagonists, every with their very own bag of tips, that was within the first Huntdown.
I wasn’t anticipating to finish up so fully received over by such a brief glimpse into Huntdown: Overtime, particularly after seeing its dorky story and retro artwork model, however you’ll be able to depend me among the many believers. For any roguelike followers on the market, that is completely one to look at.