Games worth discovering

Was this Cyberpunk boomer shooter sleek? - Turbo Overkill Quick Review

3K View2023-08-16

IS TURBO OVERKILL WORTH THE TRIP?

There's definitely going to be an appeal here if you're a fan of existing boomer shooters like Doom, Dusk or waiting for the release of more contemporary titles like Forgive Me, Father 2 or Project Warlock 2. Especially in the latter case, as though it caters to the more retro-styled visuals you might find in older titles, and the frantic but familiar core gameplay of emptying every available ammo cartridge in constant swarms of enemies - Turbo Overkill also provides players with a bit more customization than you might normally expect - To the point that a rather diverse number of playstyles found themselves opening up to me, before I'd even finished the first of the games 3 episodes.

TIME PLAYED

At the time of writing this review, I've sunk a solid 9 hours into playing this game. At this point, I've cleared the first of the game's 3 Episodes, and started the second - putting me at 9 main stages cleared, and a brief dalliance with one of the game's secret survival stages.

Note that I specify cleared, because I doubled back in a few of these to earn secrets I'd missed - mainly, everything related to the unlockable augments and tek chips since those both provide some notable changes to the game.

THE BEST BITS OF TURBO OVERKILL?

*Great Combat. As a boomer shooter, it needs to be able to provide engrossing combat, and it does just this. For instance, even before you earn an arsenal, you're introduced to the protagonists' chainsaw leg- which is a neat idea for a melee option. That said, you'll quickly come to learn that it's also able to be used as an -extremely- fast offensive sprint, and you can even use it to dash through the air, chaining it with jumps for further maneuverability. Possibly while shooting people.

And that's just the start of things, there's a decent pool of weapons you'll accrue, and provided you scrounge together the in-game resources to do it, you can even upgrade them with additional firing modes, which provides a lot of combat flexibility.

*Clever Stage Design. I was -not- expecting the stages to be as good as they were. The game makes great use of the protagonists' mobility options, and continues to add more as you progress forward - allowing for some legitimately engaging and altogether enjoyable platforming segments to gradually take center stage. And even beyond these factors? Their overall identities feel distinct. Kicking off a stage while engaging in a gunfight along the back of floating cars was definitely a neat change of pace.

*Customisation. It's a feature I'm starting to see more often in Boomer Shooters these days- and It's nice to see when it's implemented well. And it is here. I'm not talking about the choice of which gun to upgrade, either. See, as you progress, you'll gradually find or acquire augment chips - which can be slotted into their respective augment slots, such as right leg, left leg, etc. Given that you only have 2 augment slots per limb, and how drastically these change up your damage output, maneuverability, and even survivability - figuring out what works for you is important. (Though, if you're at a loss, or just getting bullied - Gaining health and armour back from chainsaw antics is a pretty safe strategy, As is, auto-grabbing money.) Technically, the secret modifiers you earn from finding all the data chips also count on this front. While there are some like 'big head mode', and others are more lopsidedly beneficial like infinite ammo - others can provide neat challenges, like health draining unless you get kills.

*Music. It's good. Like as a whole- I'm probably going to be buying the soundtrack, I imagine. In fact, I think I'm going to go do that now, so I can talk more about it in a large review. You're welcome.

*User-Generated Content. If you're a fan of games having a continual flow of content? This game has got you covered on this front, though I'll admit my attention was laser-focused on its core elements.

THE WORST BITS OF TURBO OVERKILL?

*Saving. Your only save options are a quick save, and a quick load. Because of this, you can't make multiple saves in case you screw up in a stage, and if you -really- mess things up, you'll need to replay a stage from scratch. The only silver lining here is collectables remain acquired, as do items you've found/bought/upgraded.

*Hitboxes. This is a pretty big one in a shooter, so let me be more precise and say 'Terrain Hitboxes'. There are quite a few instances where it looks like you'll be able to shoot past a piece of debris, or around a corner, and it just..doesn't - instead colliding with a piece of rebar, or the edge of a concrete pillar you're not even standing behind. This game does not abide the idea of you corner sniping.

*Visuals. Now, what I mean by this isn't the visuals at large. I rather like how it looks, and Turbo overkills stylings. That said- there are definitely some points in the game where it gets ridiculously dark, or where navigating when in the midst of some sludge-y water is overall unpleasant due to the visibility falling off a cliff.

But what about you? Are you going to be diving headlong into the fray in Turbo Overkill, or do you think you'll be hitting the brakes? Comment, and let me know.