Dead – 13 details you need to know

Oof all the major games releasing in February, or Q1 2023, 110 Industries’ Wanted: Dead is probably the strangest. Developed by Soleil, it’s described as a “triple A” love letter to sixth-generation consoles, including the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Dreamcast and GameCube. Despite all its linear action gameplay, there are a lot of interesting things going on with the gameplay. That’s not even taking into account all the FMVs, anime scenes, and cat scenes.

Wanted: Dead out February 14 for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PS5 and PC. Here are 13 things you should know before diving into that special kind of hack-and-slash combat.

History

Set in a futuristic, dystopian version of Hong Kong, players control Lt. Hannah Stone, part of the police’s elite Zombie Unit. The story follows a week in their lives as they battle mercenaries, PMCs and other enemies while investigating a corporate conspiracy. While there is plenty of shooting, slashing and blowing things up, the squad’s downtime and interactions are shown in different ways.

Cyberpunk setting

Despite how simple it sounds, Wanted: Dead is apparently quite heavy on history. Its version of Hong Kong has a wide variety of NPCs and bosses, while the cyberpunk setting takes cues from anime like Cyber ​​City Oedo 808 and Dominion Tank Police. Of course, like those animes, Wanted: Dead has something goofy about all that lo-tech retro-futuristic mayhem.

Match

Soleil includes earlier Dead or alive and Ninja Gaiden developers, so see Wanted: Dead embracing a more hack-and-slash-heavy gameplay loop isn’t surprising. It’s a lot more grounded though – no grappling hooks, wall running or double jumping (at least not at first, judging by the first game). Along with slicing enemies and dismembering them in bloody fashion, Hannah can also block attacks, parry, shoot, and perform counter attacks.

Third person shooting

But what really does Wanted: Dead standing out from the developer’s previous efforts is the shooting. Along with equipping a handgun, Hannah can also use rifles, grenade launchers, light machine guns, shotguns, and submachine guns as primary weapons. So if you want to attack an enemy, then back off and pepper them with machine gun fire, go ahead. It’s probably not the best idea with multiple threats, but you can quickly fire off handgun shots after melee combat and take cover.

But make no mistake – mixing melee and ranged weapons is recommended for success. Some bosses will mercilessly rush melee weapons and melee is the only option. Knowing what to use and when is the key to success.

Melee weapons

For as much variety as the weapons seem to offer, there haven’t been many details about the melee weapons. Hannah’s katana has been talked about a lot, but there was a quick shot of her with a sledgehammer to finish it off. The Xbox achievements also indicate that players will use a chainsaw, but it remains to be seen if this is a special weapon that runs out of use or an equipped time.

Weapon customization

While you can pick up weapons and ammo from enemies, including secondary weapons that can affect your chances of survival, firearms are also customizable. For example, Stone’s Rifle, which Hannah has from the start, can have its scope, stock, magazine, and barrel modified in various ways, affecting recoil, accuracy, magazine capacity, reload speed, and more.

The Taker sidearm is also customizable, with options to change rear sight, run and grip to affect different stats. It’s important for parries and setting up various finishers, while also acting as a backup when your primary and secondary weapons run out of ammo.

You can also mod weapons with different skins like Dark Camo, Jungle Camo and more. How you unlock more skins remains to be seen, but it adds some nice flair to your arsenal.

Finishers

What would a hard-boiled cyberpunk story be without brutal combat and finishers? There are over 50 finishers available, from tackling an enemy and shooting them in the head to performing an armbar grab and, well, shooting them in the head. There is also plenty of chest piercing and throat slitting. In short, while the gore doesn’t go super, it’s still pretty visceral.

skills

As he takes down enemies, Hannah will earn skill points, which act as experience points. These are used to unlock skills from three skill trees – Attack, Defense and Utility. Attack skills include Bullet Time, where pressing both analog sticks when the adrenaline meter is full will fire “powerful shots” at surrounding enemies. There’s also the Dash Attack, where attacking while sprinting forward performs a flying knee, and the Charge Attack, which unleashes a stronger attack when you charge the melee attack button. While defense and utility trees weren’t extensively detailed, an extended dodge and grenades are some of their starting skills.

Mini games

When you’re not taking down criminals, there are some mini-games to help pass the time. These include a rhythm game, karaoke, a faucet game, and Space Runaway, a side-scrolling shmup. Space Runaway is the star, with seven levels, each with a boss, and unique chiptune music. It is even available as a free standalone title until Wanted: Death release.

System requirements

PC gamers will not meet the heaviest system requirements, however Wanted: Dead can be demanding in other ways. At a minimum, you’ll need an Intel Core i5 2500K with 8GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1060. The recommended requirements include an Intel Core i7 2700K, 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 2060. PC-exclusive features have not yet been described. ; However, you need 50 GB of space for the installation.

HDR10 and 60 FPS support on Xbox Series X/S

The resolution that the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions will target has yet to be confirmed. However, the Xbox Store listing confirms support for at least 60 frames per second. HDR10 and Spatial Sound are also supported, which should provide increased immersion.

Game time

Developer Soleil has worked on several releases with a wide range of playing times. Regarding Wanted: Dead, Sergei Kolobashkin, founder and creative director of 110 Industries, told us that it’s not a “short game by any means,” but also, “We made sure that it never drags through the story or the combat.” The hours required to beat the story and collect everything were not specified. However, he assured that it would “take some committed evening sessions to beat if you’re not in a hurry.”

No multiplayer

In case there was any doubt from all the single player footage and heavy story focus, there is no multiplayer, be it co-op or competitive PvP. Kolobashkin also said that the team is not looking for any multiplayer Wanted: Dead currently. This is fine, but those who think the match looks sick and were hoping for some form of online support should take note.