While it's tough to top the classic action films, Robocop: Rogue City's developer Teyon has recreated and enhanced the brand with a stunning and tanky shooter in Unreal Engine 5. After playing through the first few hours of the game as well as Rogue City's Bank Heist mission, it's safe to say that the new-gen game doesn't hold anything back and is a surprisingly accurate rendition of Officer Murphy's brutal Detroit, capturing the dark humor and brutality RoboCop was originally known for.
Although the new game is set to release thirty years after RoboCop 3's release, Rogue City takes place between the second and third film in the classic trilogy. The game's story picks up with the city's leading gangs competing to attract the attention of a rich and mysterious new crime boss, sowing chaos and harming innocents. As soon as players take their first few steps into Detroit's streets, it's evident how well Teyon has recreated the over-the-top world of RoboCop and, more importantly, how it feels to play as the Detroit PD's cyborg.
RoboCop Is More Of A Tank Than Any Modern Shooter Protagonist
Many of today's single-player FPS games focus on fast-paced mobility, which is not what RoboCop is known for. RoboCop: Rogue City fills its levels with loads of enemies and interactable objects that can be grabbed, thrown, and even exploded. The action stays entertaining with the game's excellent pacing, especially when players can earn abilities that greatly help players feel more unstoppable than most characters in shooters.
Players can use RoboCop's trademark and highly customizable Auto 9 machine pistol with devastating effects, or pick up enemies to be used as bullet shields or throwable weapons. Enemy guns can also be used, but it's the abilities that can be earned help keep gameplay exciting. Allocating skill points to particular traits can unlock abilities like the rocket dash to get out of tight corners or into enemy groups to cause havoc. Paired with other skills like the slow-mo-inducing reflex boost, this system provides incredibly satisfying and epic moments during combat. However, the game's writing really shines between the moments of 1980s-inspired gun battles when players can choose what kind of officer of the law they want to be.
Several sections in RoboCop: Rogue City task the player with gathering clues and speaking with civilians for leads. Sometimes, finding the correct leads will grant access to necessary areas, while others may unlock unique dialogue options that can help sway the public's image of RoboCop. Each response and delivery feels authentic to the original movies thanks to Peter Weller's likeness in the new project.
ED-209 Would Like To Make A Withdrawal
The newest playable level shown off at Gamescom 2023 focuses on players working with the infamous ED-209 robots to stop a bloodthirsty gang from robbing a bank. What starts as a simple bank heist quickly escalates into a warzone filled with friendly walking death machines, motorcycle gang exploding in slow motion, and a much more leveled-up RoboCop than the preview's previous levels had access to.
Abilities like the slow-mo and the dash were a mighty combo, but once more abilities become available, RoboCop feels nearly invincible. During the beginning of the Bank Heist level, Officer Murphy s an armored squad of law enforcers who challenge RoboCop to take out more bad guys than the entire squad combined. While winning or losing the challenge doesn't necessarily earn a huge reward, the short competition felt like another clever way to add variation to the shoot-em-up action section. By using every ability at their disposal, players will be able to shock, stun, dash through, and robot punch more criminals.
Rogue City Is The RoboCop Experience A Movie Can't Match
The more RoboCop: Rogue City is shown, the more impressive it is how well developer Teyon adapted the character and world the original 1987 film helped establish. Thankfully, combat feels more like how RoboCop should operate than the fast-moving characters shooter fans have likely been accustomed to playing with. Teyon's RoboCop: Rogue City is already shaping up to be one of the best iterations of the popular character in a game that can make audiences feel more like RoboCop than any movie could.
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RoboCop: Rogue City releases on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on November 2, 2023. Screen Rant was provided access to a preview build of the game on PC for the purposes of this article.
