1987's Robocop can be seen as social commentary, a dark comedy, a dystopian nightmare, a police procedural, an early example of cyberpunk, and a unflinchingly violent action movie. A lot of people likely lean toward that last identity given the most famous scene being a man being machine gunned by a cute stop-motion robot, gouts of blood exploding from his chest as he flails about and eventually succumbs to the potential energy built up in his body, flying backward atop a display that is, thankfully, very white and contrasts the gore perfectly. Either that scene or an irradiated man being turned into a water balloon by a speeding car. Or Officer Murphy's hand getting blown off. Y'know, Robocop is still shockingly violent 35 years later.
So of course a Robocop game needs to give the gamer the visceral thrill of blowing bodies into gouts of blood and gore, a comedic disregard for humanity in the use of a robot to police the streets of a dystopian detroit, and do it all with the aplomb of a B-video game of the PS2-era (because let's face it, the days of games like this are almost as distant to us as Robocop was to the PS2-era).
Robocop: Rogue City has you take control of the cumbersome robotic enforcer as a new villain is attempting to climb the ranks of Detroit's criminal elements and become the new king of evil in town. You'll blast your way through levels that look straight out of the films...which includes arcades and a video store. This is a game steeped in the 80s despite being sci-fi and I relished that nostalgia-futuristic setting. Soon enough the grimy neon-lit levels will be drenched in punk blood as you blast away in some of the most satisfying shooting I've played in years. Heads blow apart, body parts fly, and you can even pick up items in the world (as well as people) and send your opponents ragdolling. Rogue City is pure macho bliss, the kind of mindless catharsis you crave after a particularly rough day.
Some of the greatest joy I had with the game came in the little side quests, such as manning the desk at the police station, offering up funny dialogue options allowing the player to choose whether to give into your former humanity or be the perfect justice-dealing machine. These make the world feel so much more fleshed out and offer incentive to explore the open areas.
But the problem with the size of some of these maps (that wouldn't be large in any other game) is that Robocop moves at a snail's pace. It can be boring to explore areas when you aren't bombarded by blood sacks to blow apart.
Another lingering issue with the PS5 version is some issues with cutscenes where every cut includes a split second flash. Optimization isn't all there and while the game tends to run pretty well, you'll find that hair will defy gravity, enemy body models will do all kinds of weird things, some assets load in looking broken. I found that if you miss an enemy and have to return to an area that enemy will sit in his position waiting for you but not shooting or interacting at all. Many of these are minor, though I hope that there is a patch for the graphic issues as they can take you out of the experience.
An obligatory skill tree allows you to customize Robocop to your liking, focusing on being a better detective or killer. There's some Fallout parallels to how progression works, albeit extremely simplified.
Robocop: Rogue City is the kind of game that is rarely released nowadays: a well-made, highly playable B-game that doesn't have the polish nor the padding of a modern game. It's not a game changer but it's a fun game nonetheless. The handful of issues do dampen the otherwise refreshing robot rampage that fans and first-person shooter fans alike will want to play immediately. This is certainly one of the sleeper hits of 2023 and a strong contender for best shooter of the year.
Publisher provided review code in exchange for honest review.
System: PS5
Rating: 8/10
