Turbo Overkill - Kill fast. Faster! Faster! Turbo Overkill fast!

There are only two things in this world that are reinvented over and over again: the bicycle and retro shooters. And no matter how many of them are stamped, I mean retro shooters, they always get something new: the ultra-violent Prodeus, the atmospheric Forgive Me Father, the Rogue-lite Impaler and the monster-speed Ultrakill shooter...but Ultrakill was not fast enough for someone...

It couldn't get any cooler...

Once upon a time there was a certain Sam Prebble in New Zealand. Most of the time he was working on horror modifications for DOOM II, and he managed to get a knack for it and even gain some local popularity. One day Sam realized that this wasn't what he wanted to do, and embarked on a new idea - his dream DOOM. Enthusiastic about the idea, Sam founded Trigger Happy Interactive and began working on his dream game. What did Sam and his team end up with?

A hodgepodge of seemingly all the meaty shooters that have come out in the last 10 years. The action of Turbo Overkill takes place against the backdrop of the distant future. The cyberpunk setting loosens up the mechanics, which is noticeable even before the main game begins.

Turbo Overkill was developed with one goal in mind - to be as brutal and cool as possible. The inspiration is already in the difficulty menu, which unambiguously hints at the upcoming gameplay experience:

Our protagonist is a cyborg mercenary named Johnny Turbo, and Johnny is really cool. Johnny goes to the archetypal city of neon lights, Paradise. The town has been taken over by the Syn virus, which infects the augmentations of the locals and stamps hundreds of mutant cyborgs. Of course, Johnny takes up the cause, parks his flying car, smugly throws out his cigar, jumps from twenty meters high on the mutant's head and chops it up with a chainsaw. Johnny has a folding chainsaw and carries it in the shin of his right leg. The chainsaw of Ash from Evil Dead didn't seem cool enough to Sam Prebble, but a chainsaw in a roll-up, and with jet propulsion - the coolness is off the charts.

There aren't many weapons in Turbo Overkill, but every gun has an alternate, even cooler kind of fire. Whether it's firing the entire clip of a pistol with homing bullets into enemies' heads, or firing three rounds at once with a shotgun, everything here works for Johnny's pathos and showing off. Even in the cut-scenes Johnny never misses an opportunity to show how badass he is, the serious Sam is a humble, studious kid in his background. The style of Turbo Overkill is neon ultra-violence, pathos, and the inordinate speed of gameplay.

No retro shooter is without an appropriate soundtrack. Often such games have metal as a background, Turbo Overkill is no exception, but the soundtrack here also combines Synthwave and a little bit of Phonk.

All that we could remember

Turbo Overkill is Quake III, Duke Nukem 3D, Wolfenstein, Titanfall 2, and even a bit of Call of Duty.

It is noteworthy that Turbo Overkill breaks the immutable rule of retro shooters: the entire game consists of corridors and arenas. This rule was neglected, and we will have to hold battles in a half-open world. Maps were clearly made with more emphasis on verticality. And Johnny can not only roll, but can also double jump, jerk in flight, hook-cat, and runs on certain walls.

Of course, it is necessary to adjust the design of maps for such a nimble protagonist, and here Trigger Happy Interactive made a mistake: the maps are built on the principle of the maze, so the further path of the protagonist is often not clear. More than once you will rush around the map looking for another key to another locked door. It pissed you off in Quake II, it pisses you off in Turbo Overkill. There are no visual clues, no mini-map, not even a text clue to the next route. If you've picked up all the ammo, first-aid kits, and armor on the map, and you're bad at navigating space, Turbo Overkill's levels can drive you to the brink of death. The problem with the level design also saps the pace of the game. It's not uncommon for meaty firefights to alternate with outright pixelation.

Thankfully, there is no damage for falling from heights, if you want you can turn falling from the heights into damage from the shockwave. Yes, even though Turbo Overkill has the rudiments of RPG and in-game economy, I don't want to mention them at all. Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely ignore the perks, which are beaten here by augmentations and weapon modules. Currency falls from the corpses of enemies, but to spend it on really necessary things is not possible, and the game does not motivate to languidly save or spend, as if the mechanics were pulled by the ears at the very last moment.

At the same time, as written above, ammo and first-aid kits are abundant on the map. The higher difficulty level does not add to the usefulness of the magazine. The difficulty level affects the flight speed of enemy shells, their numbers and survivability, but even on the minimum difficulty to die is a piece of cake. Here we must give Trigger Happy Interactive credit: the guys made the game to grow up. To pass the same DOOM Eternal on maximum difficulty is not easy, but possible. And the unspoken rule states: it should be almost impossible to pass any retro shooter on maximum difficulty. The player who managed to do this should be honored and respected.

Is it worth it?

Although Turbo Overkill looks appealing in words, the game is not all that smooth. Turbo Overkill suffers from an overabundance of ideas and a lack of originality in their execution. For example, driving levels sometimes slip into an arcade simulator, and finding the right path through a level can take as much time as the shootouts. Nevertheless, as a shooter, Turbo Overkill is a success.