💥 Huntdown | Review | PC | 9/10 | "Buy This Game" 💥 @HuntdownGame #IndieGames #GameDev

Buy this game

It's hot outside as I type this. Hotter than sunbathing in South Sudan in a foil-lined sleeping sack. As a result, I'd rather be al fresco with a chilled glass of Vimto and a side of onion rings than here writing reviews. Hence the three-word summary above. But, my esteemed colleague Britt is breathing down my neck (he thinks it's alluring) to pressure me into adding in a LITTLE bit more detail.

So, here goes.

Huntdown is a retro-style platformer with pixelated graphics, 80s synth music (reminiscent of Robocop and a million other films of the era) and straightforward gameplay. You play one of three bounty hunters. First up is Anna Conda, a woman armed with a machine pistol and forked tongue (probably). Next, there's John Sawyer, a gravel-voiced cyborg with a bionic jaw and a razor-edged boomerang. Lastly, there's Mow Man, an android from the moon with a British accent (of course).

From a fair few plays, it doesn't seem to make a huge difference who you pick (though more experienced players might correct me on that), so it's mostly about the aesthetic and the voice. Because, as this is very much an 80s film-based game, the characters and the gang bosses, are full of quips. John can be heard to growl that he

'eats pieces of shit like you for breakfast'

(a reference to the Adam Sandler flick, Happy Gilmore) and one boss came out with the killer line - 'You can run, but you'll just die tired'. 

Like Duke Nukem 3D, but a little more sophisticated.

The gameplay is a loving homage to many games of my childhood (the 80s/90s), including a fair few movie tie-ins that were distinctly sub-par. But Huntdown is hard to fault. The look and feel are retro, but with a modern smoothness and accurate collision detection. 

The difficulty curve is sharp after the midway point, but doesn't feel unfair (an accusation levelled at a lot of games over the years. By me. Because I'm crap). The bosses' attack patterns can be learned, and sharp reflexes tend to be what gets you through.

Also, a real boon of this game is the short levels. That may not sound like a positive, but having a plethora of shorter levels to contend with (and make your way back through a multitude of times if you have my particular "skillset") makes for a more immediate game that can be dipped into.

There are two modes of play to, erm, play. Story Mode, where you work through the game in order, and Arcade mode, where you try and get through levels without dying and racking up multiple kills and other point-scoring. Arcade mode adds a good bit of longevity to a game that I can already see myself returning to.

If you liked the way Broforce brought a retro style to a modern audience, with a big dose of humour, I know you'll enjoy Huntdown, as this is another step up from that.