To be trustworthy, I had by no means heard of Huntdown, the 2020 pixelated arcade shooter, however after taking part in (and replaying) the demo for its upcoming prequel, Huntdown: Time beyond regulation, I instantly went again and performed it. That is as a result of I used to be utterly hooked by the hour-long motion roguelike and wished extra. I had quite a lot of enjoyable taking part in the unique, however this sequel improves on all the pieces that makes it a bit of tougher to return. The brash, retro ’80s tone appealed to a thirst for nonsense, the run-and-gun side-scrolling motion channeled the likes of Contra and Metallic Slug, and the roguelike system upgrades and repeated failures towards terrifying odds made it extraordinarily tough to place down. I did not pay a lot consideration to this in any respect, however now I am eagerly anticipating it when it hits Steam Early Entry later this yr, making it an early contender for essentially the most anticipated indie recreation of 2026.
You possibly can guess just about all the pieces it is advisable to learn about Huntdown: Time beyond regulation’s absurd ’80s pulp motion vibe from the title alone. Set within the dystopian, crime-infested metropolis of Detroit in 2084, you play RoboCop, a cybernetic rogue who fights flamboyant road gangs like each VHS motion film you have ever seen. You will go head-to-head with a shirtless bouncer who punches you together with his fists and climbs up the ceiling like a monkey, and a six-fingered rock star known as Sammy Sixfingers who tries to kill you together with his electrical guitar whereas performing guitar solos in entrance of a dwell viewers. The entire thing is extremely over-the-top in all the appropriate methods, making every part extraordinarily straightforward to replay once you try to fail to go a degree in typical roguelike trend.
It definitely helps that even when you’re taking part in the identical set of ranges time and again, issues are at all times a bit of completely different. Firstly, there is a little bit of randomness within the bosses and ranges you find yourself reaching in every run when it comes to which of them you get and in what order, and that is helped by the truth that you may select between two routes if you wish to keep away from one you have seen greater than you need to. The degrees themselves additionally appeared to be procedurally generated, with barely completely different layouts and enemies by no means showing in the identical order, which saved me on my toes always. This procedural element is not something I’ve seen earlier than, and the extent layouts and enemies are comparable sufficient from playthrough to playthrough that you will rapidly determine the sample and run out of surprises (no less than within the brief sections I performed).
The fight can be nothing new, modeled after Contra and Rockman. Run and soar by means of 2D ranges, blowing up all the pieces in sight whereas avoiding flying bullets and environmental hazards. That mentioned, whereas there aren’t many new tips, the components this recreation mimics may be very subtle, even on this pre-release state. At first I almost died many instances and felt like I used to be doomed to be outmaneuvered by the hordes of gangsters chasing me, however in lower than an hour I used to be capable of slide round, fly by means of the air, and shoot by means of whole sections with out taking a single hit. What I search for in a recreation like that is the form of rewarding mastery. In actual fact, it jogged my memory of Hotline Miami, reimagined from a side-scrolling perspective. You possibly can take a number of hits, however the crisp gunfire and melee fight feels so comfortingly acquainted, particularly once you hit somebody with a baseball bat and watch pink pixelated giblets fly throughout the display screen.
The spotlight of every run is once you come into contact with the large bosses current in every degree. A few of these seem in regular side-scrolling ranges. Somebody named Frankie Starsimon Sr. will assault you with an enormous previous shotgun, leaving you with the choice of damaging her earlier than taking her alive or killing her for a lesser bounty. The flexibility to assert your winnings dwell and add bonuses to your rewards is a very good characteristic and I am glad it was added after the unique. However issues get particularly bizarre throughout boss battles, the place you battle opponents with devoted boss well being bars. The principle battle within the demo was towards a rock star who tried to burn you alive utilizing stage fireworks, and after shedding your final electrical guitar, making an attempt to throw it behind your head, a stage hand was at all times close by handy you a brand new one. As regular with roguelikes, these battles may be extraordinarily tough, and 9 instances out of 10 once I failed a run, it was due to these lethal weirdos. However they have been additionally a few of my favourite moments, and so they made the preparation for the subsequent massive battle much more thrilling.
The Retread Grounds you encounter as a part of the roguelike components really feel particularly straightforward to traverse, with a gentle stream of unlocks, upgrades, and buildcrafting choices coming your approach with every new playthrough. For instance, in a single playthrough you would possibly resolve to forego a gun for a pure melee weapon construct, buying perks and upgrades that improve your close-range fight abilities, whereas in one other playthrough you would possibly choose up that new plasma rifle you simply unlocked to simply shoot by means of rows of thugs. As with a lot of its style, the enjoyment lies within the good mixture of builds that let you endure a sequence of inauspicious bosses that maintain you going again to the start.
What’s spectacular about Huntdown: Time beyond regulation is that, no less than in all of the areas I performed in the course of the demo, I by no means began a brand new run with out having a ton of latest stuff to degree up and check out. Typically that meant unlocking new weapons that you might discover and energy up whereas working, however different instances it meant buying sure everlasting upgrades that made therapeutic gadgets extra highly effective, allowed you to maneuver quicker, or gave you different helpful advantages to provide you an edge in your subsequent run. The tempo of unlocks and development felt completely balanced, so I by no means hit a wall or felt like I did not have something attention-grabbing or new to carry to the subsequent battle. It was really easy to leap from one playthrough to the subsequent that although I initially sat for 20-minute periods, I ended up taking part in each boss within the demo till I had defeated them in a single sitting, unable to totally disengage myself once I was positive the subsequent playthrough would carry me victory. And even after a profitable first run, once I was introduced again to base, I discovered that there have been so many extra issues unlocked and wanted to be tried, and I instantly began engaged on the subsequent run simply to attempt one thing new. I can not bear in mind the final time I used to be hooked this rapidly.
After going again to play the unique Huntdown, one of many issues that intrigued me was the truth that this prequel solely has one playable character, whereas the primary recreation had plenty of brokers capable of play the position. It feels bizarre to consider the variety of playable characters backwards, however Time beyond regulation’s demo was so polished and finely tuned that I truthfully did not really feel prefer it was lacking a lot. They appear to be specializing in a selected playstyle and making an attempt to make it work extraordinarily effectively, versus the buffet-style protagonists that have been within the first Huntdown, every with their very own tips.
I by no means anticipated to be so utterly captivated by such a short glimpse of Huntdown: Time beyond regulation, particularly after seeing its loopy story and retro artwork model, however depend me among the many believers. For roguelike followers, that is positively one to look at.