14 DAY TRIAL // I start off by sliding forward to deal with a group of melee enemies using my leg chainsaw. A weird enhancement to have but useful in a combat situation, especially when you can cover long distances before attacking with it.
I follow that up with a few shogun blasts, hit the targets, switch to my dual magnum setup, then tag and destroy a few distant fireball throwing techno wizards. Unfortunately, a few close enemy shotgun wielders quickly drop my health to under 50.
Double jump to a ledge, hoping to find a health kit and a bit of time to plan my next move. Opponents move pretty quickly but tend not to follow for long distances. My reflexes might not be perfect but a big of strategy will take players a long way in Turbo Overkill.
The game is developed by Trigger Happy Interactive and published by Apogee Entertainment. I played on Steam, where the game is in Early Access. This is a first-person shooter with a lot of retro elements but also a very modern progression system.
The story revolves around Johnny Turbo, an augmented killer who has rockets in his arms and chainsaws in his legs. He travels back to his hometown, named Paradise, and battles Syn, a rogue A.I. that enslaved its inhabitants. There’s little narrative complexity here but it does a good job of keeping players pushing forward, constantly introducing new challenges to test their skills.
The moment-to-moment gameplay is fast and built around quick kills. Johnny uses his trusty magnums, with very useful long-range lock-on alternate fire, and plenty of other weapons, to take out enemies. But avoiding incoming damage is almost more important than aiming well.
The character can double hump and slide and he has a chainsaw in his leg, very handy for dealing with groups of enemies. Sometimes players can easily see enemies in the level, sometimes they teleport in. Regardless, they deal a lot of damage, even on standard difficulty, and health can drop really quickly (thankfully, enemies drops some and there are a lot of health kits around the levels).
Modern touches exist outside of battle. New guns need to be upgraded to get access to their alternate fire, which always opens up new tactical approaches. Special locked crates hold augmentations that can be installed at special machines, making Johnny a better killing machine. Enemies actually drop money to buy extra stuff with.
The game is designed for modern shooter fans, who want fast action and solid weapon options, who also have a little nostalgia for classic concepts, like the narrative or the level design.
Turbo Overkill is a good-looking shooter, mixing modern graphics with a retro element in solid ways. I like the enemy design and the attention lavished on weapons. I don’t love that there are times when opponents shoot through doors. The soundtrack is suitably thumping. The game also has a photo mode, perfect to capture Johnny’s best leg chainsaw kills.
Conclusion
I like that the game has difficult combat sections but is generous with health, ammo, and upgrades once they are completed. And the world design is a good mix of classic ideas and modern tweaks. I really want to see what Turbo Overkill will offer when the game is out of Early Access.
A preview code was provided by the publisher.
