RoboCop: Rogue City was playable during Gamescom 2023 so needless to say, I wanted to check it out. The game has a semi-open world but my Gamescom demo focused on a more traditional First Person Shooter experience, similar to the Call of Duty franchise.
Protect the bank, stop the intruders
My demo kicked off with a cutscene which gave me a bit more context of what was going to happen. In short, there was a bank heist that needed to be stopped, and who better to stop it than the mighty RoboCop? Together with the police forces, I entered the bank and tried to stop the criminals. The gameplay can best be described as pretty basic first-person action with a RoboCop flavoring, which isn’t bad at all. RoboCop has his trusty sidearm but can pick up the weapons of defeated criminals too, which gives you some fun variation while playing. For the sake of the demo, RoboCop also got some fun upgrades such as a powerful shield and dash and an easy-to-use slow-motion button that really made a huge difference in combat. This demonstrated the RPG layer of the game, giving players a true skill tree to experiment with and upgrade their RoboCop to the all-around killing machine. It’s fun and pretty brainless but it looks and plays so good that it’s hard to put back down.
Time to get creative
Where RoboCop: Rogue City sets itself apart from other shooters is the variety and options to take out your enemies. Later in the demo, I encountered a rather annoying motorcycle gang that was simply too fast to easily take down. There were a couple of things I could do in order to stop them. I could pick up heavy objects and throw them in front of their wheels. I could stand in front of the motorcycle, forcing them to crash on my body. Or I could grab the biker and throw him on another biker for a double kill. It’s just a small example of the freedom that you get and the world is designed to become your digital playground, which can be really, really fun!
Besides that, it’s not just brainless shooting but there are some basic tactics you need to follow. Certain units will call for back-up, so you need to take them out first. Other units have big weapons like grenade launchers so it’s best to take those out as fast as possible too. Finding the order of enemies and managing your kills for maximum damage is part of this game and makes for a very addictive run. It’s one of those game that will keep you entertained for a couple of hours for sure.
Early conclusion:
RoboCop: Rogue City is shaping up to become a fun shooter with more than enough to keep you entertained. It’s not super innovating but it’s not something you’ll miss. The action offers so much fun and stays true to the source material, which makes for a fun ride without a doubt!
