Wanted: Dead review: The most batshit game of 2023

The creators of We are looking for deadYouTube uploaded a trailer of 90 seconds. Without exaggeration, it is an example of the best video game maximalism.

As if they were stuffing every Christmas gift into a single stocking, the developers made the most of the diminutive run time, splicing together anime cutscenes, a live-action cooking show, rhythm-based ramen slurping, a retro-inspired arcade shooter, karaoke, a crane game, and a flurry of cutaways to what looks like a John Wick-inspired third-person action game that blends sword fighting with “gun fu.”

A trailer makes a pitch. The pitch is, as far as I know,: “What if you could play every videogame simultaneously?” Well, I’ve now played roughly half of We are looking for dead, and I am happy and horrified to say, it’s exactly what the trailer promised.

We are looking for deadThis is Soleil’s debut title, published by 110 Industries. 110 Industries includes many developers that worked on Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Hannah Stone is a combat-ready murderer who can fillet humans with sushi with grace and efficiency.

Stone’s penchant for de-limbing human beings is curious for one reason: Stone is a lieutenant for the Hong Kong police force’s “riot response.” So why is it that she and her crew — dubbed the Zombie Unit — exclusively carry extremely lethal weapons?

Stone and her crew begin their story with a Tarantino-inspired, subdued scene in a diner. (The game shares Tarantino’s obsession with pop culture history, particularly film history.) Similar to in Reservoir DogsThe group chats. Also chats. Also chats. My attention span is limited by how long the scene remains. OffIt’s all very familiar: The reason why so many Hong Kong officers are accented in European languages? Why does Stone’s performance feel like it’s been lifted from an entirely different game — or maybe a Neil Breen movie? What’s up with the extended Hideo Kojima-style montage suggesting some global corporate conspiracy and why isn’t the squad talking about That?

The Zombie Squad eats at a retro diner in Wanted: Dead.

But just as I’ve settled into this Jarmuschian cinematic trance — It’s a rumbling sound — a phone rings. A few blocks from my house, a professional criminal has taken control of an office building. At this point, I suppose none of my questions matter, because the game has finally dropped me into Stone’s sneakers and I can obliterate baddies with my sword and my machine gun.

But wait, OK, I’m sorry, I know I keep getting hung up on the riddles, but which weapon should I use: the sword or the gun? When I come up to a barrier, I’m automatically drawn into cover by the game, suggesting that I should approach Gears of War or other cover-based shooters. The bullets, however, are not precise and ineffective. Naturally, I run in quickly with my sword, and I immediately get sprayed by gunfire. I take damage while trying to dodge, slice, and dodge, and try to survive.

I find my rhythm eventually. The trick isn’t to be a flawless assassin — it’s to never stop moving forward, even as you’re covered in a vague mix of your and your enemies’ blood. This is the way video games worked. Big levels. There are many enemies. Combat is repetitive. You can only save a few points, and you cannot get old-school health packages. In order to earn XP you must collect enemies. This can be used to unlock better moves or weaponry. Rinse. Repeat.

Hannah Stone prepares to cut open an enemy with a chainsaw in Wanted: Dead.

110 Industries’ website describes We are looking for dead as a “love-letter to the sixth generation of video game consoles,” which includes the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and the original Xbox. And if that’s what the devs set out to achieve, they nailed it — frankly, too well. I climbed through what seems like an endless level. (In which I unlock almost a third). We are looking for dead’s Steam achievements), I murder my way through environments that look, at the same time, new and old.

I will try to unravel this contradiction. The game uses modern hardware and graphics that evoke big-budget action titles. Yet, there is something wrong. There are a lot of corridors in the world. It’s a maze of offices and museums.

That’s the rub: The environments look like video game levels, but they seem pulled straight out of 50 Cent Blood on the SandMatt Hazard, Earth Defense Force and. This funhouse is a mirror of reality that makes it larger, more warped and much bigger.

The first level was so lengthy that I wondered if the whole game might be made up of it. Only the trailer reminded me of what was ahead. There were anime, minigames and live-action cooking programs. Stone and her crew have defeated dozens of mech-tank enemies. After the battle, Stone finally gets a break and can return to police headquarters. That was it! Brrrrring of the telephone, I’m immediately launched into a bizarro world of joyous non sequiturs.

The weapons expert at police headquarters waxes philosophical in Wanted: Dead.

It was amazing to see the creative decisions made by police HQ. What is the secret to this? Why? Who?

You want to know what I have to say? About the building’s architecture, which looks like a dollhouse three sizes too large for its dolls? The ramen-slurping rhythm to a tune that sounds almost like a looping MIDI and then abruptly stops in the middle? This is how the minigame load screen shows the re-creation this reaction GIF with Hannah and Zombie Unit. Or how I’m 99% sure the only song playing in the headquarters is a cover of “I Touch Myself”? Why were the flashbacks to Hannah’s life in the early ’00s animated in an anime style? And speaking of Hannah Stone: What’s up with the Realität four-song album seemingly “produced” by We are looking for dead’s mysterious corporation Dauer Industries, which has an experimental music division?

This is the closest cultural analogy I could find. We are looking for deadThis is the French New Wave of 1960, when filmmakers and critics set out to intentionally break cinema in order for it to become new. The traditional structure and camera work of cinema were challenged, mixed, or even abandoned.

We are looking for dead is unquestionably breaking things; it’s the intentionality that’s less clear.

Hannah Stone hangs out with her friend at the ramen shop in Wanted: Dead.

At this point it probably doesn’t need to be said, but: We are looking for deadIt is among the most difficult, confusing and frustrating games I have ever experienced. But I can’t quite bring myself to say it’s bad. Even worse, I didn’t like my time and all the bizarre turns it took.

There’s a branch of critical theory that believes we must meet art on its own terms — review the media off what its creators aspired to do, not what you wish it to be. It’s also hot damnDoes We are looking for dead This generous reading will be a great help. It’s the exact game that the trailer promised. There are too many ideas in too small a package. In the same sense that cinephiles love the classic B-movies for their collision of big ideas and even bigger limitations, there’s something deeply admirable about the audacity of this silly video game.

Another way to put it: The game attempts everything, and it fails at everything. It’s an anime, a cooking show, a Family GuyPop culture references-palooza eerily reminiscent of military industry, with a sharp critique of its military-industrial complex.

I can’t recommend you play this video game, but I won’t encourage you to look away. And so, here I am at the end, and all I really know for certain is this: Thank goodness I don’t have to assign a score.

We are looking for dead The game is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. 110 Industries provided a prerelease code for the game. The PC review was conducted using this code. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. Although these partnerships do not impact editorial content, Vox Media could earn commissions from products sold via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.