RoboCop: Rogue City may be the game that fans of 90’s action flicks have been waiting for their whole life. The relentless violence and the often cringy dialogue are all there, as you take control of this armored walking tank and uphold the law without blinking. As far as first-person shooters go, developer Teyon may have perfectly nailed the spirit of the first movies, delivering what promises to be a spectacle of destructible proportions.

To Serve the Public Trust

This was never going to be a standard shooter, considering the hefty protagonist that you get to control. A slow mover that packs quite the firepower, this isn’t a game about jumping or crouching to dodge enemy fire; there aren’t such actions in here to remain faithful to the movies. RoboCop walks with the confidence of an armored combat vehicle, each metallic step in the direction of the enemies syncing with the bullets coming from his Auto 9 machine pistol, with devastating power and incredible satisfying crunch sounds when you score a headshot.

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Combat is incredibly satisfying, with the default weapon or the assortment of rifles and machine guns that you pick up, allowing you to carry two weapons at a time. The environment is built for these exciting set pieces, with pillars, glass windows, arcade machines, and so many more destructible assets that you will be enthralled by how everything suddenly starts flying in your face. Add some of the throwable objects such as chairs, monitors, explosive cannisters, and – why not – a motorcycle, and you may want to watch all of these parts play out in slow motion.

Hostage situations are present as well, just like in the movies, with only a few seconds for you to breach into the area and take out the criminals before they execute the civilians. Whenever a scene like this is bound to happen, you can already expect to bring on some shooting accuracy and, eventually, feel a little adrenaline spike.

But RoboCop is far more than that, having a host of cybernetic abilities that let him take on the bad guys in different ways. The most regular is the one that helps spotting enemies at a distance or within clouds of smoke and debris, and mixed with focus, you can activate slow motion and create some spectacular shooting scenes. With eight skills in total, you can expand on your capacities by combining your favorites, including a couple that seem to be straight out of Fallout or other multiple-choice RPGs. For example, you can choose a dialogue option that avoids conflict altogether, highlight the preferred option, or even find valuable items and data on your map.

This is just the first evidence that RoboCop: Rogue City isn’t all brawn and no brain, but there is more. The shiny cop alternates frantic shootouts and lack of subtlety with interesting detective work, and even gives a hand to his police fellows by helping out with the long line of complaints at the headquarters. The balance this brings to the adventure is welcome, at least so far, giving us the necessary respite to get ready for another round of shooting. When you’re not taking out the trash – figuratively speaking – you may be examining the environment for clues, picking up crime evidence, finding a way to unlock a secret passage, handing out parking tickets or stopping graffiti artists, and even finding a young kid to tell him that it’s time to call it a day. Many of these options contribute to your experience points, which in turn unlocks and upgrades new skills.

A Doomed City

Old Detroit is the place where this original story takes place, set between the events of RoboCop 2 and 3, according to the developers, perhaps with the goal of forgetting the awful final chapter to this trilogy. The map and mission structure allow for some freedom – albeit never reaching sandbox heights – with secondary quests and other objectives that pop up as you find them, some of which narratively enjoyable and rich, very much worth pursuing.

The whole recreation of the city is very moody, exceptionally grim and desperate with just the right amount of retro, crime rampant everywhere and a constant scenario of chaos and disorder. It’s a terrific stage for fans of corrupted places, from the dark streets to the very detailed arcade place, with its bright game screens and neon lights glowing. The areas look rich, with plenty of things to look at, creating a nice sense of immersion and a fun throwback to a bygone decade.

While we didn’t get to see good old mech ED-209 in this version, it will be there, the original RoboCop actor Peter Weller lent his voice and likeness to the game, and his colleague Anne Lewis, portrayed by Nancy Allen in the movies, also resembles the actress.

First impressions of RoboCop: Rogue City were positive and reassuring. Apart from the familiar flaws of the genre that could still be ironed out until release, such as bodies in physically impossible positions or NPCs with blank stares and strange head movements, the game was very enjoyable and balanced so far. Now it’s up for the final launch to show us if RoboCop is still up to the task or scrapyard material.

MP1st was given access to a preview build of RoboCop: Rogue City for our hands-on session. RoboCop: Rogue City launches on November 2, 2023 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.