Wanted: Dead

Wanted: Dead is a sneaky love letter to the PS2 & OG Xbox era of gaming. It's tough as nails, charming, and addictive as hell. What more could you ask for?

63%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

optimization, stability

68% User Score Based on 2,068 reviews

Critic Score 58%Based on 54 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $2.48

Buy NowGet on Steam€28.99

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About

"Wanted: Dead" is a hybrid slasher/shooter game set in a cyberpunk world, where players control Lt. Hannah Stone, a member of the elite Zombie Unit police squad. The game features brutal hack-n-slash melee combat, intense third-person shooter action, and over 50 unique finishers. As players progress through the game, they will uncover a massive corporate conspiracy in this gripping storyline. It is recommended to play with a controller for a better gaming experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+10

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,122 reviews

story127 positive mentions

optimization30 negative mentions

Unique blend of hack-and-slash and third-person shooter mechanics that can be satisfying once mastered.
Quirky characters and absurd humor that add charm to the overall experience.
Visually appealing with a nostalgic feel reminiscent of PS2/PS3 era games.

Clunky controls and janky gameplay that can lead to frustrating experiences.
Awful voice acting and poorly written dialogue that detracts from immersion.
Unbalanced difficulty spikes and sparse checkpoints that can make progression tedious.

story
905 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The story of "Wanted: Dead" is widely criticized for being incoherent, disjointed, and poorly executed, with many players expressing confusion over the plot and character motivations. While some appreciate its quirky charm and potential for deeper themes, the overall consensus is that the narrative feels rushed and incomplete, often overshadowed by janky gameplay and awkward voice acting. Despite its flaws, a few players find enjoyment in the absurdity and humor of the storytelling, suggesting that it may appeal to those who prioritize gameplay over narrative coherence.
- “The story surprisingly has some depth and the characters are extremely likable, although the writing is terrible and the story structure is wild.”
- “The off-kilter energy of the storytelling and unconventionally delivered voice-acting hide an actually interesting plot, and the strange sense of humour the game carries had me grinning and laughing pretty hard.”
- “The cutscenes add a unique style to the storytelling with the way Stone's flashbacks are depicted in anime style and the campy voice-over only further adds to the charm of the characters.”
- “The story is too short and doesn't make sense; there's a lot of characters and plotlines introduced that don't go anywhere, it ends so abruptly... I am pretty sure this was planned to have a longer story, but had to be cut short for budgetary reasons.”
- “The game's story, characters, and general gameplay is such an incoherent pile.”
- “The delivery of the story is so clumsily done and some story elements seem to be introduced then just dropped; they leave room for a sequel at the end which.... is likely not going to happen looking at sales numbers so it's all a bit of a mess.”
gameplay
708 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
60%
13%
The gameplay of "Wanted: Dead" is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of hack-and-slash and shooting mechanics that can be both engaging and frustrating. While some players appreciate the challenging combat and unique mechanics, many criticize the janky controls, repetitive enemy encounters, and lack of polish, leading to a gameplay experience that feels inconsistent and at times, overly punishing. Overall, the game offers moments of satisfaction but is marred by technical issues and design flaws that detract from its potential.
- “Extremely entertaining, excellent exciting challenging gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is genuinely great though, despite what you've heard about the game's overall quality and polish, the combat mechanics are tight.”
- “The mix of sword and gunplay is an interesting concept and I think this is a successful first attempt at exploring it, with enough enemy variety, skills that make a gameplay difference, advanced mechanics and great difficulty balance to make it thoroughly engaging.”
- “The gameplay loop can be simply summed up to spamming dodge and shooting enemies from your main weapons that have very limited ammo, but on higher difficulty, it's doing jack shit and spamming dodge and shooting enemies with your pistol is the most reliable strategy to win prolonged fights.”
- “The gunplay lacks weight, and the shooting mechanics feel outdated, with enemies often taking too many shots to go down.”
- “The mechanics of this game are flawed so it's totally RNG whether you'll be able to proceed or not.”
graphics
240 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
65%
8%
The graphics of "Wanted: Dead" receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that they resemble those of PS3-era games, often feeling underwhelming and lacking polish. While some appreciate the unique art style and character designs, others criticize the stiff animations and graphical inconsistencies, suggesting that the visuals do not meet modern standards. Overall, the game's aesthetic is seen as charming and nostalgic, but it struggles to impress in terms of technical execution.
- “Graphics and aesthetics are 10/10.”
- “The graphics and atmosphere capture the essence of the wild west beautifully, immersing players in a world that has the potential to be truly captivating.”
- “The graphics are actually nice and well put together to give you that Ghost in the Shell feel.”
- “This game doesn't have much to offer to be fair, graphics are at a level comparable to PS3.”
- “Graphically, Wanted: Dead is rough looking. It is very much a game with visuals from the Xbox 360/PS3 era that rarely ever looks like a modern era game.”
- “Right off the bat, the audio engineering is pretty bad, dubbing is bad, story is nonsensical and not cohesive, graphics look like generic Unreal Engine assets, just overall it would not be appealing to the mainstream.”
music
221 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
58%
7%
The music in "Wanted: Dead" has received mixed reviews, with many praising its eclectic and catchy soundtrack, which features a blend of original tracks and iconic 80s songs like "99 Luftballons" and "Maniac." While some players enjoy the vibrant synthwave aesthetic and the integration of music into gameplay, others criticize the audio for its poor looping, glitches, and limited karaoke options. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a highlight, adding character and charm to the game's unique style, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The soundtrack and aesthetics are absolutely amazing.”
- “The music is great too, with a mix of instrumental tracks and Stefanie Joosten's foray into music serving to liven things up with disco beats and 80s pop.”
- “Wanted Dead is at its finest when you’re slicing enemies like the onions in a favorite infomercial while rocking to the game’s brilliant soundtrack.”
- “The rest of the audio is pretty bad too with the OST sounding like one-minute loops of royalty-free tracks and all of the sound effects sounding cheap and repetitive with no variation or modulation.”
- “Not only does it have only one song, and that song is '99 Luftballons', but there are no other songs to collect anywhere in the game.”
- “Sounds and music are glitching which can break the concentration.”
humor
196 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
2%
The humor in the game is a mix of intentional and unintentional comedy, with many players finding the dialogue, voice acting, and absurd scenarios genuinely funny, often reminiscent of campy B-movies. While some aspects, like the voice acting, are described as "hilariously bad," they contribute to the game's charm and offbeat humor, leading to numerous laugh-out-loud moments. Overall, the game successfully blends quirky character interactions, bizarre minigames, and a unique sense of humor that resonates well with fans of absurdist comedy.
- “This game is hilarious and I love it!”
- “The off-kilter energy of the storytelling and unconventionally delivered voice-acting hide an actually interesting plot, and the strange sense of humor the game carries had me grinning and laughing pretty hard.”
- “The game ends up being an almost one of a kind experience with charming and genuinely funny writing and cutscenes, some interesting cyberpunk trope subversions, and really fun combat.”
- “The dialogue is cringy and not funny at all, making the humor fall flat.”
- “The attempts at humor feel forced and often miss the mark, leading to awkward moments.”
- “The jokes are stale and the comedic timing is off, resulting in a lack of genuine laughter.”
optimization
113 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
61%
27%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues such as stuttering, frame rate drops, and crashes, particularly on PC. While some users noted improvements after patches, others still found the game poorly optimized, especially for AMD hardware. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the game has potential, it suffers from technical shortcomings that detract from the experience.
- “The PC version is greatly optimized and runs flawlessly even at max settings, but the graphics aren’t really much impressive, especially compared to other modern action-shooter games.”
- “Optimization on PC is also right as I played on highest settings.”
- “Performance for me was great; I had no issues on that side, thankfully.”
- “The optimization could, and should have been improved, especially when dealing with the PC market.”
- “The game was pretty unoptimized; I experienced FPS drops and random crashes during missions.”
- “Until the performance of the game improves, I cannot recommend this game in its current stage.”
stability
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
85%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder the experience. Players have noted issues such as visual glitches, erratic frame rates, and problematic gameplay mechanics, which can lead to frustrating moments. While some users have had a smoother experience post-patch, the overall consensus is that the game requires a high tolerance for technical issues, making it a challenging play for many.
- “$20 well spent at sale price, picked it up just after the Dec '23 patch and it runs great.”
- “It's a lot of fun, it runs great on my laptop with a 2060 system.”
- “If you want to play something like this but actually good, play Wet (2009); it runs great on Xenia Canary.”
- “However, as it stands, the game is unfortunately plagued by a plethora of bugs, glitches, and a tendency to crash, significantly detracting from its potential.”
- “Furthermore, there was a sheer number of bugs, such as enemies popping up out of nowhere, characters repeating the same lines over and over again, getting stuck in the same place (as well as enemies), dreadful keyboard controls that change every time you exit the game, the cover system that doesn’t work properly (enemies can still shoot you and your grenades sometimes hit the cover), camera shaking uncontrollably when playing one of the minigames, music sometimes stops during missions, and animation glitches.”
- “However, the frequent bugs and glitches act as persistent roadblocks on this wild ride.”
character development
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
Character development in the game is often criticized for being shallow and hindered by a disjointed narrative filled with clichés, leaving players wanting more depth. While the character designs are praised for their uniqueness and fit within the game's gritty, cyberpunk aesthetic, the voice acting is noted as inconsistent and at times amusingly bland. Despite these shortcomings, some players express surprise at the presence of meaningful character development and engaging minigames that add variety to the experience.
- “But later you might be shocked there's good character development and minigames to mix it up (for better or worse, I liked them).”
- “Hannah is a sexy tall woman with violent tendencies, Herzog is a likable idiot, the captain is a stereotypical hard-ass police chief, and I loved the adorable gunsmith and the 10/10 character design of Cinnamon.”
- “I love the character designs and general vibe of the game.”
- “The narrative feels disjointed and full of cliché tropes, leaving little room for meaningful character development.”
- “I wish there was more character development.”
- “Like there is a lot of content, context, and character development that was taken out.”
atmosphere
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
50%
12%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and unique qualities, drawing inspiration from various aesthetics like 80's cyberpunk and the wild west. Players appreciate the intense and atmospheric boss fights, as well as the overall visual style, which evokes nostalgia for earlier gaming eras. However, some reviews note that while the atmosphere is strong, other aspects such as gameplay and story may not meet the same standard.
- “The graphics and atmosphere capture the essence of the wild west beautifully, immersing players in a world that has the potential to be truly captivating.”
- “All in all, there's a lot of content here and the game has a fun atmosphere that few games ever manage to capture.”
- “If you like the 80's, cyberpunk, and/or Kill Bill, I can bet you will enjoy the atmosphere this game offers.”
- “Truth is, this game has its own atmosphere; it's random, weird, and disconnected at times.”
- “But if the developer spent more effort to create a vibrant atmosphere so that the player can feel and live the everyday life of people in this police station, the later events would be more impressive.”
- “I will say that despite all of the combat shortcomings, the devs nailed the atmosphere.”
replayability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while it offers collectibles, skill trees, and multiple difficulty levels that encourage exploration and engagement, some players find its linear design and lack of optional content limit its long-term appeal. Despite a relatively short campaign, those who appreciate its charm and challenge may find significant replay value, though others may feel the price does not justify the content offered. Overall, opinions vary widely, with some deeming it infinitely replayable and others citing low replay value.
- “Wanted Dead is a relatively short game, but it has a lot of replay value, and it has multiple difficulties.”
- “The replayable nature of the game and the enemy variety allows for players to sink in a lot of time into the game.”
- “The campaign may hold you up to just 12 hours, containing valuable replayability, with skills to unlock, add-ons for your weaponry, mini-games to clear and complete, rewarding you with all sorts of nice little extras, with a phenomenal soundtrack.”
- “No real replay value.”
- “Replayability appears low due to linear design, limited variability in skills, and an unjustified price tag for content on offer.”
- “There are also no outfit unlocks or much of anything to boost replayability.”
emotional
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of *Wanted: Dead* is described as messy yet surprisingly heartfelt, with a unique blend of dark themes and lighthearted moments, such as karaoke scenes that evoke charm and warmth. Players appreciate the game's homage to challenging PS2-era titles, despite frustrations with gameplay mechanics and visuals. Overall, the emotional experience is a mix of shock, laughter, and a sense of nostalgia, though not all players find it enjoyable due to technical issues.
- “Messy and unpolished, but surprisingly heartfelt.”
- “This starts with the main character being a war criminal released from prison, pressed into police service, but with a wholesome work environment and an active dating life.”
- “The karaoke was dumb and charming and heartwarming as Hannah and Vivienne awkwardly sing and dance while the boys are losing their minds.”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
6%
88%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, often requiring them to redo the same encounters multiple times due to low enemy variety and a lack of depth in the combat system. The long loading animations and forced replays after deaths contribute to a frustrating experience, making what initially feels like a challenge devolve into monotony. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant detractor from the game's enjoyment.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The low enemy variety, combined with being forced to clear several rooms again after a death, would make this tediously unplayable if it wasn't for the sheer absurd spectacle of this game.”
- “The core combat system also lacks the depth of its contemporaries, which leads to repetitive, tedious encounters.”
- “I watched a friend play it and watching him redo the same part of a mission for hours, just to do the exact same thing minutes later and to just rinse and repeat the process not only seemed tedious and boring but absolutely asinine.”
monetization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
86%
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn mixed reactions, with players noting the prevalence of ads, microtransactions, and other monetization strategies typical in the industry. While some appreciate the marketing efforts and the immersive world-building, others express frustration over the reliance on loot boxes and season passes, suggesting that these practices detract from the overall experience. Additionally, there are concerns about the effectiveness of gunplay, which may be impacted by these monetization strategies.
- “The monetization model is fair and offers plenty of options without feeling forced.”
- “I appreciate that the game allows players to enjoy the experience without needing to spend money.”
- “The in-game purchases are reasonably priced and don't disrupt the overall gameplay balance.”
- “The industry has become a breeding ground for game passes, loot crates, microtransactions, season passes, and whatever else, and it's not entirely these devs/publishers' fault because we keep buying it and saying thank you.”
- “Don't know why you can't toggle ads, which would make rebinding things better.”
- “From there you can do blind fire as well as aim down sights and shoot from an over-the-shoulder perspective, which you would think would be good for dealing with enemies, until you realize that the gunplay for the most part is entirely ineffective for the majority of enemies that are nothing more than bullet sponges.”

58%Critics’ scoreBased on 54 critic reviews

Buy Wanted: Dead

8h Median play time

13h Average play time

4-20h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 14 analyzed playthroughs

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