Robocop Rogue City Review: Return to Old Detroit

Nacon and Teyon are an interesting duo; they have made it their business to adapt every 80s action movie into a video game. They have done Rambo, and they have done The Terminator. Now we have Robocop: Rogue City, a first-person shooter based on, you guessed it, Robocop, one of the goriest and most funkiest action movies made in the 1980s.

Like with every one of their previous games, Teyon tries its best to keep this game as faithful to its source material as possible. Do they succeed, though? That is the question this review will be answering.

Robocop, the man, the machine, and a very clunky tank

The game starts with a very stunning and convincing opening cinematic. Players are instantly introduced to the most dangerous gang in Old Detroit, who call themselves torch heads, as they brandish their latest drug, Nuke. As they take over a new building, invite a loaded newcomer to join them and work with them to expand their influence throughout the city.

The purpose of this game is not much; it’s just there, and it gets the job done. But voice acting in places is mind-blowing. This game has some commendable aspects, though.

As the takeover of the new station continues, Robocop steps in and takes charge, along with his trusty partner Anne Lewis. The main character is voiced by Peter Weller himself, the guy who played Robocop in the original movie. Players are then very organically handed over the controls of the machine cop as he enters the building and starts torching the torch heads.

As players shoot them in the head one by one, they would notice a bunch of things. Robocops moves like a tank; he makes a thump sound while walking, and he turns like a tank very slowly too. Making the movement and combat clunky. Although, the response from firing the gun and braindead foes balance things out, and the result is a very satisfying combat that is not brilliant, but doable and satisfying.

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Robocop can also get near his opponents and throw them at their pals. Besides the enemies, computers, a bunch of other office supplies, and even bikes can be lifted and thrown at the enemies. The game does not lack things to throw, and it often results in a blast—a very good-looking blast, that is. If one can get over the clunk that comes with Robocop’s mechanical body, they will have a lot of fun disposing of their enemies here.

Then there’s an upgrade system that gives players XP whenever they complete certain tasks and find evidence. This eventually grants them a skill point that can be used to upgrade one of the eight traits of Robocop. Eventually, players would realize they were more powerful than any enemy they faced in this game, even those massive ED-209 robots.

Robocop Rogue City: Visuals and Conclusion

Teyon has done an excellent job recreating the old Detroit city. Its neon signs and its reflective puddles are right there, giving this semi-open-world city a distinct character. Character models and animations are not so good-looking though; then again, it’s a double-A game made on a low budget with a Hollywood actor voicing the main character. They had to make cuts somewhere.

It’s a 14–16-hour game, it’s fairly hard to play, and it has some gameplay issues, but then again, Robocop has some limitations, and as fans, players must understand this. The way it should be seen is that he is a robot made in the 80’s; he cannot prance around the city like a rabbit.

For those looking for a game where they can role-play as the robot himself, this is the game. It has everything for them—a world to explore and a decent enough story to uncover.

For those looking for a solid FPS, this can be an experiment if they choose to give it a chance. All in all, for Essentially Esports, it’s a success in what it wanted to do, making players feel like Robocop. The game launched on November 3, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC.

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