Wanted: Dead

“Wanted: Dead has glimpses of greatness but is held back by mediocre systems and design choices that keep it from flourishing. Brief flashes of brilliance can’t help but be overshadowed by combat that feels repetitive, and voice actors that sound bored despite the surrounding chaos. Its difficulty, combat style, and visceral style will bring it some attention, but it more than likely won't be enough to keep most players enthralled for long.”

“Wanted: Dead's shallow combat, dated presentation, and poorly balanced difficulty are the tip of the iceberg of issues that ultimately sinks this disappointing action game from the makers of Ninja Gaiden.”

“All the confusing yet irresistible energy of early-noughties double-A gaming, marred by awful writing and a core gimmick that doesn't ignite.”

“Wanted: Dead is an intentionally messy throwback, one that some people are going to adore while others lament. All the AA jank of a PlayStation 3 action game wrapped up in a janky 2023 modern gaming bow.”

“It's not often that the promotion campaign might be more enjoyable than the final product, but Wanted: Dead may have to grin and bear this ignominy. Despite some effort to subvert genre norms with its characters and amusing mini-games, the core action is bogged down by low production values, imbalance, and repetition. For every moment it hits its stride, there's another where it stubs its toe, and some slick execution animations are as imaginative as it gets.”

“Wanted: Dead is a punishingly-difficult bloodbath that's a joy to play.”

“Wanted: Dead starts off strong with plenty to learn and enjoy, but towards the end bogs itself down by trying to be difficult, forgoing what made it good to begin with.”

“Despite its clear and comprehensive flaws, Wanted: Dead is still weirdly likeable, and will undoubtedly find a similarly strange and unique fanbase to worship at its feet.”

“Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.”

“Wanted: Dead promised to be a very violent action game, with a macabre style and unexpected mechanics, but instead we have found a frustrating experience that is rarely fun. We cannot recommend it.”

“Wanted: Dead will make several admirers of old-time action-shooters happy, but it seems like a wasted opportunity and many gamers will find it frustrating and unrefined.”

“There’s an action game underneath all of Wanted: Dead’s problems that is not half bad, especially if you liked games like No More Heroes, Devil’s Third, and Wet. It’s ridiculous in its context and action. Unfortunately, for everything good I could say about this game, there was at least one or two things keeping me from enjoying it. Between cringe-worthy dialogue, game crashes, clashing moods, random and ridiculously difficult moments, and broken mechanics, Wanted: Dead takes a lot of effort just to play, let alone enjoy. Here’s hoping they can smooth out some of the technical issues after launch, but even then, this might be a title only the truly dedicated will tolerate for long.”

“Wanted: Dead may not hit the mark in every area, but it still serrates the cut between hybrid slasher/shooter gameplay perfectly and I knew that it would be revisited by me for a long time to come even after the credits had rolled.”

“Wanted: Dead is going to annoy a lot of players. It’s also going to please plenty more. Soleil has made a game that leans heavily into its PS2-era inspirations, and that includes an unforgiving difficulty level. Without any real way to make things easier, some players may never see the ending of an otherwise enjoyable campaign, outside of watching a streamer perhaps. For those who can manage to hone their skills, however, the time put into Wanted: Dead will be worth it because this slasher-shooter offers so much visceral joy when things go your way that it makes all the painful death worth it.”

“If you're out for some janky, old-school action that doesn't take itself seriously in the least, there's a good chance you're in the minority that will very much enjoy Wanted: Dead. But at the same time, I imagine a lot of people would bounce off this somewhat scuffed throwback pretty hard.”

“Wanted: Dead successfully captures what made action games incredible in the sixth and seventh generations of consoles. Its combat options are deep and due to this, cutting up enemies never gets old. While the narrative shifts into beautiful hand-drawn anime, the voice acting and dialogue halt interest in the unremarkable narrative. However, fans of third-person action games who want a gameplay-focused experience should take stab at this one.”

“Wanted: Dead features a very fun combat system mainly based on the use of a blades, full of ultraviolence, combos and devastating final techniques, but it lacks a bit in everything else: the AI is inefficient, the mini-games are sometimes a pointless break between missions and the plot though interesting to follow constantly breaks up the action. Can this blade galore be enough to justify its purchase? Definitely yes, if you loved slashers of the very early 2000s, otherwise you may find the offering a bit sparse.”

“Wanted: Dead feels like a callback to the worst games of the Xbox/PS2 era. The game has a distinct lack of polish when it comes to its enemy design, and, combined with the horrid voice acting and confusing storyline that's only explained through supplementary material, it feels like the ultimate case of wasted potential that could've become something better had the developers put a bit more thought into it.”