SlavicPunk: Oldtime Review on Xbox

SlavicPunk: Oldtimer is an isometric twin-stick shooter video game, based upon the works of Michał Gołkowski, a renown Polish science-fiction and fantasy book author.

The premise is you take on the role of Yanus, a private investigator with a troubled past trying to solve the case of stolen data while fighting his inner demons, urban gangs and an omnipotent corporation responsible for the decay of the city he once used to call his own.

The game boasts a modular weapon upgrade system, stealth, hacking and environmental puzzle solving within a city full to explore which will involve side quests and storytelling.

Accessibility

With regards to accessibility, there is no options available beside very basic tweaks. There is even no subtitle options or controller mapping. There is a UI scale option, which I would very well recommend using at its fullest to be able to read the text on screen. So should you have hearing, motor or visual issues, this may not be the game for you.

Gameplay

The games opening sequence is itself a small tutorial and a good introduction to the character you will be playing throughout the whole game. You play as Yanus, a more than gruffy tired but still brutal private investigator, who’s given the job to find a friend called Rodent, and why they didn’t complete their job when asked. Straight from the beginning you are thrown into this vicious cold world as you leave your office on a some new information that will lead you through some urban gangs also hunting your target.

Within this semi open world hub, you will move from mission to mission, progressing the story forward. This area is where the majority of your time will be moving from mission to mission, as well as upgrading your weapons, health and abilities. Health and stamina are one hit purchases, so once brought, that will be it with no further tweaking.

Weapon upgrades come in a variety of options such as larger mags, silencers, double rounds and larger area effect damage. Bullets choices are fire, armour piercing or EMP bullets, that each have three damage level upgrades. There’s a nice amount of flexibility in how you combine things, though the more powerful upgrades do take up a larger amount of space. For me I went straight into upgrading the shotgun with incendiary rounds, making Yanus a beast throughout the game.

From the outset you are given three special abilities, dash, time slowdown and hack. Dash, is what it says, a quick dash in any general location at the cost of stamina. Time slowdown which also does what it says on the tin, is only available using an item usage which you are restricted to having 3 needles of. And finally hack, which unlike time slowdown, brings time to an almost halt. 

It’s then here you are able to ‘hack’ enemies by selecting one of the two options available. By inputting a three button combo, you can choose to implement a damage or a stun effect. Swapping from enemy to enemy is simple by highlighting the enemy and using RT to move. You will soon be switching between enemy NPC quickly either killing them outright or stunning them to allow you to then get behind and do some serious damage. These are essential for turrets and bigger enemy types with shields or gatling guns later on.

There is also stealth here, in the form of crouching which is ideal for sneaking up on lesser enemies, in which you will then use a knife to dispatch said victim. This was idea for clearing out many of the early rooms and corridors when ammo was limited or you wanted a more sneaky approach. Thankfully, ammo drops is plentiful and finding more in crates around the levels are easy to spot, so you shouldn’t be lacking for bullets or health packs.

Don’t be fooled the Enemy AI is not stupid and will use cover and frequently try to outflank you in a bid to do some serious damage. In the open world hub, you don’t have to engage with enemies and can walk pass them or even use the environment to pass them by undetected. Missions in general are pretty linear, with the odd occasion to hack computers, or download data. The later often then invokes a waves of enemies in a bid to move you from the zone in question pausing said download. The can get pretty frenzied and will need you to use all available abilities in a bid to out kill your enemies.

In the missions however, everyone is pretty much your enemy, say for the residents or staff. Many a shoot out will happen with unsuspecting innocents running through gun fire getting hit by a stray bullet. And on more than one occasion police will come in and attack the enemy themselves, but don’t be fooled as your be next. It is fun to watch however, seeing gang factions take on the police with you sitting by waiting to take them all out.

I really enjoyed the game, as whilst its no on par, say to The Ascent, its more than enough to keep you entertained.

Graphics

Visually this game looks great in its winter cyberpunk future that oozes a more natural dystopian feel than some other cyberpunk games. The brutal neon glow from signs surrounded by the concrete streets feels harsh, and it’s winter aesthetic makes it even more cold than what’s on show. The high attention to detail for the environmental design, really is beautiful in its own way and creates a really tense atmosphere, that showcases the police oppressive nature to the games inhabitants.

Being isometric however there isn’t anyway to zoom in which would have been perfect to really showcase of its visuals. One thing I would do immediately, is ramp the UI to its maximum as the story in game is told by comic panels with text by them, however they are so small it was a nightmare to see what they was saying without increasing the UI.

Whilst the hub itself a stunningly cold city to wander, the missions vary from high tech offices, slums and power factories each with more than enough to explore and use area to your advantage. Light is well done here with broken signs, illuminating dark corridors perfectly.  Weapon designs is also nice and varied, with a revolver, assault rifle, shotgun, SMG, and a heavy hitting railgun at your disposal, by half way through.

Enemy design and attacking patterns are equally well done and whilst enemy variations is a bit limited but enough to ensure that you need to keep on your toes from drones, turrets, heavy infantry wielding various destructive weaponry and your general punks. There is no map for you to use, so you will need to explore the areas and main hub completely to ensure you know where you are going.

Overall framerate and stability was good in all of my gameplay, but I did see some tearing and the odd visual glitch here alongside some pop-ins, but overall the game was smooth and a fun time to be had.

Sound

The game is only partly voiced and varies in where and when it appears. The one area I would expect their to be voices, is the cutscenes, however these was told using comic style panels and text. This felt immersion breaking when you was hearing Yanus, only speak a moment early in game. The voice actors do a great job conveying their characters regardless and for me it really felt like a missed opportunity to let them fully loose on the cutscenes.

In terms of the game sound effects, they are well done, from its variety of weapons and gadgets all providing a meaty weightiness, with bullets and fire power tearing npcs apart. The music is on point with its perfect blend of techno and rock, that ramps up the tension perfectly during battles but also in general, with each environment being catered too individually. Environmental noise again, is also well done with freezing winds, chatter from the npcs and trudges through the snow all showcasing off the brutal cold world in all its glory.

My recommendation here would be a good quality soundbar to enjoy the experience of this unforgiving brutal world in amazing detail.

Verdict

This leads me onto the rating of the game:-
Now I rate games in order of, avoid, on sale, great purchase and must own. My rating for SlavicPunk: Oldtimer is a " great purchase’’.

The aesthetic drew me into this game, and the gameplay was enjoyable enough to not outstay its welcome. Being a bit shorter than most, this is perfect for parents with limited time to play on their hands. 

The game is currently priced on Xbox at £14.99 or approx. $18 and depending on skill and patience would give you well over 7.5+ hours worth of gameplay. Once the story is complete however, the isn’t much to really re-engage you for another bout, apart from a higher difficulty and missing achievements.

This is a great isometric shooter game, and a franchise id like the developers continue to proceed with. Short, sweet and keep them wanting, seems to be what the devs was going for and in that, at least for me, they succeeded.