Wanted: Dead Reviews
Soleil is an up-and-coming studio that has been showing real promise in the mid-tier games space. A space that has gotten less and less attention this past decade. I think that they succeeded here more than they didn’t. I found myself continuing to come back and fight against the frame rate issues and the technical flaws. I like these characters, even if they are more shallow than they could be. I like the tone. Referencing Supa Hot Fire in 2023 and then having your war criminal antiheroes do karaoke or see who can eat the most ramen right before they lay waste to a government building or comfort a child who doesn’t seem to care that his parents just died in the next room is a crazy, weird, off-kilter, fun time. I even liked the combat: as cheap as it may be to get insta-killed by a random merc with a rocket launcher or a ninja flying out of nowhere. I liked the weird pace of it. I liked the puzzle of deciding how to get to the next checkpoint. I just really, really did not like having to fight through a non-stop onslaught of glitchy jittery frame rate issues or other small and large performance issues. I want to give this game at least a 7.5, and if it is ever patched further we might be able to reexamine it, but I can’t overlook something so glaring as countable frames and frequent crashes. I hope that Soleil Ltd. is able to bounce back and stick the landing on the next one because I like everything else I’ve played from them. And I know they’re capable of more.
Wanted: Dead looks back at the last twenty years of game design and manages to combine shooter and hack ‘n’ slash elements rather cohesively into one of the tightest melee/shooters I’ve played in a long while. Unfortunately, while I will scoop praise on the gameplay until the end of time, there are issues that can’t be ignored. When I wasn’t shooting things with gleeful abandon, everything else was trying to make me put down the controller. The wooden plot and lifeless characters are a given, but the strange minigames, awful level pacing and difficulty spikes left a bitter taste in the mouth. There’s no doubt this is a fun game and I can see a small section of players absolutely loving it to death, but outside a tight knit niche of fans, I’m certain that Wanted: Dead will sadly be quickly forgotten.
But, also, what does eating ramen have to do with music? The world may never know.
Wanted: Dead captures the spirit of schlockier action blockbusters that've been long forgotten, but doesn't successfully argue why they deserve a comeback.
It's a piece that you'll enjoy after spending a few hours in the game. It's not a masterpiece, but definitely enjoyable.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
I mentioned at the start that I could not tell if Wanted: Dead was a deliberate execution or something that went wrong during development.
I’ll say it like this: I’m actually mad about how much I want to like this game. While the simple but effective personalities can be so-bad-it’s-good occasionally and the soundtrack certainly survived the sound check, this gameplay isn’t doing it any favors. I can’t help but feel the story might have worked better as an anime as the interactive element is what lets Wanted: Dead down the most. With some more work, Wanted: Dead could be that hilariously fun love letter to retro anime and games of the early noughties that I desperately wanted it to be. As of right now, it’s just far too short, clunky and directionless to be worth the price of admission.
Despite the impressive moves and cool style it tries to put out, Wanted: Dead is anything but cool.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Although it is from the creators of Ninja Gaiden, Wanted: Dead still has a good way to go to become one. Good ideas and an interesting action design lost due to technical problems and poorly calibrated difficulty.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Wanted: Dead is a cute and fun throwback to the bygone ages of the gaming industry. It offers enjoyable characters, addictive combat and a lot of heart, which is more than enough to offset its dated graphics, unbalanced difficulty and all the bugs.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Wanted: Dead is poorly executed and mini-games don't save it from mediocrity. Even action-games fans won't enjoy this much.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
A mediocre release in which conflicting elements don't add up to a fun game. Wanted: Dead doesn't hold up against other February releases.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Wanted: Dead brings so much and at the same time, that as a player we are perplexed. That's way too many emotions for a game that doesn't make any effort to truly improve any of them. Despite everything, the evident humorous side takes us to the opposite of the most negative emotions that we could get from this experience, even reaching several moments of: "just go for another 10 minutes". I can't really recommend it, but honestly I can't tell you to put it away either. In my humble opinion, despite everything and the calamity of everything that the game brings, I will give it a positive note... just because it managed t9 make my comic persona won over my rational one!
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
What Wanted: Dead lacks the most is identity. It could be fun to some extent but in general, nothing is outstanding about it. Everything from shooting elements, gameplay, narrative, mini-games, and even voice acting falls between bad and mediocre and the final product just not worth 60 dollars.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Wanted Dead is a hard game to recommend: it is truly bad in most areas, but it also has the opportunity to click with you depending on your tolerance for jank and of old-school character action games. If you really need a dose of nostalgia, or you love movies like The Room, Wanted Dead could be a hit.
At the start of Wanted: Dead, players are given the chance to enter a training simulator that walks them through the basic functionality of combat against holographic foes. It’s revealing when one of the levels in the game is set inside the drab and boxy corridors of that simulator. Apart from your foes now being flesh and blood, there’s functionally no difference in killing them. But, then, nearly every level of Wanted: Dead is practically the same, and no amount of stolen memes, nostalgic riffs, and non sequiturs can hide that depressing fact.
Wanted: Dead is perhaps too ambitious, at times punching above its weight while mostly missing the mark and also being brutally difficult at times.
Wanted: Dead is a hard game to review considering nearly every aspect has positives and flaws. The gameplay can be extremely satisfying when you get into a good rhythm, but the limited enemy variety and spongy health make every mission feel the same. The story and characters have wacky charm, at times being incredibly funny yet far too frequently becoming a head-scratcher. The cutscene voice acting is bad, but the anime flashbacks are superb. I could go on and on but the bottom line is this game is unique—for better or for worse—and probably just as many people will love it as those who don't.
Wanted: Dead is as befuddling as it is bloody. Players will find the plot of Soliel's slasher/shooter hybrid varying levels of coherent depending on their interpretation. What's undeniable is the fun to be had in its streamlined slaughter. Come for the demanding and gory action gameplay, and stay for the odd voice performances, anime flashbacks, and karaoke with Stefanie Joosten. It's sometimes frustrating, often satisfying, and almost always janky and weird; I can't stop thinking about it.
Wanted: Dead is a bloodthirsty romp with challenging gameplay, but it feels unduly harsh, and more frustrating than fun. Accompanied by an inconsistent narrative, poor presentation, and repetitive boss battles, it results in a mediocre experience overall.