Twin-stick shooters are my jam and there has been a huge whack of them in 2024. Many attempts to mimic games such as Vampire Survivors and Brotato and capitalise on the success of those two. I like to try everything and get my fix and SlavicPunk: Oldtimer is a recent release on consoles that has shifted across from its launch on PC around 18 months ago. Developed and published by Red Square Games, this isometric shooter has you diving into an urban jungle and going head-on against gangs and other foes along the way.

Image Source – Steam

Gameplay

I wish I could gloss over the storyline somewhat, but for the most part, I found the text so hard to read that I gave up trying. However, the gameplay somewhat makes up for this downfall. The atmosphere and feel have that dark, gritty Cyberpunk-esque style that bears similarities to many recent titles. If you have played games such as The Ascent recently then it felt very similar in both look and feel. You’ll be engaging in a top-down view whilst navigating through the linear world with most of the gameplay conducted through the analogue sticks.

There is room for slight exploration throughout and whilst SlavicPunk: Oldtimer is a short playthrough at around 6-8 hours depending on your pacing, I found myself wanting to check every nook and cranny and soak in the beautiful visuals. Occasionally the game will be difficult to navigate due to the lack of a map, but there are indications of where to head next. Gunfights are super engaging and aggressive at times and I felt like this was easily one of the game’s strong points, even if some awkward camera placement was a little bit of a bugbear at times.

Image Source – Steam

Visuals & Audio

SlavicPunk: Oldtimer is a fantastic-looking title for a studio’s first outing into the gaming world. I immediately noticed the brilliant lighting, with dank and dingy areas amongst the concrete-contained rooms. The neon-lit zones are vivid and the splash of light spills across rooms. You can see so much detail has gone into designing the environments and I was taking my time to absorb every nook and cranny. Characters and combat are both well designed and you feel the intensity of firefights almost straight away with blood splattering the surroundings.

Music brings an industrial techno vibe similar to something out of the Blade movie. One frustration I did have with the visuals is the text was so small that I was unable to read the majority of it throughout the game. I’m not sure if this will be fixed but I didn’t see any area to make this larger. This was a minor bugbear but it kind of took the immersion away from me as I’d like to have read everything.

Image Source – Steam

Final Thoughts

SlavicPunk: Oldtimer gets the combat and gameplay loop bang on and I had a great time with the overall experience. Unfortunately, it misses the execution of the storyline and immersion with the irritating small text. I could only actually read this by taking a photo on 10x zoom with my phone camera, this is how bad it was on a 55-inch TV. That isn’t to say there isn’t fun to be had here though, it looks and plays fine but can be easily finished in one 4-5 hour session if you hammer through it like I did. For £14.99 though, if you’re into Cyberpunk-esque environments and you’re after a twin-stick shooter with a story that you’re not too fussed about, this one may be for you.

Overall
  • 65%
    CX Score - 65%
65%

Summary

Pros

  • The atmosphere is fantastic with dark gritty visuals
  • Gunfights are genuinely engaging and fun
  • Environment design is brilliant

 

Cons

  • In-game text is almost impossible to read
  • Controls can be fiddly at times
  • Casual players may find it a bit too hard at various stages

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