Wanted: Dead

"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 …"

"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."

"Violent, ridiculous, and occasionally fun, Wanted: Dead misses a lot of its marks but is still worth a look for the devoted."

"But, also, what does eating ramen have to do with music? The world may never know."

"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."

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

"Wanted: Dead is a punishingly-difficult bloodbath that&s;s a joy to play."

"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 …"

"With Wanted: Dead, Soleil fails to accomplish its mission to make a good comeback for hardcore action games like Ninja Gaiden: this game seems blocked in the PS2 era."

"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."

"I mentioned at the start that I could not tell if Wanted: Dead was a deliberate execution or something that went wrong during development."

"All the confusing yet irresistible energy of early-noughties double-A gaming, marred by awful writing and a core gimmick that doesn&s;t ignite."

"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 …"

"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."

"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 …"

"It&s;s without a doubt that Wanted: Dead is oozing with style and glamor thanks to its immaculate art direction and addictive hybrid combat system. The cherries on top are the included shmup, claw machine, and karaoke minigames that simply add …"

"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, …"

"Wanted: Dead tries to rekindle that flame of passion for gaming’s earliest titles, and while it might resonate with some who unconditionally loved this era of gaming, the final product is very unsatisfying and a reminder of why going back …"

"It&s;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 …"

"Wanted: Dead is a mess of a game with hints of excellence strewn about. I wanted to love it a lot more than I did. Instead the game kept making me frustrated at every turn. There have been a million …"

"Wanted: Dead captures the spirit of schlockier action blockbusters that&s;ve been long forgotten, but doesn&s;t successfully argue why they deserve a comeback."

"Evaluating Wanted: Dead means coming to terms with the past of the action genre. We repeat: we had a lot of fun during the most agitated moments, fighting against some of the most peculiar bosses, or noticing the constant references …"

"If you&s;re out for some janky, old-school action that doesn&s;t take itself seriously in the least, there&s;s a good chance you&s;re in the minority that will very much enjoy Wanted: Dead. But at the same time, I imagine a lot …"

"Wanted: Dead has a charm and sense of humor that is rarely found in modern games, and it backs that up with an amazing combat system that only gets better the more you play."

"Wanted: Dead&s;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."

"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."

"Even with its quirkiness and challenging katana action, Wanted: Dead is a mess. It offers an odd nostalgic charm of the incomplete and unpolished games of the mid-2000s and never takes itself too seriously. Still, without the enjoyable mini-games, imaginative …"

"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 …"

"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."

"On paper, Wanted: Dead has everything you could possibly want from an action game, but it’s mired in poor execution, ropey presentation, and more than a few unusual design choices. Wanted? We’re not so sure."

"Wanted: Dead is, at its worst, a frustratingly bad action game, but in its inexplicable presentation, nonsensical storytelling, and baffling character dialogue, it&s;s difficult to completely dismiss. There&s;s undeniable fun to be had here in a so-bad-it&s;s-good kind of way, …"

"Wanted: Dead may be delightfully weird, but it&s;s held back by extremely inconsistent combat, a nonsense story, and an all around lack of any direction."

"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 …"

"If you can buy into what Wanted: Dead is trying to sell, you&s;ll have a good time. Just be ready for fragmented chunks of story, random voice work quality, and quirky concepts. Gameplay can win the day with its gorey, …"

"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 …"

"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;s …"

"Despite not living up to the character action games it clearly draws inspiration from, Wanted: Dead is a competent action game in its own right."