[h1]If a game makes me want to go back and rewatch the original movies, it's definitely doing something right.[/h1]
[i]And now I have no idea how to get that stupid Nuke song out of my head.[/i]
We got something that's actually pretty rare these days: a genuinely good game based on a movie. The story is canon and takes place between the second and third films. The developers absolutely nailed the atmosphere of the first two movies. RoboCop feels exactly like I remember him from watching those films as a kid. Cold, confident, and always ready with his iconic one-liners that scare criminals just by the way he delivers them.
Overall, this game is a perfect example of how movie adaptations should be made. It captures the spirit of the franchise incredibly well. The brutal combat, realistic weapon sounds, the impact of every shot, the 80s retro-futuristic style, walls and body parts flying everywhere, the unique vehicle designs... [b]it all feels like classic RoboCop.[/b]
The world itself deserves a lot of praise too. Homeless people seriously discuss the stock market, street criminals have what sound like university-level debates about free market economics and distribution, NPCs constantly throw out funny lines, there are corrupt politicians, conspiracy theories, and so much more. And that's only a small part of what I noticed. The game is absolutely packed with little details like these.
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[h3]Police station[/h3]
what I also really liked. There's almost always something happening there. You're constantly helping your fellow officers, dealing with different situations, and simply watching everyday life unfold. It makes the place feel alive and believable.
The characters are another highlight. Almost everyone has their own personality, many of them deliver genuinely funny dialogue, and overall they feel like actual people. I highly recommend not skipping their side missions.
[i]"Murphy, in my office, NOW!" (lol)[/i]
The main story isn't dragged out and keeps a good pace. It starts off fairly slowly but gradually builds momentum with more and more twists until everything reaches a satisfying conclusion.
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[h3]The side missions[/h3] surprised me in a very good way. Most of them are unique, genuinely fun, and many of them directly affect the story later in the game. Almost every choice, dialogue, or even something you decide not to do can change how characters see you. I also loved that people you meet early on can show up again later. For example, criminals you arrested can later be found in prison when you visit them. They're small details, but they're exactly the kind of things that make the world feel much more immersive.
My only disappointment with the story is [spoiler]the final confrontation with Antonovsky.[/spoiler] That scene could have been much more epic. It really felt like the main theme should have slowly started building in the background, but for some reason the developers didn't do it. They were [i]this[/i] close to making that moment perfect.
The sound design deserves its own section because it's simply fantastic. Every gunshot, explosion, RoboCop's mechanical footsteps and movements, the soundtrack... everything sounds exactly the way it should.
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[h3]Technically, though,[/h3]
things are a bit more complicated. [b]Unreal Engine 5[/b] is both the game's biggest strength and its biggest weakness. Many locations look almost photorealistic, the lighting is excellent, and RoboCop himself looks almost like a real person in many cutscenes. It's obvious the artists put an incredible amount of effort into every environment.
Which makes it even stranger that the [b]game doesn't have a proper Photo Mode.[/b] Every street, every puddle, every light source and every carefully placed object looks like it was made for screenshots, yet there's no official tool to take advantage of it.
[b]Thanks to the incurable Unreal Engine 5[/b] the game crashed several times for me. Performance also leaves a lot to be desired despite supporting every modern upscaling and frame generation technology. During story sections with large numbers of enemies, the FPS sometimes drops through the floor.
[i]One more downside is that the last third of the game becomes pretty exhausting. The developers simply start throwing way too many enemies at you.[/i]
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[h3]Final Thoughts[/h3]
It's a game that clearly respects its source material and captures everything that made the original RoboCop so memorable. Yes, there are technical issues, and the final act could have been handled a bit better, but neither of those is enough to ruin what is otherwise an excellent experience.
