A good boomer shooter is more than just retro-style graphics, no-reload gunplay, fast action, and dense level design. There is an x-factor that is inherent in the best boomer shooters. This sacred line lies in a combination of aesthetics and creativity. Details like being able to interact with the environment for amusing interactions like in Duke Nukem 3D, or the ambitious scope and intricacies in Ion Fury‘s setting.
What if a modern game like Doom Eternal inspired a boomer shooter? Its absurd range of actions and abilities was a paradigm shift that pushed shooters into bleeding with technical action games like Devil May Cry. You weren’t limited to just guns; a wide range of actions and abilities at your disposal, fostering creative ways of dealing with unimaginable enemies.
In the great tradition of Dukem Nukem 3D, Ghostrunner, Ion Fury, Quake II… and just a bit of Doom Eternal, comes a new breed of boomer shooter. Prepare yourself for the ultimate cyberpunk shoot-out, where two chainsaws are not enough. This is our Turbo Overkill review!
Turbo Overkill
Developer: Trigger Happy Interactive
Publisher: Apogee Entertainment
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S (reviewed)
Release Date: January 29, 2025
Price: $19.99
Just when you thought 80s nostalgia and Blade Runner-style cyberpunk couldn’t be more played out, Turbo Overkill sets the record straight and shows everyone how it’s done.
This game understands the “punk” in cyberpunk, setting the game in the ironically named city of “Paradise”, where SYN, a rogue AI has taken over everything.
It’s a basic story about a rebellious dude who is trying to make a living, going up against the most deadly force in the world. Johnny Turbo is a guy of a few words, but he expresses himself in two ways: with violence and an indignant middle finger. He is almost like a Ryan Gosling character if he was a Terminator with chainsaws coming out of his limbs.
You’d think that something like this wouldn’t bother with the nitty gritty details of having a story any deeper than hero vs evil AI, but you; ‘d be wrong.
While Turbo Overkill doesn’t inundate players with cutscenes or lore dumps of text to read, there are plenty of environmental details and a few audio logs implying a greater story. Johnny has a backstory, but the player has to opt in to discover.
If you don’t care about the story and clever world-building in Turbo Overkill, then expect it to grab you by the taint and start wall-running. This game lives up to its title. It’s fast, gleefully violent, and hilariously crass. One of the earliest stages begins with an animation of the protagonist kicking an unaware thug off a building while taking a pee break.
Everywhere you look are the classic hallmarks of a cyberpunk dystopia. The rundown buildings, the Asian presence in the in-your-face neon billboards, and the extremely lurid sexual imagery and commodification of humanity paint a harrowing image. Unlike Cyberpunk 2077 where a similar setting felt depressing, Turbo Overkill is over-the-top and out of its mind that it becomes admirable.
Johnny’s mobility is off the charts. He can double-jump and air-dash multiple times, but more importantly; he can slide on his knees with a chainsaw jutting out of his leg. Sliding sends Johnny hurling forward with break-neck speeds and dicing any poor devil in his path.
Compounded with his savage arsenal of guns and their secondary firing modes, the perk system, and his cool-down bonus attacks, Johnny seems like he would be overpowered. In any other game, Johny probably would break the balance, but Turbo Overkill‘s foes come in massive quantities and melt our cyberpunk hero like Arnold being lowered into molten steel.
Turbo Overkill‘s x-factor is its commitment to one-upmanship. This game is constantly trying to outdo itself and all other shooters before it in one way or another. It couldn’t have been just another boomer shooter, it had to also have wall-running, vehicle sequences, and a grappling hook.
There are abilities to buy and equip from vending machines. Each of Johnny’s body parts can equip two abilities as mods, allowing gamers to tweak their play style.
The only issue encountered is the wall-jump ability didn’t work as intended. It seems like it works sometimes. After a while, I forgot I ever acquired it and moved on to more interesting perks.
The enemies range from basic small mobs, and medium guys, to larger mini-boss threats and enormous boss-like enemies to run away from fast. Each class has several enemy types that have bespoke behaviors and gimmicks for the player to exploit. Every foe has a distinct character design that makes them easily recognizable, even when they crowd.
When several dozen different freaks are swarming the screen, sometimes the best strategy is to forget everything and just shoot and run, dash, and run some more while shooting.
It can be a lot to process, but the battles are ultimately thrilling thanks to the thumping and aggressive metal trance fusion soundtrack. It’s like Pertubator meets Megadeath with a Vangelis twist.
The action is set in compact yet dense maps. Each area is impressively realized with interiors and exteriors and there is almost no limit to where Johnny can go. Finding color-coded keys and hitting switches is typically required, but skilled players will find cheeky ways to sequence break.
When not having a no-holds-bar throw-down with cybernetic freaks, Johnny can take it easy and freely explore the environment and find the odd Dopefish Easter egg. This is necessary to find hidden areas and diabolically obscured collectibles that unlock cheats and bonus levels.
The cheats are self-explanatory, but the bonus levels are interesting because they can be almost anything and will consistently surprise gamers. One bonus level might be an arena with waves of foes to endure. Another bonus level might be a recreation of a classic level from Doom II. Some bonus levels are bizarre, puzzle-like gauntlets that feel like something out of the imagination of a modding community.
Turbo Overkill is an intentionally chunky-looking game resembling a cross between Quake II and Blade Runner. It’s unbelievably dank and brimming with atmosphere. The interplay of rain effects with lighting makes an impression, and the dense air makes the world feel raw and real despite the deliberate low poly count and haggard resolution.
Turbo Overkill is pure, unadulterated, unpretentious, yet focused action bliss. The retro-inspired visuals are easily the least interesting aspect because everything else is mind-blowingly exemplary. The imaginative level designs, the wealth of abilities, and the unrelenting gunplay and chainsaws push Turbo Overkill into the pantheon of the best first-person shooters of all time.
Turbo Overkill was reviewed on an Xbox Series X using a code provided by Trigger Happy Interactive. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Turbo Overkill is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
