| 33bits |
Juanma F. Padilla |
85 / 100 |
02-14-2023 |
The creators of the first two Ninja Gaiden and several Dead or Alive installments bring us an attempt to return to those times in the current generation. Released for XBOX One, XBOX Series, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC, and with some aspects to be polished but that seems to have been resolved in the version that we have been able to play, it does not impress audiovisually, but it is convincing in terms of playability once the system has been mastered of combat, giving us a lot of satisfaction in this aspect. Undoubtedly a recommended option to spend a few good hours enjoying this love letter to the sixth generation of consoles. |
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| 3DNews |
Алексей Лихачев |
5 / 10 |
02-25-2023 |
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. |
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| AnaitGames |
Víctor Manuel Martínez García |
6 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
A game full of personality but that not always knows how to execute some of its most differential ideas, those that separate it from being simply a hack and slash “from the creators of”. |
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| Attack of the Fanboy |
Gordon Bicker |
3.5 / 5 stars |
02-14-2023 |
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 credits had rolled. |
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| BaziCenter |
Kasra Karimi Tar |
6 / 10 |
02-22-2023 |
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. |
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| Capsule Computers |
Admir Brkic |
9 / 10 |
02-15-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is a sneaky love letter to the PS2 & OG Xbox era of gaming. It’s tough as nails, charming, and addictive as hell. What more could you ask for? |
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| CGMagazine |
Zubi Khan |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| Checkpoint Gaming |
Omi Koulas |
4 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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 slice and dice finishing moves, and “so bad it’s funny” voice acting, there’s not much more to love. This might be one of the most disappointing games of this year. |
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| COGconnected |
Jaz Sagoo |
79 / 100 |
02-14-2023 |
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, the voice acting and dialogue halt interest in the unremarkable narrative. However, fans of third-person action games who want a gameplay-focused experience should take stab at this one. |
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| Cubed3 |
Sandy Kirchner-Wilson |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is a great action game, it has flashy visuals, violent combat full of blood and dismemberment, and mostly it has a great interesting if unusual story, carried by interesting characters, external influences and sinister plot. The world is built in a cool, refreshing way and the moment-to-moment gameplay is engaging though sometimes simple. It promises something unique, and it delivers something not only unique but recommendable to fans of futuristic worlds and action games. |
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| Cultured Vultures |
Ashley Bates |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
While there’s an audience out there for Wanted: Dead’s schtick, the myriad of issues with the whole game make it a tough sell. |
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| DarkZero |
Dominic Sheard |
5 / 10 |
02-28-2023 |
I mentioned at the start that I could not tell if Wanted: Dead was a deliberate execution or something that went wrong during development. |
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| Destructoid |
Chris Moyse |
7.5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun. |
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| Echo Boomer |
João Canelo |
Not Recommended |
02-14-2023 |
A spectacular disaster that is impossible not to admire for its ambition. |
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| Eurogamer |
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell |
Not Recommended |
02-14-2023 |
All the confusing yet irresistible energy of early-noughties double-A gaming, marred by awful writing and a core gimmick that doesn’t ignite. |
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| Everyeye.it |
Lorenzo Mango |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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 to pop, cyberpunk and the history of video games of the 2000s. Unfortunately, however, the weight of technical inaccuracies and the inconsistency of the plot, the slowness of the interludes between an explosion of violence and the next, are evidently out of tune notes and condition the charm of an experience that in any case is able to entertain the most irrediculable fans of the action. |
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| Explosion Network |
Wil James |
6 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
There are flashes of potential that could have elevated Wanted Dead to be greater than the sum of its parts, but these flashes are drowned out by its mission to be a throwback experience complete with jank. |
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| FingerGuns |
Toby Andersen |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead trips over itself trying to tell a coherent story, but its intense blood-spattered limb-slicing combat is satisfying, rewarding and demands mastery. It’s full of ambition and ideas, drenched in personality, but stumbling to deliver. Despite its quirks and failings, it’s got cult classic written all over it. |
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| Game Rant |
Shane Robert Moyer |
3 / 5 stars |
02-14-2023 |
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 bored despite the surrounding chaos. Its difficulty, combat style, and visceral style will bring it some attention, but it more than likely won’t be enough to keep most players enthralled for long. |
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| GameCrate |
Derek Swinhart |
Not Recommended |
02-21-2023 |
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. |
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| Gamefa |
Mostafa Zahedi |
4.7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is one of the worst games I’ve played in recent years. From Unbelievably poor AI to weak gunplay, Wanted: Dead is a complete disaster. If you value your money and your time, never ever play this game. |
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| GameGrin |
Bennett Perry |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead isn’t as bad as the worst games to come out recently but sloppy game design and story-telling has let down what could have been a decent game to play. |
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| Gamerheadquarters |
Jason Stettner |
5.2 / 10 |
02-20-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is perhaps too ambitious, at times punching above its weight while mostly missing the mark and also being brutally difficult at times. |
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| GameSkinny |
David Restrepo |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Not your grandpa’s Ninja Gaiden, for better or worse. |
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| GameSpew |
Richard Seagrave |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
If you’re not put off by its grave challenge that all too often feels unfair and its general rough-around-the-edges nature, you might have a good time with Wanted: Dead. Most, though, are likely to become disheartened and infuriated by it. It tries to do something new with the genre and we applaud it for that, but the execution isn’t quite there. We love its characters and its quirkiness, and even its mechanics, but they’re in a game that at the moment only sporadically feels fun to play. Hopefully Soleil can make some post-launch changes that point it further in the right direction. |
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| GamesRadar+ |
Jon Bailes |
2 / 5 stars |
02-14-2023 |
It’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 core action is bogged down by low production values, imbalance, and repetition. For every moment it hits its stride, there’s another where it stubs its toe, and some slick execution animations are as imaginative as it gets. |
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| Gaming Nexus |
Henry Yu |
8 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
It’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 more drip to the overall experience.We don’t get enough games like these nowadays and I’m all for it. Unfortunately, there’s just a ton of technical performance issues at launch that need to be addressed immediately. |
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| GamingBolt |
Mike Alexander |
8 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| GamingTrend |
Cassie Peterson |
65 / 100 |
03-15-2023 |
But, also, what does eating ramen have to do with music? The world may never know. |
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| Generación Xbox |
Pedro del Pozo |
6.3 / 10 |
02-27-2023 |
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. |
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| God is a Geek |
Chris Hyde |
6.5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| Hardcore Gamer |
Chris Shive |
4 / 5 stars |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is a punishingly-difficult bloodbath that’s a joy to play. |
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| Hey Poor Player |
Cory Clark |
3 / 5 stars |
02-27-2023 |
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. |
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| Hobby Consolas |
Álvaro Alonso |
50 / 100 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| IGN |
Mitchell Saltzman |
4 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead’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. |
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| IGN Italy |
Francesco Destri |
6.8 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| Leadergamer |
Alper Dalan |
7 / 10 |
03-06-2023 |
It’s a piece that you’ll enjoy after spending a few hours in the game. It’s not a masterpiece, but definitely enjoyable. |
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| New Game Network |
Yasmine Hubbard |
53 / 100 |
02-18-2023 |
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. |
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| Niche Gamer |
Matt Kowalski |
6.5 / 10 |
02-15-2023 |
If you are up for a challenge Wanted: Dead can be a fun experience, but for those who don’t like dying or having to learn perfect timing, it can be rather frustrating. The game’s shift in graphics between mini-games, gameplay, and cutscenes can be a bit much for those looking for a uniform experience. Soleil Ltd. tries to make Wanted: Dead the experience that Ninja Gaiden was, but misses the mark. Combat can be fun if you don’t get frustrated at a challenge, otherwise, if you are looking to just experience the story, Neko-chan mode is the way to go. |
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| Noisy Pixel |
Jahanzeb Khan |
7.5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is a commendable effort from this team and a sign of much better things to come. It is unapologetic in what it wants to be, and so despite all of its quirks and faults, it offers a charming and memorable action game experience that is backed by a captivating presentation. Come for the brutally effective combat but stay for the utterly surreal game world filled with fun distractions and addictive carnage. With this debut title, 110 Industries takes us back to a time when a standout vibe made up for a lack of polish. |
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| NoobFeed |
Azfar Rayan |
60 / 100 |
02-15-2023 |
Wanted: Dead’s challenging settings, unique approach to battle, and visual presentation will attract some interest, but they certainly won’t be adequate to hold most players’ interest for very long. Its gameplay mechanism and core plot shortcomings made it difficult to enjoy as a whole. If you, however, like hack and slash, decapitating enemies, and are willing to die often to do it, then Wanted: Dead is the game for you. |
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| PC Gamer |
Mollie Taylor |
60 / 100 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| PC Invasion |
Andrew Farrell |
6 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Violent, ridiculous, and occasionally fun, Wanted: Dead misses a lot of its marks but is still worth a look for the devoted. |
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| PlayStation LifeStyle |
Paulmichael Contreras |
8 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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 to make things easier, some players may never see the ending of an otherwise enjoyable campaign, outside of watching a streamer perhaps. For those who can manage to hone their skills, however, the time put into Wanted: Dead will be worth it because this slasher-shooter offers so much visceral joy when things go your way that it makes all the painful death worth it. |
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| PlayStation Universe |
Timothy Nunes |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
If you can buy into what Wanted: Dead is trying to sell, you’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, visceral delivery. Just be ready for an over-the-top game that takes itself seriously. |
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| Polygon |
Chris Plante |
Not Recommended |
02-14-2023 |
I can’t recommend you play this video game, but I won’t encourage you to look away. And so, here I am at the end, and all I really know for certain is this: Thank goodness I don’t have to assign a score. |
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| PSX Brasil |
Ivan Nikolai Barkow Castilho |
70 / 100 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is a simple and straightforward yet challenging action game. The story is bad, there are few levels and the minigames are generally uninteresting. On the other hand, the gameplay is pretty good once you get the hang of it. If you don’t care about the plot, overlook some technical problems and have the patience to learn the game, you might end up finding a good source of fun. |
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| Push Square |
Robert Ramsey |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is, at its worst, a frustratingly bad action game, but in its inexplicable presentation, nonsensical storytelling, and baffling character dialogue, it’s difficult to completely dismiss. There’s undeniable fun to be had here in a so-bad-it’s-good kind of way, and that might even be enough for the game to secure cult status somewhere down the line. But for now, you’ll need to slog through some of the most jank combat in full-price gaming to squeeze enjoyment out of the experience. Wanted: Dead is a truly fascinating mess. |
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| Rock, Paper, Shotgun |
Ed Thorn |
Not Recommended |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead has the briefest, briefest glimpses of good, but this third-person action game is a frustrating mess in almost every regard. |
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| SECTOR.sk |
Matúš Štrba |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead feels like a game made in 2006. It looks like a game from 2006, which is not a good thing. But at the same time, it plays like it’s from 2006, which is great. It offers fun action gameplay, a decent challenge, some offbeat humor and doesn’t take itself very seriously. |
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| Shacknews |
TJ Denzer |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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 could say about this game, there was at least one or two things keeping me from enjoying it. Between cringe-worthy dialogue, game crashes, clashing moods, random and ridiculously difficult moments, and broken mechanics, Wanted: Dead takes a lot of effort just to play, let alone enjoy. Here’s hoping they can smooth out some of the technical issues after launch, but even then, this might be a title only the truly dedicated will tolerate for long. |
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| Slant Magazine |
Aaron Riccio |
0.5 / 5 stars |
02-20-2023 |
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. |
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| SomHráč.sk |
Ondřej Halíř |
80 / 100 |
02-26-2023 |
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. |
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| SpazioGames |
Domenico Musicò |
5.5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| TechRaptor |
Samuel Guglielmo |
4 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead may be delightfully weird, but it’s held back by extremely inconsistent combat, a nonsense story, and an all around lack of any direction. |
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| The Escapist |
KC Nwosu |
Not Recommended |
02-14-2023 |
Video Review |
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| The Game Fanatics |
Julian Harris |
Recommended |
02-15-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is the love child of the creators of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, and you will definitely see the influence as you make your way through the story. You play detective Hanna Stone, the leader of Hong Kong’s Zombie Unit. This team is comprised of a group of misfits looking for a second chance and they are trying to uncover a corporate conspiracy. The story may not win any awards but we personally had a ton of fun with Wanted: Dead. |
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| The Games Machine |
Emanuele Feronato |
7.4 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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 a pointless break between missions and the plot though interesting to follow constantly breaks up the action. Can this blade galore be enough to justify its purchase? Definitely yes, if you loved slashers of the very early 2000s, otherwise you may find the offering a bit sparse. |
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| TheSixthAxis |
Dominic Leighton |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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| TrueAchievements |
Luke Albiges |
3 / 5 stars |
02-14-2023 |
If you’re out for some janky, old-school action that doesn’t take itself seriously in the least, there’s a good chance you’re in the minority that will very much enjoy Wanted: Dead. But at the same time, I imagine a lot of people would bounce off this somewhat scuffed throwback pretty hard. |
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| TrueGaming |
Unknown |
6.5 / 10 |
02-26-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is poorly executed and mini-games don’t save it from mediocrity. Even action-games fans won’t enjoy this much. |
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| Twinfinite |
John Esposito |
2.5 / 5 stars |
02-14-2023 |
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 in time is a double-edged sword. |
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| Use a Potion |
Unknown |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead has some cool ideas on show, but some dull combat mechanics and repetitive gameplay leave it feeling a bit rough to play. I wouldn’t say anything is outright bad in the game and it does have its cool moments, but they’re few and far between when compared to the more monotonous aspects of the experience. |
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| VGChartz |
Lee Mehr |
4.5 / 10 |
03-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead captures the spirit of schlockier action blockbusters that’ve been long forgotten, but doesn’t successfully argue why they deserve a comeback. |
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| Video Chums |
A.J. Maciejewski |
5.7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead reminds me of the PS2-era Onechanbara games but it’s substantially less entertaining with its clunky gameplay and odd story, characters, and dialogue that I’m not quite sure if I should be laughing at or with. |
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| WayTooManyGames |
Kyle Nicol |
6.5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is certainly an interesting game that won’t be for everyone. It’s full of jank, isn’t particularly well designed, and often feels incomplete. However, it is a good time, and I had a blast with it despite its flaws, and it left me wanting more by the time I was done. |
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| Wccftech |
Ule Lopez |
5 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
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 only explained through supplementary material, it feels like the ultimate case of wasted potential that could’ve become something better had the developers put a bit more thought into it. |
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| Worth Playing |
Chris “Atom” DeAngelus |
7 / 10 |
02-14-2023 |
Wanted: Dead is certainly an experience. It’s a weird game with occasional flashes of something great. It’s difficult to recommend it solely based on that. It’s disjointed, repetitive, and feels more like a collection of ideas stitched together into the rough shape of a game rather than anything cohesive. For a certain kind of gamer, this is going to be catnip, but for the average person, it’s probably going to be too weird to work, and unfortunately, the gameplay isn’t strong enough on its own merit to overcome that. |
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| Xbox Achievements |
Richard Walker |
50 / 100 |
02-14-2023 |
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. |
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