Huntdown (Switch) Review

During the 70s and 80s the world got its fair share of futuristic dystopias through movies; Escape from New York, Blade Runner, Robocop, The Terminator and even The Warriors. It also happens to make a great setting for video games, in fact, most movies had a video game adaptation, or heavily inspired them. Enter Huntdown, a mish-mash of grimy futuristic dystopias with a criminal underworld, resembling themed gangs ala The Warriors all bundled up in a 90’s era arcade 2D shooter.      

Three bounty hunters – Anna Conda, John Sawyer and Mow Man. All representing different walks of life in this mega corporation-filled future, a Human, a Cyborg and a Droid. Themed criminal gangs are running rampant, the police are useless and the Shimamoto Corporation wants you to clear out the criminal underworld. The hunters don’t care what they have to do, just as long as they get paid. Each hunter has an individual gun and throwable weapon, and each weapon does make a difference in how you approach the levels. You can swap characters at any time, although you do have to restart the level if you’re already in one. I stuck with Anna Conda most of the time. Even though the submachine gun isn’t as hard-hitting, the rate of firing was helpful for multiple enemies. Along the way, you’ll also find secondary weapons you can pick up for some extra firepower. Whether it’s a sawn-off shotgun, rocket launcher or a hockey stick, you’re a force to be reckoned with. 

Huntdown is an arcade shooter reminiscent of games such as Contra. It is a little more forgiving than arcade games like that, well until you hit the bosses that is. Each district has several levels, with each level ending with a boss battle until the big boss in the final level of the district. All of these bosses are somewhat themed to the gang that occupies each area. The earlier districts are full of punks and Hockey hooligans followed up by Motorcycling Rockabillies and cyber-samurai themes. Be warned that some stereotypes are a little dated. While they’re all dressed to suit the theme, it’s the bosses that get the most personality. Larger in size, they each have their own customised appearance fitting with the theme along with their own arena designed around their specific attacks. 

It’s not as simple as run and gunning it through the levels. It doesn’t take long to be gunned down if you stand there hoping to jump over any projectiles. Your best bet is to make use of cover, liberally spread through each area. These take the form of crates or recesses you can step back into, taking me right back to playing Blackthorne in the 90s. The enemies also make good use of cover, it often becomes a standoff as you both duck in and out from your hiding spots. Although you can’t get too complacent hiding out either, some attacks can’t be avoided and are there to force you to keep moving. You’re also restricted in your movements. You can’t point your gun at any angle, it’s straight ahead only. At first, it was disappointing, after so many years of being able to shoot upwards. Be prepared to do lots of jumping and shooting to deal with the punks up on platforms.

Most enemies can be dealt with swiftly, some bigger enemies take a little longer but with good use of cover they still go down. Some encounters can swarm you with punks, if you’re caught in the middle they can easily make short work of you. The real challenge across the different districts are the boss fights. No matter the difficulty, this is when it gets tough. All of the bosses can take a lot of punishment. Some also have armour that needs taking out first, or stay in hiding until you deal with their lackeys. While the rest of the level gives you plenty of chances to take a breather, you won’t get that here. Trying to hide in cover is much harder when their stronger hitting attacks can knock you out of your hidey hole and do extra damage. For the majority of the game there was little swearing from me, but when it came to the bosses curses flowed like a river. What was worse was that I knew the patterns of movement and what attacks to expect and getting too ambitious. There were a few times I was one shot away from defeating the boss only to be hit from an attack being launched off screen. After these moments I just turned the Switch off for a bit.  

The game captures the 80s Futurepunk aesthetic perfectly within 16 bits, it wouldn’t have been out of place on the SNES or Mega Drive. If it wasn’t for the number of spoken lines it would’ve fit right in. Developer Easy Trigger has done a great job of getting that retro look while also just making it look good on its own. The music also works well with plenty of synth. The soundtrack is something I would gladly listen to on its own.

I enjoyed playing Huntdown. It is a pitch perfect homage to that era of games, while being great as its own thing. While the boss fights got very frustrating, they were also fair for a majority of the time. It forced me to pay better attention to all the different attacks and movements, to learn when to be patient and to not be greedy with landing shots.

There is a co-op option if bounty hunting is not as fun on your own, or you just want to even the odds. Co-op will definitely help with the boss battles. 

Huntdown almost feels like a 90s gaming time capsule, capturing the arcade 2D shooters that 80s and 90s kids grew up with. It manages to be its own grimy ‘futuristic’ dystopia while being jam-packed with references and easter eggs to iconic sci-fi and cyberpunk dystopias. The difficulty might be off-putting to some, the bosses especially. Huntdown is a game worth your time if you want to hop into a Delorean and encounter a game that feels like a blast from the past.

Rating: 4/5