Mega City Police Hands-on Impressions

From the moment the game loads up, it’s clear just listening to the music that this is a virtual trip back to the 1980s, with inspiration taken from classic movies of the era seen throughout the game. It’s absolutely dripping with neon-soaked pixelated charm and synth-wave beats to give that real feeling of how media at the time portrayed visions of a future Earth. Unfortunately, the far-off future of 2019 never saw the rise of flying cars!

To start with — after choosing which agent to play as — you’re given a brief tutorial at the police station; moving, shooting, skill use, and so on. The controls are tight and responsive, working very well with either a controller or mouse and keyboard. Playing almost like a twin-stick shooter, it doesn’t take long to learn the simple control scheme, and before you know it, you’ll be jumping into your squad car and heading out to serve justice!

You’re tasked with bringing down the thugs terrorising Mega City; by shooting first and asking questions… well, never. That’s basically the sum of the plot, i.e. there isn’t one. But that’s okay because there’ll be plenty of bad guys, new weapons, and unlockables to keep you busy for hours! Each level consists of three stages (which are all procedurally generated) with the third stage being host to a boss encounter. It plays similar to titles such as Enter the Gungeon, with a constant feeling of progression, new weapons found littered throughout the environments, and a heavy emphasis on replayability.

The replayability is crucial here; earlier, we mentioned the tight and responsive controls, an essential component for this title because Mega City Police can get tough! Although there’s likely to be a shiny new gun around almost every corner, the waves of enemies coming at you can be relentless, so make good use of your agent’s offensive and defensive abilities (such as the Cyborg’s magnetic pulse that repels bullets) to triumph over the forces of evil!

Each of the characters has their own strengths, weaknesses, and unique skills, and it’s fun to try out new squad members as you unlock them, just to see which best fits your play style. If you’re still struggling, though, Mega City Police thankfully has an easier difficulty level which certainly helped in getting accustomed to a new character!