this thing is FUN

its kinda like cyberpunk doom

Turbo Overkill is such a comprehensive boomer shooter with one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard in a game. It feels like a hybrid of DOOM and Serious Sam. You play as Johnny Turbo, a mute cyborg out for vengeance who is usually voiced by his personal AI called S.A.M.M., created by his mother, and tasked to take care of him for the rest of his life. He works as a Street Cleaner for a company called Teratek that presumably controls the moon or the system in which the game is set. His objective is to annihilate the rogue AI called Syn that took control of the system and while doing so, he constantly searches for Ripper, the one who destroyed Johnny in a gruesome way which led him to become a cyborg to cling to life to carry on his bloody crusade against her. However, things do not go as planned since Ripper also works for Teratek as a Street Cleaner along with her companions Maw and Jazz. The game is divided into episodes consisting of 6 or 7 levels each and they all have their own settings with somewhat different objectives due to the unfolding events. The absurdity of the game and its story is quite funny, yet it also manages to make you feel like a badass cyborg. I usually found myself laughing at the edgy dialogues with a smirky grin, then suddenly I was at the edge of my seat watching Johnny Turbo’s viciousness with excitement. Yeah, Turbo Overkill is that good. Without spoiling the story any further, I’d like to talk about the gameplay.

It's a fast-paced game which means you have to move, jump, and dash all the time to avoid taking damage. As the game progresses further, you are given new weapons and you can’t reload them if they run out of ammo; therefore, you must cycle between every weapon to keep the flow going. You are also given new abilities such as Turbo Time which slows down time. However, the crucial part of the gameplay is your chainsaw leg. I think it would be safe to say that the game revolves around this mechanic because once you find the necessary augmentations for Johnny, you’ll end up sliding into the small enemies to replenish your HP and armor constantly, especially on higher difficulties. You can either buy new augmentations at shops or find the Teratek Keys and open crates that are lying around some levels. You can also buy upgrades for your weapons. There are several collectibles to find scattered around the levels such as Data Disks that give information about the lore, Tech Chips that unlock game-altering modifications, and Cassettes that unlock secret levels. The platforming sections and boss fights are also quite fun!

You might be wondering whether the game is difficult or not and I’d say it’s not that difficult unless you’re playing on the highest difficulty on your first run. However, even the game itself suggests that the highest difficulty, Murder Machine, should be played after obtaining every single upgrade for your weapons and getting most of the augmentations. It might be very difficult if you start playing the game on Murder Machine right away, but in New Game Plus, it doesn’t pose a threat. It just gets irritating at times and that’s about it. What’s more irritating, however, is the fact that you must kill every single enemy in every level if you want to attain a 100% completion rate. Considering the average enemy count in a level is 400+ and taking the game’s fast pacing into account, it becomes quite easy to miss 1 or 2 enemies. If there’s one thing I didn’t like about Turbo Overkill, it’s its lengthy levels. At least some of them were supported with different gimmicks such as your flying car and bike, but I hope they will follow a different path in the sequel because it gets tiring after a while. The rest of the achievements are decent, though. The other game modes are not that bad too if you’re looking to squeeze a few more hours in it. If you’re still not satisfied with what the game offers you, you can always play Endless Mode with a partner or download new levels from Steam Workshop!

A wonderful fast-paced boomer shooter with a banging soundtrack and a large variety of weapons and augmentations. It has a story mode, an arcade mode, and an endless mode that can be played solo or with a partner. It even has a level editor and Steam Workshop support! If you’re into games like DOOM and Serious Sam, Turbo Overkill would be a great choice!