Roaring through waves of hideous foes at speeds that would get you pulled over in real life is an adrenaline rush like no other. Video games like DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein and Duke Nukem 3D helped make the first-person shooter genre explode in the ’90s. We are talking about Turbo Overkill Is A Cyberpunk Shooter.
However, as both PC hardware and monitors have improved over the years, so too has the prevalence of homages like Dusk and Post Void, which bring back the “boomer shooter” genre by recreating its aesthetic while supporting considerably higher frame rates.
The largely cyberpunk-inspired Turbo Overkill, which takes inspiration from the aforementioned classics and combines them all with some of the modern sensibilities introduced in games like DOOM Eternal and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, appears to be the next major leap in boomer shooter craziness.
Pssst, hey, guess what? https://t.co/D86wKpiiwf
— Turbo Overkill – Episode 2 at #PAXWest with Apogee (@turbo_overkill) April 22, 2022
Turbo Overkill Is A Cyberpunk Shooter
Turbo Overkill, however, can spew out frame rates of 500fps or above, thanks to its deliciously low-res graphic design that allows it to run at some amazingly high frame rates. At PAX, I had the opportunity to give it a go.
Turbo Overkill has a simplistic premise, yet it works fine for a shooter with a throwback aesthetic. All you need to know is that you are a cyborg mercenary by the name of Johnny Turbo, dispatched to the neon-lit metropolis of Paradise to wipe out a large number of other cyborgs.
The only story cinematics in Turbo Overkill includes you performing stylistic mayhem, like the Doom Slayer, in first-person sequences, which paints Johnny in a rather irreverent light. Turbo Overkill’s strengths lie in its brutality and gore, therefore the game doesn’t waste any words on exposition.
Screenshots From Episode 2 Of Turbo Overkill
You may run and gun with precision in tight scenarios thanks to Turbo Overkill’s plethora of powerful and often ingenious weaponry, such as the Dual Magnums, which can target-lock up to three opponents. And you know how the power of a shooter’s shotgun is generally a good indicator of how good they are? It’s obvious that Turbo Overkill knows what it’s doing.
The shotgun may also be converted into a grenade launcher by holding down the right mouse button. During Turbo Overkill’s early access period, many of these weapons were made available to players. I, for one, was able to try out the powerful new Plasma Gun, which is a welcome albeit rather familiar addition to the arsenal.
However, as a novice player heading into my PAX preview, I soon fell in love with the game’s armament, and it’s excellent news since developer Apogee Entertainment has promised even more weaponry on Twitter in the past. The slow-motion weapon choice menu, reminiscent of DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal, is also here, and it’s one of my favorite features.
While testing Turbo Overkill, I used a state-of-the-art personal computer that consistently delivered frame rates of 550 to 580 FPS in 21:9 ultrawide. Visually, Turbo Overkill is very reminiscent of Valheim due to its low-resolution, voxel-like presentation style. Turbo Overkill’s framerate stayed stable between 550 and 580 FPS on a modern PC I tried it on at PAX, and that was with the game’s ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio enabled.
Regardless, it’s buoyed by its fantastic cyberpunk-themed art design, which manages to make the planet feel both foreboding and inhabited with little residential boats lining the waterways and spectacular buildings dotting the horizon, supplemented by huge Jumbotron-Esque holograms. Paradise is a dying society that often evokes Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, albeit with a more horrific twist.
The cyborg foes present a wide range of difficulties, and they each require their own unique approach. Johnny Turbo’s characteristic melee attack is the Chainsaw Leg, which allows him to fast zip across the battlefield while smushing enemies in his wake.
Meanwhile, while strafing from side to side, it’s best to save your shotgun shots for the more substantial foes. Avoiding damage is essential in every battle due to your low health, which presents a significant difficulty in the most frenetic combat situations as your screen is swamped with enemies of varying varieties.
Turbo Overkill’s 1.0 release will be completed with Episode 2, which will have a brand new campaign, albeit it will be difficult for a new player to tell exactly what has been improved upon. Granted, it was loaded with an enjoyable balance of shooting, puzzles, and platforming, and I have no reason to expect anything more when it completely breaks out of early access at some time in the near future.