REVIEW – An isometric shooter based on the works of Michal Golkowski, a well-known Polish science fiction and fantasy author. Yanus’ troubled past still affects him, but we’ll be more affected by the fact that console optimization seems to have been left out. It follows that it might be a better idea to play it on PC rather than PlayStation 5… but in any case, let’s see how it looks on console more than a year after its PC release. 

Yanus, by the way, is the name of our protagonist: a private investigator trying to solve a case involving a stolen data carrier, and he’s also haunted by his inner demons. 

What lies behind the neon lights and concrete streets? 

Of course, the answer lies in “urban gangs” or “mega-corporation above everything”, so this dystopia has been seen many times before, and they are what make our hero’s city stand at cesspool level. The gameplay will offer an isometric shooter with many side quests. These are well worth exploring as they add a new layer of drama to the story. Most are 1v1 fights, or if not, you’ll be taking out small groups in tight spaces, so don’t expect hordes. Hiding behind cover and possibly crouching doesn’t always work, but other than that the AI seems to work adequately. More than once, it seemed that our enemies could not be hit from behind cover, while they were able to inflict damage. And that might make the player want to play a little bit like Rambo, and… that’s not stupid. It’s worth playing a little more aggressively. But that brings up the other problem. The game is very short. That’s not an exaggeration, but you can finish it in three hours. Then there was the oddity that the interface used a slightly… oddly small font size. It could have been a bit larger.

Even the subtitles for the scenes could have been a bit bigger – nothing would have been cut off due to reaching the edge of the screen. But you will definitely notice that our enemies appear out of nowhere more than once. It felt a bit amateurish, but the same can’t be said for the visuals, which are relatively pleasing (can’t complain about the style), but there have been better examples of the genre, so SlavicPunk can’t be better in that respect: Oldtimer can be called excellent in this respect. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a classic twin-stick shooter, so the two DualSense analog sticks bring that old-school style to the table. Speaking of style, Red Square Games has slavified the cyberpunk style (it’s called SLAVICPunk for a reason…) to such an extent that all that’s missing is a gopnik in an Adidas (or Adios) sweatshirt squatting on the stairs of an Eastern Bloc apartment complex building. That would add a little spice to the story, or if someone said: O, ja pierdole! (In Polish, it means „ah, f_ck me!”) 

Depressing on the surface, but what about underneath? 

With his modular weapons, Yanus can be brutal, and no matter what difficulty level you play, it will stand out. So will the soundtrack. It’s excellent. It’s safe to say. It brings exactly the style, atmosphere and soundscape you would expect from a cyberpunk environment. (It’s worth a listen and even a purchase, as it’s available separately.) The other aspect of the sound, the voice acting, is a bit lacking. The main character has been hit, and understandably so, since he’s the one we hear the most… but the others are not so good. Anyway, the game is relatively linear, so if you go off the main path you’ll find the extras, and SlavicPunk: Oldtimer leaves it up to us to decide how to complete the tasks we’re given.

You can slow down time, and of course you can hack to confuse your enemies, which is to be expected because the style demands it. And what about replayability? It’s quite good, as the experience will be different almost every time you have to fight others here and there. However, it’s worth pointing out here that if you want to try the game on a harder level, be prepared to be fooled: one mistake and you’ll be knocked off your feet almost immediately. It’s easy to learn the basics, which is good, but it takes a lot of practice to take down an army of life takers like John Wick… but once you do, it’s very impressive, but not as good as John Wick Hex. 

Ratatatata 

SlavicPunk: Oldtimer probably deserves a 7.5 on PC because it’s mostly good, but on PlayStation 5 it deserves a slightly lower score because the quality of the port didn’t seem to be as good. It deserves a very strong 6.5/10, but it’s also one of those if you like the genre, take it as a weak 7/10. It has good elements, but it also has its flaws, so it’s not that outstanding… but it’s worth a try for fans of the genre. 

-V-

Publisher: Gaming Factory
Developer: Red Square Games
Style: action/twin-stick shooter
Release date: June 28, 2023 (PC) / November 6, 2024 (PlayStation 5)