The soundtrack is a beautiful 80s synthwave masterpiece that instantly transports players back a good thirty years. Although the level design works it would’ve been nice to see boss battle arenas mixed up a bit more. My one complaint with boss battles is the similarity in environments. Boss battles see a massive difficulty spike typical of the genre but are eventually overcome with a bit of practice and grit. The controls feel tight and engineered for the experience. Higher grade weapons are dropped by gang members, such as shotguns, automatic rifles and more. Players start with a throwable weapon, a basic ranged weapon/melee combat, the ability to jump and dodge. Players will almost always find cover during bullet-hell moments but when to move (sometimes to where) is the harder part.
The placement of everything in Huntdown is deliberate and considered, furthering that need for strategy. Featuring various levels of platforms to run n’ gun on, the title brings elements of strategy to the table. That level design is another highlight of Huntdown. The game’s sprites work well with the geometry of the level design. Animations aim to be faithful to Huntdown‘s target era yet still appear fluid. Everything in Huntdown is a handcrafted tile or texture, from cutscenes to gameplay. The meticulous pixel art is what gives Huntdown its striking and nostalgic aesthetic. The overall voice-acting work is marvelously cheesy yet believable given the genre. Jokes aside, it’s nice to see an arcade title with attention to narrative elements between the title and ending screen. In an unusual but ultimately justified decision by Easy Trigger Games, a solid story-line has been included. Or just brush up on the works of Stallone, Willis and van Damme to gain some context. If that isn’t enough 80s/90s action for you then we’d recommend taking some classes in the action cinema of the era. Our favourite was the amazingly named ‘Anna Conda’. Bounty hunters are the only faction with the stones to take down criminal organisations and players can jump straight into the action with a roster of three guns for hire to choose from. In Huntdown, players are launched face-first into the grit of the criminal underbelly of a futuristic metropolis. Huntdownis a love letter to late 80s/early 90s sci-fi action, complete with odes to arcade-style action and nods to the Godparents of the side-scrolling shooter genre, Contra and Gunstar Heroes.
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