Review: Turbo Overkill (Nintendo Switch)
Turbo Overkill is a first-person shooter for the Nintendo Switch. While this genre isn’t exactly in short supply, there aren’t many decent outings for Nintendo’s hybrid console. Turbo Overkill seeks to rectify that, and succeeds.
You play the role of a half-man, half-machine bounty hunter named Johnny Turbo. It appears a rogue AI has taken over the futuristic town of Paradise, possessing inhabitants. It’s up to Johnny to shoot his way to the cause of the chaos and rectify the issue.
Like any good first-person shooter, Turbo Overkill features a variety of weapons to choose from. Even your default weapon has limited ammo, so it’s best to make each shot count. Of course, there are drops aplenty to help you stock up as you progress.
One aspect I enjoy about Turbo Overkill (given I’m a terrible shot) is his alternative weapon tucked into his leg. That’s right, there’s more than just firepower on offer. Johnny’s cyborg leg opens up to reveal a handy chainsaw, allowing him to slide along the ground and take out any foes along the way. It’s about as bloody as you think it will be. It grants players an extra way to play, especially when hordes of enemies stand between you and your goal.
There are other feats Johnny can perform, like dashing and using a grappling hook. Being part machine, Johnny can also be upgraded. This presents a neat way to level up as you progress, augmenting bits and pieces of weaponized machinery to arms, legs, torso—you name it. Each kill somehow earns you cash, spendable at convenient vending machines dotted around each level. You can also use these to purchase weapons, ammo, and health.
Turbo Overkill is set in a futuristic, neon city. Graphically, the team has done a neat job of presenting a world that’s somehow both colorful and dingy at once. The game runs at 30fps, which is disappointing for some, though I didn’t notice too much in the way of lag or slowdown. The loading screens take their sweet time, though.
There are also some interesting choices in the user interface that stood out to me, but not in a good way. This includes a typeface in the menu that’s pretty hard to read. I’m not sure if it’s the font itself or the fact that the game is not optimized properly (or both), but it’s blurry and hard to decipher. There are also several blurry screenshots used at various spots that look like a website that hasn’t been able to render properly. It’s not a great look. It might be due to the porting itself, but some extra care into that process would be ideal.
Thankfully these UI issues don’t mar the action itself. And the music is also solid. A dystopian world in which you play the role of a cyborg bounty hunter begs for a crunchy, heavy sound with some industrial vibes, and this is exactly what we get. The tracks are short and sweet, verging on being repetitive at times, but they suit the mood perfectly with fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping tunes.
Levels tend to be labyrinthine in nature, with some backtracking required as you locate the next area. For those of us not attuned to getting our bearings easily, a map would really help. As it is, I’m grateful for various difficulty setting options and other menu tweaks to help customize the experience. It makes it easier (or harder) depending on your skill level. Still…no in-built map?
Overall, Turbo Overkill is a decent first-person shooter that oozes personality. It might be a little rough around the edges, but the action, music, and creepy AI-based story is enough to whet the appetite of genre fans.
