RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review – Murphy’s Law: Everyone Gets Shot

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review

Teyon delivered an authentic virtual representation of the cult-classic RoboCop. Rogue City captured the spirit of the franchise and continued its legacy, cracking down on crime in the seedy underbelly of Old Detroit. Stepping into the steel boots of Alex Murphy and brutally bringing justice to the streets never felt better. With this in mind, DLC was planned but soon evolved into a full standalone expansion. Unfinished Business borrows the tight, high-stakes premise of action-movie royalty like The Raid and Dredd, and implements it into the world of RoboCop. Will this tower-bound bloodbath be enough to cement Rogue City’s place among the greats of action gaming?

The OmniTower is a massive housing complex built to serve the residents of Old Detroit. However, a group of highly skilled mercenaries soon seizes control, turning it into their base of operations. As RoboCop, your mission is to infiltrate the tower and eliminate every threat in the name of justice. Like the silver screen classics that inspired it, the story is straightforward, but the simplicity puts the focus squarely on the action. You’ll fight your way floor by floor, aiming to reach the top to neutralize the threat to civilization. Placing focus on the gameplay is great for a standalone expansion as it allows for a fast-paced experience that encourages you to dismantle any wrongdoer who dares to stand in your way.

Time For Some Action

Unfinished Business continues with the strong gun-focused gameplay that resonated with fans in Rogue City. RoboCop feels heavy, and each shot carries weight to deliver satisfying gunplay. With the iconic Auto 9, enemies will be identified with your sensors so that you can take out several foes in an instant. After elimination, you can also pick up any of the array of weapons left by mercenaries, giving you more options to tackle oncoming threats. It can get a little repetitive, so experimenting with guns helps to alleviate that. With a handful of new weapons, the game sticks to its predecessor’s formula, streamlining it into a leaner, action-packed experience.

A new feature allows you to use the environment to eliminate enemies. As you storm into a room, specific areas highlight nearby, grab an enemy near one to trigger a brutal execution. The camera shifts to a third-person view, emphasizing the visceral impact of the takedown. It’s a strong addition that enhances the franchise’s signature over-the-top violence. You’ll start edging toward these hotspots just to see the inventive, savage ways that the OCP Crime Prevention Unit 001 can deliver justice.

As you fight your way through the OmniTower, you’ll encounter new enemy types that require you to shift your tactics. While ultimately, you still need to pump as much lead into them as possible, some require you to do so in different ways. Heavily armored foes can soak up more damage, katana-wielding enemies hunt you down and drones attack from the air, requiring you to focus on verticality too. This cranks up the challenge as you fight against the barrage of enemies and navigate the tightly designed interiors of the tower. Luckily, health items are generously positioned throughout to support you on your quest.

The Only Way is Up

Although the majority of the experience is moving up floors in the OmniTower, Teyron mixes things up with the odd mission where you control the ED-209. This technological beast is a force to be reckoned with, giving you an unrivalled level of power so that you can dominate on the battlefield. Opposing this is the flashback mission, where you play as Murphy when he’s a normal cop on the beat. These add variety to the experience and flesh out the narrative; however, I would have enjoyed more opportunities to revisit these segments to mix up the gameplay more often.

Visually, the game looks a little dated. While there are plenty of nods to the era and stylized elements that lean into its B-movie roots, they don’t fully compensate for the subpar facial animations and basic textures. That said, longtime fans may find charm in the campy presentation, even if it might not land with a broader audience. However, even the biggest of fans won’t be able to overlook some glaring bugs where the camera can focus on the wrong body part during cutscenes. This issue only occurred on rare occasions, and the developers will hopefully patch it before release. On the audio front, the developers have nailed the iconic RoboCop soundscape with each metallic drone and mechanical thud reinforcing the feeling that you truly are in Murphy’s shoes.

A Steady Shot

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business offers a tighter, more compact take on the original. While the story remains fairly shallow, this puts the focus on gameplay, with new weapons, enemies, and executions that help elevate the experience. Returning players will know what to expect and likely enjoy what’s on offer, but if the base game didn’t win you over, there’s nothing here that will change your mind. While it doesn’t reinvent anything, Unfinished Business is a satisfying extension for those eager to jump back into RoboCop’s boots.

***A PS5 code was provided for this review***