By the time I had booted up Milanoir, I had forgotten what the trailer showed and why I was interested in it. Seeing the name Good Shepherd excited me though, as the last game from them I played was absolutely fantastic. Of course, the same publisher doesn’t always mean similar quality; likewise, developers are entirely capable of making something completely different from their previous IPs. But I like to be optimistic in these cases, especially when it comes to indie games. Of course, 1970s pulp fiction is much different from 1920s America focused on fictional and non-fictional stories.

The opening of this game surprised me, as I really didn’t expect the direction it would take. It was an interesting choice for introducing the main character, and certainly one I won’t forget for a while. In a post-Hotline Miami world, hyper violence in a top down world is normalized in games. At first I thought that’s what we’d be getting with this, but it turned out to have a lot more to offer than busting into rooms and close quarter situations. The first level has you heading to a motel of sorts, choking guys out and getting information. Soon after you bust into the designated room and your first gun fight takes place. Following this you will use gun-play quite a bit, and will even lead to you in a car pursuit shooting enemies while driving and dodging obstacles. It ends with a boss battle utilizing all the mechanics the game has taught you up to this point, and is fairly straightforward.

The game offers a normal difficulty and it only goes up from there. If you feel the game is too hard, this is the type that requires you to “git gud.” It’s not overly challenging, as the most difficult sections are usually because of a hidden enemy that ambushes you, or because you make a stupid mistake. Unlike the titular Hotline Miami and an assortment of games that followed in its footsteps, death does not come as quickly as a single hit. Far from it as your life is much more reminiscent of the games that did away with health bars and allowed you to regenerate your health by avoiding damage for a few seconds.

The choices used for this game make for a unique experience, although at times things seem a bit too drawn out. The difficulty has always made these types of games more strategy based than anything, with fairly short levels that could easily be sketched on a small piece of paper. The ideas for many of the levels in this could be done in the same manner, although they seem to be extended much longer, making them feel padded for length. There are an assortment of enemies that you’ll come across while traversing the levels, each of which have guns, knives, and more, oh my. Admittedly, the AI isn’t all that intelligent, as melee enemies will often times walk up to the environmental object you’re hiding behind allowing you to shoot them.

Maneuvering the zones will often mean rolling around to avoid arousing any suspicion. Using cover is vital to survival, although objects used for cover are able to be destroyed. The game offers you the option to play through portions stealthily, but unless it’s specifically supposed to be played in that manner, chances are you won’t get far that way. Similarly to the first Uncharted, the melee option lasts for one or two guys, but soon becomes a fire fight. It’s far from A Thief’s End, which allowed you to clear areas out entirely with stealth. In addition to the different weapons you’ll come across, you’ll be able to utilize the environment for attacks as well.

It’s nice to see a game that is not afraid to do something different, especially with a genre that has more or less provided everything I thought we’d see from it. From the way the levels are depicted and how the story plays out to the battles themselves, the game is a fun romp through the 70s in a tale for revenge. While parts of it seem to drag out a bit too long, the game is undeniably fun and worth checking out.

7 out of 10

Pros

• Pulpy Story/Action
• Interesting World
• Varied Game Mechanics

Cons

• Dragged Out Level Designs
• Intermittently Poor AI

Milanoir was developed by Italo Games and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment. The game launched on NS, PC, PS4, and X1 May 31st, 2018. The game was provided to us for review on NS. If you’d like to see more of Milanoir, check out the official site.

 

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