Huntdown

Huntdown is a 2D shoot'em up that balances challenge and fun, with precise gameplay, a captivating soundtrack, and impeccable 16-bit art. Despite the short duration, the game brings an incredible experience being a mandatory title for lovers of 2D action games.

Huntdown is a delightfully detailed and expertly crafted throwback to old-school run n' gun arcade shooters. The 16-bit graphical style is immaculately recreated whilst adding lots of modern bells and whistles to proceedings, including a fantastic soundtrack and audio design, optional CRT filter and an arsenal of heavy-duty weapons that chew scenery and enemies to pieces as your bounty hunter makes their way from boss fight to excellent boss fight. The flow of levels may be quite repetitive but the moment-to-moment gameplay, overall sense of fun that comes from the level of carnage you can dish out, surprising amount of hammy spoken dialogue and constant pop-culture references all combine to make this one an easy recommendation, and another excellent addition to the Switch's action catalogue.

Huntdown should be lauded for how a clear vision was deliberately and consistently executed on throughout. The gameplay alone is rewarding, but its marriage and devotion to the tone of a grungy, anarchic city and a vision of the future that feels ripped from the ‘80s both feels retro in its sensibilities and contemporary with the incoming swell of cyberpunk-inspired titles. Huntdown had the foresight to get-in on that trend early with the understanding of how to make a gratifying shooter, making it one of the more complete feeling indie titles to date on the Switch.

Huntdown is a very good game. Its frenetic and modernized action, its beautifully created setting and its design full of details, makes it one of the best run & gun games on Nintendo Switch and will delight veteran and new players.

Huntdown is a cool, crass and challenging game that manages to do just enough to stand out above the static of analogue signals. Its strength is in how it never takes itself seriously, while the tried-and-tested gameplay and the clear attention to detail is a prime example of how to carve in quality presentation with a First Blood Survival Knife.

It doesn't quite stand out for its originality, but the gameplay experience is more than satisfying, with frantic action, a good visual world, enjoyable soundtrack and plenty of cheesy dialogue lines. With an additional layer of fun if played with two players, Huntdown on the Nintendo Switch is a recommended game for anyone looking for a fun and action-packed arcade experience.

Huntdown is a fun homage the 80's that enjoys a great soundtrack and well-designed levels with challenging and intriguing boss fights.