Redeemer is an old school brawler that brings the violence

Redeemer is a high-intensity, brutal top-down action game from Russian-based Sobaka Studios with an emphasis on melee combat.

Players inhabit the role of a former private army elite soldier named Vasily who, after escaping an attempt to transform him into a bioweapon, turns to a monastic life in the mountains. Unfortunately, Vasily’s old employer eventually comes knocking, and the game starts when Vasily must embrace his inner killer once again to confront his past and defeat the corrupt corporation.

The inspiration behind Redeemer was the old-school brawlers from the 16-bit era like Turtles in Time and Streets of Rage. However, developer Sobaka wanted to apply higher production values – and more gore – to this classic formula. The result is Redeemer, a visceral, bloody fighter that’s light on subtlety and heavy on bone-crunching violence.

The game will be split into three central sections, the first of which is based in and around a mountain monastery under attack. Later sections include a cyberpunk-influenced laboratory where bioweapons are produced.

The basic gameplay of Redeemer should feel familiar to anybody who has ever played God of War. It’s a 3D fighter where players can punch, kick, shoot, choke, smash, and eviscerate enemies. It features basic combos, charge up attacks, and environmental weapons like boxes and chairs. The game also has a plethora of weapons, from stun sticks to sledge hammers and from handguns to plasma rifles.

Once enemies sustain enough damage, players can choose to perform stylistic executions like chewing out an enemies throat, for instance. If near specific geometry, these executions will involve the environment, such as smashing an enemy’s skull on a pillar. These executions also refill the player’s life a little, and prove invaluable as the difficulty quickly ramps up.

The game wastes no time challenging the player. It quickly adds enemies with guns, powerful enemies that block, and multiple enemies that can quickly overwhelm the player.

While initially easy to grasp, the fighting mechanics quickly become complex, which also adds to the game’s considerable challenge. Along with basic attacks, charged attacks, and combos, the player must also parry enemy attacks. If the enemy has a gun, players can steal the gun from their hands and turn it against them – John Wick style. All of these mechanics build on and compliment one another, although it takes a while to get comfortable with each so that players can start chaining them together.

The main game is singleplayer only at the moment and will take about 4-5 hours to complete, although the developer has talked about adding co-op mode for the main campaign post-release. However, Redeemer does include a horde mode where two players can join forces to take on waves of enemies.

Redeemer will be coming to Steam in the late summer or early fall of 2017

John Vanderhoef appears courtesy of the lovely people at GameCritics.com – this article may also be published there, so go check the site out!