Thunder Kid: Hunt for the Robot Emperor

When I think back to the early days of the PlayStation, I'm reminded of titles like Twisted Metal and Jumping Flash. These were games that had the power to create cool 3D worlds, but were still toying with how players controlled and interacted with them. In so many ways, the new game Thunder Kid: Hunt for the Robot Emperor looks and feels like one of those early 32-bit games. It's the kind of low-poly experience that pretends that we haven't just lived through a quarter-century of open-worlds and 3D platformers, creating an action game that looks and feels like nothing else coming out in 2022. That's a good thing in my books, but is it enough to satisfy the hardcore shoot 'em up fans? That's what I want to find out in this review of Thunder Kid: Hunt for the Robot Emperor.

In the far-flung future of 201X, after the war between the United States and Canada, a rogue AI led a robot uprising that ended up taking control of North America. Declaring himself the Robot Emperor, this rogue AI set its sights on conquering the rest of the world and killing the human species. But that's not going to happen as long as Turo Kid is around. She's a cybernetically-enhanced champion of justice that is on a mission to single-handedly stop the Robot Emperor dead in his tracks.

At first glance, Turbo Kid looks like one of those weird 3D stages you saw in early Contra games. You run through narrow hallways shooting down robots that are right in front of you. The gimmick here is that you can't turn your body or control the camera like most 3D games. I mean, you can certainly walk left or right, but it's more of a side-step than anything. The fixed camera angle makes this look and feel like the kind of 3D game we got from developers testing the waters after years of making 2D platformers.

In reality, this is a game from a company that specializes in making purposely antiquated games. Renegade Sector Games is the developer of other low-polygon titles, like Escape From Terror City, Diorama Dungeoncrawl and Breakneck City, which I reviewed last month. This is a company that knows what it's doing and is making a stylistic choice, which I can certainly appreciate, even if the execution doesn't always work for me. I would say that Thunder Kid benefits from this type of outdated approach, especially when compared to something like Breakneck City.

Click For the Full Picture Archive

The reason Thunder Kid ends up working is because we don't see a lot of shoot 'em ups that look or feel like this. It reminds me of old school third-person action games like 3D World Runner and the G.I. Joe arcade game, while still remaining unique and fun. It certainly borrows elements from other games, but I couldn't think of any other 3D shooters that played like Thunder Kid. There's a nice mix of platforming, dodging and shoot 'em up action, all with a pinch of exploration baked into every level.

That's a great recipe for an action game, but the shallowness ultimately weighs down Thunder Kid. While I like the idea of playing a character who is only shooting straight forward, I feel like the developers could have given our hero a few extra moves. It would have been nice to be able to roll out of trouble or perform a proper side-step maneuver. Also, for a shooter, there's surprisingly little in the form of firepower. We get one gun and no upgrades. The only item on the battlefield is a health pick-up, which may be helpful, but isn't as much fun as a flame thrower or spread shot.

It also doesn't help that we're fighting the same batch of robot enemies in very similar looking levels. Sure, the game tries to mix things up with stages set in the city, forest and desert, but they did little beyond reskinning the blocky walls and platforms. Thankfully, the game eventually introduces a bunch of cool robots in the final two stages, but the levels still blur together. The whole thing ends up being a little too repetitive for its own good.

Click For the Full Picture Archive

I would also like to note that the bosses aren't as much fun as the rest of the levels. These fights are always held in the same open room and aren't different enough from each other to really stand out. They also have a tendency of being incredibly cheap, full of shots that are hard to dodge. This is where a roll move and power-ups would have come in handy. I was still able to complete the incredibly short game, but some of the later bosses fall into the trap of being too frustrating yet not memorable in any way.

That said, the game ends strong and the levels are a lot of fun to play. There's also a hidden coin located in every level, which adds some incentive to replay the game multiple times. Thunder Kid benefits from having a unique look and feel that you don't see in other shoot 'em ups on the market, especially these days. It controls well and offers something unique in an overcrowded genre. For that reason, I'm going to recommend Thunder Kid: Hunt for the Robot Emperor, but know that this is a shooter that could have been greatly improved with just a few small tweaks and additions.