Prison City
Reviewed by Cyril Lachel on
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Prison City works as both a fun side-scroller and as a love-letter to the 8-bit action games many of us grew up with. It absolutely nails the presentation and gameplay, going above and beyond with wonderfully-conceived levels with multiple paths and memorable boss battles. Inspired by games like Shatterhand and Power Blade, this is a throwback title that brings something new and different to the table. I suppose it could have used more weapons and power-ups, but that’s nitpicking. If you loved the classic 2D action games from the 1980s, then prepare to fall head over heels for Hal Bruzer and his old school tactics.
Rating: 85%
If you play as many throwback games as I do, then you’re bound to notice that a large majority of the titles have been inspired by only a handful of classic releases. The truth is, most of today’s throwback games are either trying to be Contra, Mega Man or Castlevania. The developers behind the new game Prison City bucks that trend by giving us an action title inspired by lesser-known greats like Taito’s Power Blade series. The result is a surprisingly fresh and exciting new platformer that looks and feels like a long-lost game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. But does this game have what it takes to stand on its own, or is it just another 8-bit wannabe? That’s what we’re going to explore in this review of Prison City by Screenwave Media.
Prison City takes us to an alternate history where Detroit was abandoned in 1994 and turned into a penal colony where the country’s worst criminals are kept behind a massive wall. Now, in the year 1997, techno terrorists have infiltrated this prison city in the hopes of turning the prisoners into a fierce fighting force. Now it’s up to former cop Hal Bruzer to come out of retirement and bring peace back to Detroit.
We do this by traveling to eight different parts of the city in any order, not unlike the classic Mega Man games. This includes everything from the freeway to the sewers to the nearby sports stadium. Each stage is guarded by a different warden, so Hal will need to fight through the level until he finds an informant that will give him a key card and access to one of many clever end bosses.
While not all that different from your typical run ‘n gun action hero, Hal uses a boomerang-style weapon that will fly out and then quickly come back. What’s cool about this weapon is that he can throw multiple boomerangs at once, as well as control the way they fly in the air. This turns out to be a great weapon, as it allows you to use real strategy to take out the heavily-armored guards. There will be times when throwing it one way may not do much, but you can take off some real damage as it turns back to our hero.
Aside from the unique weapon, Hal is also surprisingly agile for a guy enjoying his retirement. He can do the usual thing, like slide under bullets and hang off of ledges, but what’s really cool about this game is how often he gets a chance to climb. Climbing up walls and nets is a big part of this game, and you’ll find that this mechanic is constantly being worked into the level designs in fun new ways.
The truth is, the level design is the real star of Prison City. I don’t care if it’s something cool like the local zoo or something as mundane as the factory, every stage is well thought-out and brings at least one or two new ideas to the table. What’s really cool is that most of the levels have multiple paths, giving you quite a bit of control over how you want to tackle the different obstacles. This is great for a game like this, where you may need to play through the stage multiple times before you finally beat it. Being able to explore and find new areas keeps the stages from becoming too repetitive and predictable.
And because each stage is themed, we see the different parts of the city brought to life with all kinds of wonderfully original obstacles and challenges. I had a great time fighting my way through the preserve during an especially nasty rain storm. It’s fun having the wind toss our hero about and make his life miserable. Over in the power plant, you’ll need to contend with climbing sections that can electrify you. There’s also the required ice level, complete with slippery surfaces and frozen platforms that will shatter into a million little pieces. While some of the enemies may carry over from one stage to the next, the obstacles tend to stick with the theme, making each level feel fresh and unique.
It helps that the boss fights are just as exciting and fun as the level designs. I don’t care which level you select, because every single stage ends with an amazing battle that is more than just button mashing. For example, one of the most exhilarating battles has you racing against a post-apoptotic trucker that is straight out of the Mad Max franchise. In another stage, you’ll go up against a boss that has you playing the most explosive game of Pong you’ve ever seen. There are a few more traditional boss fights, too, all of which will require you to memorize the patterns and pounce whenever you see a weakness.
In that sense, Prison City really excels at mimicking the 8-bit games of our youth. I’m sure that purists will say that it’s running too many colors or would be plagued with terrible slowdowns and flickers, but this game did a great job of tricking my brain into believing that it’s from the old school. It also has a lot of knowing references to the classic games, both in the enemy designs and the unavoidable cliches. Many of the bonus stages are direct nods to the games of the 1980s and 90s, such as destroying a car like in Final Fight and Street Fighter or trying to disarm a bunch of bombs, ala the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is a full-on celebration of the era that brought us 8- and 16-bit gaming.
As you can probably imagine, most of the complaints I might have against Prison City are also complaints I would have against dozens of other 8-bit action games. In that sense, there’s probably no use in complaining about enemies knocking our hero off of small platforms and things like that, because that’s baked into the nostalgia. It’s part of what made those 8-bit games so memorable (and challenging). That said, I did find Prison City to be a lot easier than your typical Mega Man or Ninja Gaiden game, so if you still have PTSD from some of the more unforgiving games of that era, you may still have a good time with this one.
That said, I did find that the climbing and hanging controls weren’t always as precise as I would have liked. I have a hunch this has more to do with the Switch D-pad than the game itself, but I found that Hal wouldn’t always grab the ledge when he was supposed to. I also wish that the game had more weapons and power-ups. I love the boomerang weapon, but it feels like we’re missing out by not earning new abilities or weapons after completing each stage.
Obviously, these are minor gripes, especially when you see how fun and imaginative the level designs and boss fights are. This is a great looking throwback game that looks and sounds the part from beginning to end. It also controls exactly how you would expect an 8-bit game to control, both in good and bad ways. Throw in a funny story with a couple super obvious twists and all kinds of references, and you have one of the best throwback games of the year.
Prison City works as both a fun side-scroller and as a love-letter to the 8-bit action games many of us grew up with. It absolutely nails the presentation and gameplay, going above and beyond with wonderfully-conceived levels with multiple paths and memorable boss battles. Inspired by games like Shatterhand and Power Blade, this is a throwback title that brings something new and different to the table. I suppose it could have used more weapons and power-ups, but that’s nitpicking. If you loved the classic 2D action games from the 1980s, then prepare to fall head over heels for Hal Bruzer and his old school tactics.
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