10 Awesome Video Games You've Missed In 2020 (So Far)
3. Huntdown
Much like Streets of Rage 4, Huntdown tows the nostalgia-fuelled line exceptionally well, paying homage to classic side-scrolling action games while still proving entirely accessible to unacquainted players.
Huntdown is pretty much exactly what you think it is - a simple yet deliciously satisfying side-scrolling shooter in which the player blasts their way across a dystopian hellscape taking down human slime in the process. That's pretty much all you need to know.
An unapologetic love letter to not only its genre forebears but also classic '80s action movies, Huntdown doesn't take itself one bit too seriously, offering up a cartoonish, wilfully cheesy period style, which perhaps belies some of its genuinely smart game design - especially its ludicrously entertaining boss battles.
Combine this with a spot-on 16-bit visual style and an eargasmic synth-driven score barmy enough to make Hotline Miami blush and you've got a recipe for a dynamic throwback that's far more than empty nostalgia-bait.