Hard Reset: Redux Review

Hard Reset Redux is a remaster of 2011’s popular sci-fi FPS Hard Reset from publisher and developer, Flying Wild Hog. The team who also developed the popular Shadow Warrior have returned with some revamped visuals and gameplay, but despite the updates and gameplay changes, the game is still missing some core elements that would take it to the next level.

Harness The Power Of The Raiden Gun

Hard Reset plays out in a dystopian future in Bezoar City, where machines are key to everyday survival. You play as a member of the CFN, a unit of soldiers whose task it is to protect the citizens against any robotic threats. To be honest the story isn’t amazing, and although the comic book style cut scenes were well laid out and well designed, it was really not common for me to watch them until the end. The characters are not relatable and the underlying conspiracy plot that eventually appears has as much cerebral impact as staring into a bag of rice. However in a first-person shooter like this, the story can take a back seat because the gameplay and visuals of Hard Reset are what this game is all about.

Never Bring A Sword To A Dome Fight!

The gameplay in Hard Reset is great. It’s fluid, fast and has the ability to keep you on the edge of your seat whilst you progressively destroy everything in sight. The game offers little to no cover options, forcing a run-and-gun style of shooting while also aiming to collect ammo and health from your fallen victims. Despite the gameplay’s superficially simplistic appearance, if you play on a higher difficulty it’s not long before you realise that some strategy is still required. The game offers players two weapon sets to use: a standard assault weapon and an energy weapon. That may seem fairly limited, but creatively the game allows you to unlock numerous features of each which open up some really unique and interesting weapon and effect options. For example, the assault weapon can swap between your standard shotgun, RPG and grenade launcher, and each of these has a secondary fire option like homing missiles and exploding shells. The energy weapon has similar features, transforming into a lightning gun, mortar canon and various others.

The upgrades can be added by spending upgrade points earned throughout the game by killing enemies and collecting different canisters. These points can also be used to unlock perks such as increased health bar and ammo count, armour strength and damage ability. There’s a good sense of progression, and you’ll have to be careful with your choices as you won’t be able to unlock every upgrade on a single playthrough. Where this design fails however is that you need to cycle through the variations using the mouse scroll wheel. This means that rather than swapping quickly between a shotgun and RPG, you need to scroll through each variation in order, which is time consuming and takes focus away from the chaos occurring on screen and really does setup some moments where the enemies are able to catch you while you can’t fire.

The killing of enemies is key to this game as you roam around cityscapes, corporate offices and government laboratories in search for whatever it is the storyline characters require. The good news is the enemies are unique and offer a challenge when multiple variants are present. Whether they are the small mouse-like machines that attack in swarms or the large rocket-wielding battle bots set on either blowing you sky high or running over you like a monster truck, each enemy adds a dynamic which requires a shift in the weapon choice and approach. Causing destruction is your best friend, and Hard Reset gives the player a great combination of environmental explosions and clever layouts to allow for great moments in the heat of battle. Whether it be a set of explosive bottles or a lightning power conductor on the roof, players can use the extremely generous amount of these to help take out numerous enemies and cause significant damage to the stronger ones. It’s not unique but it is done well in the context of the game. The bad news is that the levels, battles and enemies end up being very repetitive. There is a significant lack of level and enemy variants to keep it moving, and although the boss battles are a welcome change from the similar-feeling level battles, they still seem to be incorporated into them.

Kill Bill Vol.3 

For those with good PC hardware, Hard Reset can be an amazing game to look at. The explosions, lightning strikes and blood/oil leaks are all presented beautifully on screen, and the designs of both the weapons and enemy robots are well thought out. But much like the gameplay, the environments are fairly repetitive in a visual design sense, but they do vary occasionally with different access routes. The wet cityscape makes for great reflections of the chaos, and the strong visuals certainly help sell the game and its world.

Hard Reset: Redux only offers a single player campaign and as mentioned before, players won’t unlock every upgrade by the end. EX-mode allows players to replay with the already unlocked options, which is a nice touch. The campaign can be completed in just a couple of hours though, and that’s with extensive exploration of each level and hunting for secret locations and extra upgrade canisters.

The Secret To Good Posture?

Despite lacking in storyline and character development, Hard Reset: Redux offers a solid and fluid first-person shooter experience. It’s easy to have a lot of fun throughout the game, and although it is essentially a classic shooter, the weapon upgrade system and design makes for some interesting twists on the standard FPS gameplay. The addition of environmental explosives and reactive sections add to the game’s sense of flair, though the severe lack of enemy and battle varieties makes it ultimately feel a bit flat. The campaign length is also too short to really engage the entirety of the weapons and upgrade perks, and the paper-thin narrative is as uninteresting as it is pointless. For the FPS fan that simply wants to blow up everything in sight and muck around with some fun weapon variations, Hard Reset: Redux is the game for you. Just don’t expect its cyberpunk world to leave too much of a lasting impression.

Reviewed on PC