Wanted: Dead is the Best Bad Game of 2023 | Bytesized

[@rasarr1611]

"Am I dealing with David Lynch or David Cage" I _love_ this line

[@madcat4563]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@GriffinPilgrim]

The minigames scream "We wanted to be a bit Yakuza."

[@tki_scatter]

"Am I dealing with David Lynch, or David Cage?" like damn KC you just made my day with that line

[@Incinerico]

This was the best line of the video for sure!

[@RiverNorthExile]

First Jacob Geller, now KC... Fine, sold!

[@hellowhirled]

dont forget thor high heels

[@babbaganush9659]

KC - I think the karaoke mechanics are intentional. It's like real karaoke - it sounds worse the harder you try.

[@roboknobthesnob]

Fun bad games are such a treat. It might’ve been terrible, but Ride to Hell Retribution has a special place in my heart

[@bezceljudzelzceljsh5799]

Big rigs can never fail.

[@drakep.5857]

Fun bad media made by creative and artist lead workers is the most healthiest sign you can see on a media market. Things like this are like the most beautiful and creative blemishes on the fruitiest fruits.

[@khamjaninja.]

​ @drakep.5857 I wouldn't say Ride to Hell was "fun" bad - certainly not like Wanted Dead. Ride to Hell was "funny" bad - as in it was so, so, so bad that it was hilarious. The fact that it existed, was made, and then actually sold - by real people - for real money - was ridiculous. Other major failed games, you can at least say they had their good points: e.g. the combat was decent, the graphics were pretty, at least the game was over quickly. At the very least, you can see why the original concept might've sounded appealing to someone: e.g. it was a sequel to a good game (DNF), it belongs to a popular franchise (Colonial Marines), it was made by people who made good games before (Daikatana), it's similar to another good game (Babylon's Fall), it had a setting or art style that's very trendy in pop culture (Redfall [had vampires], it had an innovative new idea or tech behind it (Fighter Within), or the devs originally promised something insanely impossible (No Man's Sky). But none of those - _none_ - could be said to apply to Ride to Hell. It had no redeeming qualities. In every possibly way that you could name - graphics, story, gameplay, combat, driving, animation, sound, music, optimization, controls, script, voice acting, aesthetics, loading times, hairstyles, fashion sense, accessibility, morality, legality, not having a shitty title, sanitation ... in any conceivable way you could measure value, Ride to Hell failed at it. And its very core concept - "a 1960s biker gang not-really-open-world brawler" - is an elevator pitch that wouldn't appeal to anyone in 2013. There was absolutely no reason why this game would succeed. And yet somehow, it still ended up well below expectations in every possibly way. Ride to Hell: Retribution: 1% deserves to be enshrined in a museum and studied by future generations to understand how something that was so bad in every way from its very conception could have existed.

[@roboknobthesnob]

@@khamjaninja. and yet nothing compares to the absolute genius of having your character bomb a whole hydro plant full of workers carrying an ak just to disable an electrified fence

[@drakep.5857]

@@SimuLord hell yeah, someone else who adores fallout 4 Fallout 4 for me is the definitive accessible wordless gameplay driven experience of the fallout world. The npcs? Hell nah. The exploring of a massive post apocalyptic city that looks like that pre rendered cutscene from fallout 1 brought to life for hours and hours, and the vault experiments, glowing sea and aesthetics of the experience? Now that's fallout, in pure fast paced gameplay form, able to be wordlessly, effortlessly consumed by someone with a job and alot of work to do, who may not be able to handle or get into the more niche but very delicous rpg style of new vegas and the classic fallouts

[@Roland3ld]

It is difficult to make a compelling video essay about midling concepts, but you guys pulled it off. I really enjoyed the deconstruction analysis of the game.

[@jacoblief8263]

I kid you not, I bought this yesterday because it was on sale. I'd heard Jacob Geller on the MinnMax show sing its praises last year, so I decided to give it a shot. Great video KC.

[@travisgraham3104]

So is wanted dead worth the money?

[@MeTheOneth]

Never saw anything KC did before the move to Second Wind. Now I want to hear anything he has to say.

[@darwinsdummy]

If you are one for livestreams, the Hidden Gems streams are him with Jesse and Jess. The Devil May Cry streams are also him with Marty. Lots of piping hot takes from KC in those, though obviously not as refined as in video format (back on Escapist he did a lot of 3MR videos, which Bytesized takes some inspiration from).

[@JULR0W]

His podcast "the Sigma Show" is also very fun

[@tommysalty5864]

KC has proved again that he's got an amazing talent for writing good scripts with interesting takes. Plus, he's delivery and sense of humor only make it better! I really like the video: it's personal, it's well-paced and it's about something unique that hasn't been talked to death. I really like the format for Bytesized and can't wait for more. Thank you, KC .

[@patarfuifui]

I knew this was gonna be KC as soon as I read the title. I love his love for this game! :)

[@TheChrisLouis]

Brother... Wet and Bullet Witch were so damn slept on!

[@daishoryujin95]

I said this on Jacob Geller's video on the subject as well: this is the kind of game I would imagine creating at 13, with no regard for game design or pacing or coherence.

[@stolensentience]

no regard for game design? these are like, the top 1% minds of game design. at 13? enjoy those delusions!

[@Saul_Aura_Jester]

Here within a minute. Finally some good coverage of this game I keep getting ads for

[@sagecolvard9644]

Jacob Geller did a full video about it almost a year ago.

[@dudestep]

@@sagecolvard9644yeah where he massively misunderstood the plot and spent 40 minutes talking about how it was “so weird” instead of actually being critical. I like Jacob Gellar and understand this game isn’t for everyone but it felt to me that he played the game to make content and not actually enjoy it.

[@gwen9939]

@@dudestep If there's something Jacob Geller isn't it's a content goblin. I don't think he's even capable of making videos of stuff he's not truly, deeply fascinated by.

[@dudestep]

@@gwen9939 He's good and you're probably right but there one moment in his video that got me so pissed where he complains about a giant armored mech-like enemy being a bullet sponge and the whole time he could have just fought it with his sword to beat it quickly. I felt personally trolled by that as a fan of this game.

[@cassolmedia]

internet historian has a fantastic video on it!

[@naliboi93]

Wanted:Dead has become a "hidden gem" for me. Mega stylish and lovely cinematic framing, goofy sense of humour with buddy cop antics. The fighting mechanics really comes alive when I found out about higher level stuff like guard and dodge cancelling. Learning how to do unhinged combos like: sword + handgun combo > flying knee > into quickdrawing your rifle almost a whole magazine into your enemy's forehead.

[@adri.progression]

There's a part on Kowloon streets where I disarmed the Riot shield guy in the concrete building then ran back so I could hit the explosive barrel & ended up with a game over screen, super fun. Also, chaining executions at Deaf Panther moving the camera so I'm backlit by the LCD display >>>>> "this is CINEMA" - Martin Scorsese

[@Vincent-2057]

I came to second wind for yatzhee... But I can very happily honestly say, I'm liking everyone, I mean everyone else on here so far that I have watched so far. Very nice channel you got going here!

[@icedragonair]

Polarizing games are great. Probably the biggest thing currently driving the AAA gaming industry into the goddamn grave, is trying to appeal to everyone, creating games with the broadest possible audience. I miss back when every genre was essentially a niche. Mixing genres can be fun, but if you try to mix all of them together at once, it's like mixing every color of paint together, you just get an ugly brown.

[@augustday9483]

Calling it a game from the PS3/360 era is the best possible compliment. I miss that era of gaming...

[@stolensentience]

the beginning of terrible AAA gaming, ah yes

[@TheXiconhoca]

Absolutely Adore this game. It is completely off kilter and bizarre and one of the hardest games ive ever completed and i Want more. The 99 luftbaloons mini game was hilarious, as, once you fail enough, the singers actually laugh at just how bad they are. 100% recommend

[@ebbderelict]

I just started playing it this week. I'm 3 chapters in and enjoying the fun and stylish combat.

[@ebbderelict]

I finished it this week, and I think it's great. The combat was so much fun for me. That all I want: fun shit. :D Right now it's #2 in my list of games beat in 2024, right behind Clash: Artifacts of Chaos.

[@lingxingching6549]

@@ebbderelict Is it worth to get it for $9?

[@ebbderelict]

@@lingxingching6549 Absolutely

[@travisgraham3104]

Is the game as hard as sekiro?

[@ebbderelict]

@@travisgraham3104 I haven't played Sekiro, but since I beat Wanted I would have to say no it's not as hard 😆

[@joshuachesney7552]

I absolutely loved this game. I want another one, and I have a really hard time deciding if I'd like the bad voice acting to be fixed or if it just wouldn't be the same without it.

[@joshuachesney7552]

@@ASpaceOstrich The example audio actually uses dialogue from one of the best voice actors in the game. I'd highly encourage just playing the game or watching a playthrough. It's really off, most noticeably on the main character. She sounds like a native German speaker with English as a second language who has no voice acting training and is reading their lines like I would read them off a teleprompter. Again I want to emphasize that this is strangely endearing and I really am split on whether it's a "bad" thing. It starts off extremely jarring but by the end I just saw it as part of who her character was.

[@Gabriel-all]

Friend, there won't be another game. 😂

[@cosmiclive4437]

Finished Ghostrunner 2 a few days ago and honestly it might be my favorite release of the entire year. Such cool movement with great level design to take advantage of it.

[@andrewhickinbottom1051]

Great video KC! Your 'ambassadorial duties' for this titles are appreciated. It was your stream of this that convinced me to buy it in the Steam christmas sale, and i was really enjoying it - til i got to the police station level, where a chronic lack of checkpoints left me retrying the same endless section again and again, to no success. This properly put me off the game, and putting it on easy would mean restarting the entire game, which.... i dont think i can be bothered with. I might try that section one more time now that the game has had a big patch on its anniversary. Fascinating game though, as you said - the characters, cutscenes, main character's design and accent, and just the general vibe of it is great, and reminds me of the days when games were short, sweet, original, and took risks. More like this please!

[@TheRIsForRizzo]

Storymode's Expleened video of this game is hilarious

[@btcbuster5556]

IH plagiarized his most popular video

[@EmissaryOfSmeagol]

The Talos Principle 2 is a masterclass sequel

[@jurtheorc8117]

Lead writer of that game, Jonas Kyratzes, also worked on Clash: Artifacts of Chaos from early 2023. Well worth checking out too.

[@EmissaryOfSmeagol]

@@jurtheorc8117 hmm... I've heard of that game from Steam Dumpster Diving

[@unavezms8167]

I had similar experience with Ryse. son of Rome. It's a fun action game that doesn't even try to be historically accurate. There was a moment when barbarian queen Boudica tells the protagonist that in other universe they might have been close. Real Boudica ended up being married to a Roman general. I loved the gameplay although in the later part of the game difficulty spiked up really high. Presumably to promote online mod. I haven't even touched that thing.

[@Syt1976]

Well, that was an unexpected childhood flashback with the 99 Luftballons karaoke. Song was huge in 80s Germany. :D

[@ishan2991]

I played this game on launch and I loved it despite how weird it got.

[@Gabriel-all]

I like that game too, my only problem is the goddamn checkpoints

[@LordTrousers]

Funny how the plot and gameplay are both very similar to Devil's Third - War criminal recruited into a Spec-Ops unit, mix of Third person shooting and melee combat, questionable design choices, weirdly flew under the radar, etc.

[@RibusPQR]

"probably the closest I've felt to actual bloodlust" This is notable coming from the player of Sigmar Iceblood.

[@frozenninja4030]

I got the boxed collector's edition of this game on an Amazon sale for $15 just on a whim. Still haven't cracked it open but I have heard enough people say it's worth a shot to keep it firmly in the backlog and not just relegated to nice collector's edition on the shelf that I'll never play. Its time will come. Someday.

[@steamhare4559]

The greatest sin a game can commit is to be unmemorable and boring. Despite its bad reviews, that it doesn't commit those sins makes it great.

[@wilford_brimley]

I wanted to get Wanted: Dead on release. No one had it for twenty miles. Best Buy had one copy not on display. I had to ask the employees to check the back. They didn't believe it existed till I showed it to them on my phone. They looked in the back and found one copy hidden in storage. This was on launch day. I loved the game, but the parry system and the spider tanks are broken as hell. Hannah's voice actor is so weird. Everything about it is weird. There's karaoke, but there's only one song (but it's a favorite). She has so much junk all over her character model. I love it, but it is objectively bad in many categories.

[@DocTurex]

I had it wishlisted for a long time, then got scared off by the reviews. "What is this PS3-era garbage," etc. Might still check it out someday.

[@kingfordism]

Picked this up for Black Friday at my local game shop for $14 and loved this game.

[@Beejum]

Wanted Dead was tons of fun! I was entertained the whole playthrough.

[@ashesofaranea]

damn i loved this episode, i never heard of this game but it really got me pumped watching this

[@dwebus1020]

Every now and then I forget that Wet wasn't a fever dream...

[@serpenttao]

Honestly, this sounds like just the game I need right now. And those finisher animations look cool as hell. Might just grab it. Thanks for showing it to me! You gave a great breakdown of its contrasts, though honestly, the voice acting bit you showed really didn't sound that bad to me. It honestly sounded pretty human, like how an actual person would talk instead of a video game character. Or at least, whatever parts I could understand through that music.

[@tobiaseriksson475]

The voice actor for the main character must have been told " Dont even try, just read the lines. Oh and drink this tequila first." Loved it!

[@sergeikolobashkin9563]

Thank you for playing my game!

[@Bodiggle465]

Ha! I DO remember Bullet Witch, and exactly as you're describing! Perhaps I should check this game out

[@ItsHyomoto]

Wanted really just needs some polish thrown on it. I can put up with a lot and there's a lot to like, but the uneven difficulty and encounters that drag on are what weigh it down the most in my opinion. There's a genuinely fun and exciting game in here, it just needs to tighten up its fights.

[@Belkan88]

Just started playing it, mainly because I finished MGS V and read an article about how Stefanie Joosten participated in a very random game called Wanted: Dead. So glad I found it lol. Game is hillarious and I love how broken the voice acting is, it's like if you can actually hear them burst into laughter by how dumb the dialogue is. How they butcher the German language and they seem to be aware of it is amazing. Yakuza+MGS+dialogue from The Room vibes

[@COddietsch]

Guess I will try it and see what happens. I live through my games literally with Ron White's famous saying, "Can't Fix Stupid", so if it is too bad and too stupid for too long that it takes forever to get to the good or better fun stuff; I feel I am losing brain cells and I wil stop the game and delete it because the trade off on the fun vs the stupid is not worth it. Nice video by the way, subscribed.

[@gobblegobble7]

The combat looks so awesome in motion

[@bird3713]

Man, that music really hit me once it dropped 3:28

[@Hekkas]

The sound/music mix on this video has got me jamming.

[@ClockFink]

Interesting… I remember seeing the earliest footage of this and thinking “looks like a bad joke”. Wouldn’t have imagined that was, in fact, what it was going for

[@caio121279]

I think it was Thor High Heels who said that Wanted: Dead has more of an 80's Cyberpunk vibe than most other games and media that have this typical generic neon aesthetic that we've seen in recent years. As someone who grew up in the 80s, I agree.

[@dopeyoda]

I feel like the creators were trolling us with the side content and story because the combat is lit. It feels like an arcade game

[@at4nas]

Super useful review structure and presentation. Was wondering if I'd like this game, and with all the contextual (e.g. 80s action movies) and referential information (Lynch vs Cage, bloodlust, DMC and Sekiro's combat systems, etc.) that you provided, it became clear I like this kind of thing a lot. Thank you!

[@FuNati]

Convinced me. Plus. That beat is SICK!

[@TakeTheLeepx]

It’s on sale now and I needed a reason te buy, ‘cause it looked awesome but I knew it had bad reviews. This breakdown really sold me on it! I never shy away from a good “bad” game haha. Like Wet and Bullet Witch are indeed some of my faves 😬

[@zombieowen]

I hate it when a rhythm section pops up out of nowhere. "Oh, you like that chocolate pudding? Well, if you want to finish it you have to do this trigonometry quiz. And it's timed."

[@I_am_ENSanity]

$15 is the max amount I'd pay.

[@ThaBotmon]

It’s about this price right now on Steam and Xbox (50% off)

[@FrancisYorkMorganFBI]

mark my words. this is destined to become a cult classic.

[@adri.progression]

I LOVE THIS GAME! I just beat the game on the cat-ears diffuculty, gonna try out the more difficult ones soon. I love the stylish finishers, super fun.

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

enjoyed this game a 1000 times more than the zelda one, at least i finished this one, Z TOTK ? not even anywhere close to seeing the ending in this lifetime.....people just seem to hate good old fun games, u should also review QUANTUM ERROR, now that is a bad game but still a fun one.

[@a_passing_cloud]

I preordered the deluxe physical edition of this game. I love every second of it 😂

[@ciag1988]

The fact that it's still 59.99 is insane

[@Deadforge]

Definitely was up there with Evil West and Gungrave G.O.R.E seemingly. Evil West was my 2022 GOTY, and Gungrave has been fun.

[@C01dEyes]

This game had me sold just for its offbeat tone and cyberpunk yet low tech aesthetic. Of course after 30 minutes of beating my head against a wall when the combat clicked I fell in love. Not a game for everyone but holy shit is it a good time.

[@damianabregba7476]

I like the sense of ,,realism" in this game with a sprinkle of silly twists. In reality people don't spew perfectly directed quippy dialogues like many tries to copy from films which feels artificial and machined. It just makes more sense to me despite how strange it may seem at first glance.

[@ChipChapChop]

Well now I have to play it.

[@TremelJackson]

This game will definitely put people off after all I'm still contemplating a year later if I want to go back and finish it

[@trblemayker5157]

Looks like a fan made UE4 project

[@user1point0]

I see all the beardmen reddit users left the escapist

[@ThatReplyGuy]

Jacob Geller introduced me to Wanted Dead, so I picked it up on sale and, yeah, I agree, best bad game in a while.

[@R1ckDeckard]

Hideo Kojima Presents: "MGS: Yakuza: Wanted: Colon: Dead" [Eurojank Edition] (Taylor's Version) God bless those weirdo developers

[@Texelion]

A game where it's hard to tell if it's "so bad it's good" or just bad. And the cat looks better than any character. Yeah, this can be put in the same bag as Wet, Bullet Witch, Remember Me, Hunted, Bombshell, Bright Memory, Onechanbara...

[@LinoWalker]

I remember this game - I loved the combat, but I just couldn't get past the cringeworthy story, so I dropped it pretty early on. Glad to see that I haven't missed out on much.

[@Zayphar]

This is a catagory I want to see every year. BEST BAD GAME OF THE YEAR! Yeah, I am all in on this.

[@clay_reznor647]

This game is awesome, but do buy it on a sale. I'm in my 40s so i am used to these kinds of games. It removes all the quality of life features that we all grew accustomed to - however, once i figured out how to game the game, i felt very accomplished every time i cleared a level.

[@BaseStation]

I didn't know about this one... now I'm interested.

[@thessie]

Nicely done KC!

[@emikochan13]

saw a lot of ads for this game, felt like this :)

[@acemeda4]

This sealed it. I'll check this one out. I wasn't looking for a masterpiece to begin with, just a good murder show and it looks like this fits the bill👍🏾

[@Formoka]

I was very interested in this and now I might give it a play.

[@fizzyshellfish5439]

FOUR MINUTE unstoppable karaoke mini game? The rest sounds fun, but the karaoke part kills it for me.

[@TheCreepypro]

remember folks we love things for their flaws not their strengths

[@sillkthashocker]

It's like 70% off right now

[@Jxshhh-i2b]

couldnt have said anything better myself about this game its amazing

[@daveinthemicrowave]

Check out The electric undergrounds video on this game where he shows off a hidden mechanic guard canceling which makes the combat flow a lot better, due to that video ill probably give this game a shot when it goes on sale.

[@SpyJak]

If your on PlayStation it’s on sale for 13 right now

[@vitsavicky]

You have actually convinced me to give this a shot. I am ok with terrible story in games. Provided you can skip the cutscenes. I am all about the gameplay.

[@Incinerico]

Is it actually a "bad" game though, or just a solid 7 middling good time?

[@converge74]

I've had this wishlisted since it was praised on The Electric Underground channel (which also has a no-death playthrough on Hard difficulty). I'll buy it eventually - when the discount hits 70-75%. Probably. I might buy Gungrave G.O.R.E. first, though.

[@DhutchOven]

I want to check this out now. A+

[@Ashtarte3D]

Wanted: Dead has such a vibe of wanting to be like the Like a Dragon (Yakuza) series but has no actual idea what makes those games so good.

[@BlackTearDrop]

Game was cool with some great art design.

[@Keinish79]

The Karaoke minigame awkwardness made me feel just like real life karaoke does.

[@foberdud7576]

Yea a good bad game is the perfect way to summarize this game. I loved it btw ❤

[@ChernobylComedyAndWings]

This game is fantastic, you can go ham at every single point in the game. Just go nuts and cancel every move

[@kuukeli]

thank you for the video

[@Veritas7Ax]

Interesting analysis. I think the thing that would be difficult for me (and I'm judging this solely on what I saw here), is that there feels like such a huge visual disconnect between the appearance of the protagonist (even in the game's graphics, she looks "cute anime-ish") and the over the top violence, katana wielding, etc. Like it feels like Hello Kitty with an eyepatch, a cigar, and the minigun from Predator. Something just feels off.

[@noahguttman7011]

Now I want Yatzee to play this and get his opinion.

[@kelleykirven7541]

This looks incredible

[@RyanBeardy]

I've seen this game come up a few times I have to get a copy!

[@Hravokh]

finally! i felt kind of alone in enjoying and liking this trainwreck of a game :D

[@kinggamer7889]

Yeah this game, forspoken, and prince of persia, the lost crown are hidden 💎. It's a shame that people hop on the hate train cause they can't afford every video game and listen to some biased gaming journalists.

[@Imagine66X]

Does anyone know what game that is in the clip starting at 6:16 ?

[@94knux]

Bullet Witch

[@Imagine66X]

Thanks!!! Now I just need to figure out how I can play it