TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,975
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Imagine a world with ever-so-slightly fewer cyberpunk games. Welcome to 2012.
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Weird Weekend is our regular Saturday column where we celebrate PC gaming oddities: peculiar games, strange bits of trivia, forgotten history. Pop back every weekend to find out what Jeremy, Josh and Rick have become obsessed with this time, whether it's the canon height of Thief's Garrett or that time someone in the Vatican pirated Football Manager.
At the turn of the 2010s, fans of PC tactics and strategy games were feeling justifiably hard done by. The indie boom that would eventually enable the likes of Mewgenics and Slay the Spire 2 to become chart-toppers was but a nascent spark. And the mainstream publishers? They were looking askance at their trove of beloved '90s click-and-think licenses, wondering how to warp them into something with broader appeal.
An XCOM reboot was announced, reimagined as an experimental first-person shooter from the creators of BioShock. And Starbreeze, the Swedish studio behind Riddick and The Darkness, was handed the reins to Syndicate, the isometric Bullfrog classic. That, too, became an FPS.
In the eyes of many PC gamers, these projects weren't just disposable spinoffs, they were insults. EA and Take-Two were exhuming corpses and posing them like Captain Price—all in the vain hope of infiltrating the blockbuster shooter market. It was hardly an atmosphere in which these games could be judged on their own merits.
That's a particular shame for Syndicate, which named one of its principal cast Merit, and hired seasoned Hollywood villain Michael Wincott to fill his lungs with raspy baritone evil. It was Merit who first sold me on the idea that Syndicate might be slightly better than its reputation. I watched with growing interest as he loped around glass-covered corporate towers with a chunky pistol and the ease of a man in his own living room—a standard-issue cyberpunk trenchcoat in place of a dressing gown.
While Wincott's voice definitely contributes to Merit's air of insouciance, a lot of credit has to go to Starbreeze's animation and mocap talent (including one Josef Fares, who worked on Syndicate right before his breakout hit as a director, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons). Merit's choreography imbues this corporate saboteur and assassin with the vibe of a colleague who's been in the same role a little too long; a competent familia...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Weird Weekend is our regular Saturday column where we celebrate PC gaming oddities: peculiar games, strange bits of trivia, forgotten history. Pop back every weekend to find out what Jeremy, Josh and Rick have become obsessed with this time, whether it's the canon height of Thief's Garrett or that time someone in the Vatican pirated Football Manager.
At the turn of the 2010s, fans of PC tactics and strategy games were feeling justifiably hard done by. The indie boom that would eventually enable the likes of Mewgenics and Slay the Spire 2 to become chart-toppers was but a nascent spark. And the mainstream publishers? They were looking askance at their trove of beloved '90s click-and-think licenses, wondering how to warp them into something with broader appeal.
An XCOM reboot was announced, reimagined as an experimental first-person shooter from the creators of BioShock. And Starbreeze, the Swedish studio behind Riddick and The Darkness, was handed the reins to Syndicate, the isometric Bullfrog classic. That, too, became an FPS.
In the eyes of many PC gamers, these projects weren't just disposable spinoffs, they were insults. EA and Take-Two were exhuming corpses and posing them like Captain Price—all in the vain hope of infiltrating the blockbuster shooter market. It was hardly an atmosphere in which these games could be judged on their own merits.
That's a particular shame for Syndicate, which named one of its principal cast Merit, and hired seasoned Hollywood villain Michael Wincott to fill his lungs with raspy baritone evil. It was Merit who first sold me on the idea that Syndicate might be slightly better than its reputation. I watched with growing interest as he loped around glass-covered corporate towers with a chunky pistol and the ease of a man in his own living room—a standard-issue cyberpunk trenchcoat in place of a dressing gown.
While Wincott's voice definitely contributes to Merit's air of insouciance, a lot of credit has to go to Starbreeze's animation and mocap talent (including one Josef Fares, who worked on Syndicate right before his breakout hit as a director, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons). Merit's choreography imbues this corporate saboteur and assassin with the vibe of a colleague who's been in the same role a little too long; a competent familia...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?