Genre: Stealth Action
Modes: Single Player
Developed by: Samurai Punk
Published by: tinyBuild
Release date: September 8 2022
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC
Platform I played on: PC
I played the demo at PAX, and I enjoyed it so much I decided to review the entire game instead! Justice Sucks: Tactical Vacuum Action is another title from Samurai Punk. Their previous games are unique as they are entertaining, and ridiciously chaotic. Immediately from the game's title I knew Justice Sucks: Tactical Vacuum Action was right up my alley with an interesting story, and a unique experience ahead. Well, I was right - I've had an absolute blast with this game, and I highly recommend it! Why though? Let's jump in;
Story
Hide, Protec, Suc
In this action stealth vacuum title, you play as Dusty McClean - a seemingly normal Roomba vacuum with a loving human family. Or ,that is until burglars break into the home of Dusty's human family, and Dusty is left on the brink of robodeath. Dusty eventually regains consciousness and enters "the tv dimension", and turns into a killer robot vacuum. With vengeance on Dusty's mind, he sets off on a rogue path to rescue his human family. As Dusty you'll hack, hide and suc your way to freedom to defeat FamilyCorp (an evil corporation - what a shocker) in order to save his family. Oh, but you're not doing it alone either, you see you've also got a fighting spirit called Sexy McClean that helps you along the way.
The story is as funny as it is entertaining all throughout. There's a good weave of humour and I mean c'mon, you're playing as a killer robot that eats humans! (...Unless...killer robots will eventually exist and are reading this then I for one welcome our robot overlords) Anyway where was I? Oh, yeah there's also no spoken dialogue as well so everything's through a textbox accompanied by the game's killer soundtrack - which I will get to a bit later on.
Overall it's just a fun goofy story with extremley fun gameplay about a killer vaccum on a quest for vengence - and y'know who can't relate a lil to that? (phew, are the robot overlords still reading this?). It's a game I can recommend for those looking for something chill, unique and an entertaining experience for the next few hours. It's a short experience that'll take around 3 hours to get through the main story - but there's plenty of challenges you can still do after you complete the game. Overall to complete everything in the game, it'll take around 5-6hrs depending.
Gameplay
Extremley fun. Like, I just had way too much fun eating people as a killer vacuum. As you can see from the above screenshot, you can dash, hack, aim, suc (well it's the main purpose..you're still a vacuum after all) honking and ping trapping. Alongside this, you have perks and powers you can use; such as turning invisible, leaking oil, and even sucker punching as Sexy McClean (they never see it comin'). I did find however, that I did tend to forget about these at first (as you'll see as you play the game, it's sorta easy to forget about it because there's a bit going on already) but after a while I picked it up and used the powers to Dusty's content. You can swap and change your powers/perks before you enter a level, but even then playing with just hacking and dashing around was fun enough on it's own.
There's also a good variation of different types of objectives; for example you'll be able to do a variation of said objectives including difusing bombs, taking down enemies in crafty ways, stopping bad guys from stealing stuff and cleaning up blood before the timer runs out, just to name a few. It keeps things fresh, and doesn't over to it to the point where it starts to feel like a chore.
Graphics | Design
As it's set in a 90's TV universe, the overall graphics and design is pretty much what you would expect from a game like this. It has eye catching colours while at the same time having that 90's cartoony design.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack slaps, and when a song did come on, it was a good time and fit into the game perfectly. One of the songs does feature on this trailer below, so you can get a sense of what to expect.
Glitches | Bugs | Issues
Personally I did come across some minor frame rate issues from time to time, but nothing that put me off or bothered me too much. Nothing major, I had a mostly smooth experience with the game.
Replay ability
I think there's a lot to jump back into after the game. After I completed the main story, I found myself still going through some challenges. If you're an achievement/trophy/completing everything hunter, then I think this is probably something you could replay to get the highest score and full completion.
Conclusion
It's safe to say that I can highly recommend this game. Whether you're looking for a chaotic fun game, or just something to mindlessly play for a few hours - this could be right for you. I've only played it on PC so I can't comment for consoles, but I think this would be a fun switch game to bring out at a party. See how chaotic you and your mates get as a killer vacuum. I'm interested to see what Samurai Punk gets up to next - and whatever it is I know I'd be keen to check it out.
Sexy McClean awwwaaayy!
