Dead End City Review (PlayStation 5)

by · Published · Updated

Dead End City Review, Civilization has fallen and the few remaining survivors are now the playthings of a gang of post-apocalyptic punks called Scorpio. Your little slice of heaven was raided and your loved ones have been carried off to Scorpio’s stronghold. With nothing left to lose, you head out onto the open road, armed to the teeth and ready to fight through their territory to bring an end to their reign.

Dead End City Review Pros:

  • Decent graphics.
  • 184.4MB download size.
  • Platinum trophy.
  • You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
  • Game settings – bullet color, volumes, scan lines, player HUD, game intro, and tate mode.
  • Shmup gameplay.
  • Online leaderboards.
  • How to play section is text and images and acts as a game manual.
  • Excellent in-game cutscenes and interaction.
  • Decent upbeat soundtrack.
  • Three game modes – arcade, score attack, and highway.
  • The arcade mode is the traditional experience.
  • Highway is a two-minute run mode and your special shots use fuel, not ammo.
  • Two difficulties – normal and hard.
  • A cool aesthetic going for a Mad Max kind of style.
  • You drive a car around and shoot enemies in their vehicles even when they are on foot.
  • Combo counter.
  • Earn and shoot off special shots.
  • At the end of life, you get a breakdown and you earn a percentage of your score as gold.
  • Gold is used to buy new menu items and game modes in the shop.
  • Five overall characters to play as, only one is available at the start.
  • Collect ammo and petrol from enemies.
  • The awards section is just the in-game trophies version of the PlayStation trophies.
  • Purchase in the shop can be optional, if you do what the unlock criteria is then you get the unlock as a reward.
  • Unlock Gallery unlocks.
  • Easy to learn controls and gameplay loop.
  • Three-letter initial leaderboard entry.

Dead End City Review Cons:

  • You cannot see the controls or manual when in the game.
  • The criteria to unlock characters are ridiculously hard.
  • The movement and how small the play area is does take some time.
  • Cannot rebind controls.
  • Shows a load of cutscenes but then doesn’t go anywhere story-wise.
  • I can’t put my finger on it but it’s missing something to elevate it, it just feels flat.
  • A huge grind to earn gold to buy new characters and modes.

Related Post: JUBILEE Review (PlayStation 5)

Dead End City:

Official website.

Developer: Pixel Licker

Publisher: Eastasiasoft

Store Link –

PlayStation

  • 7/10
    Graphics - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Sound - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Accessibility - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Length - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Fun Factor - 7/10
7/10

Summary

Dead End City is a game with decent graphics and an upbeat soundtrack that gives you both the  PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game and weighs in at an 184.4MB download size. The game has a cool aesthetic, reminiscent of the Mad Max style. It features shmup gameplay where you drive a car around and shoot enemies in their vehicles, even when they are on foot.

The game offers three modes: arcade, score attack, and highway. The arcade mode provides the traditional experience, while the highway mode is a two-minute run where your special shots use fuel instead of ammo. The game has two difficulty levels: normal and hard. It also features a combo counter, and you can earn and shoot off special shots.

The game settings include options for bullet color, volumes, scan lines, player HUD, game intro, and tate mode. There’s an online leaderboard for competitive play and a ‘how to play’ section that acts as a game manual. The game also features excellent in-game cutscenes and interactions.

At the end of life, you get a breakdown and earn a percentage of your score as gold. This gold can be used to buy new menu items and game modes in the shop. There are five characters to play as, with only one available at the start. You can collect ammo and petrol from enemies. The awards section mirrors the PlayStation trophies. Purchases in the shop can be optional, with unlocks rewarded if you meet the unlock criteria.

The controls are easy to learn, and the gameplay loop is intuitive. However, you cannot see the controls or manual when in the game, and the controls cannot be rebound. The movement and the small play area may take some getting used to.

The criteria to unlock characters are quite hard, and the game shows a lot of cutscenes but doesn’t develop much story-wise. Some players might feel that it’s missing something to elevate it, as it can feel a bit flat. There’s also a significant grind to earn gold to buy new characters and modes.

Overall, Dead End City offers a different Shmup experience with its Mad Max-style aesthetic and familiar Shmup gameplay. However, it could benefit from some improvements in character unlock criteria and story development but it is still a good game to play now and then.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!