by Michael FertittaEver since the release of Storm Lancers last year, ProbablyMonsters has commanded more attention over the past few months for its unique and varied game output. This year’s Summer Game Fest was a demonstration of this approach, with one of two titles being a story-driven action game that involves beating up Nazis. On that premise alone, it was difficult to turn down the chance to try out a game with a simple but brilliant beat, but I was also interested to explore the uniquely stylized world that ProbablyMonsters had built for this title.
Nekome: Nazi Hunter, as its name would suggest, takes place during the Nazi regime during World War II. You play as Vano Nastasu, a young Romani man whose entire family was brutally murdered by the regime, causing him to embark on a vengeful and grief-driven journey across a war-torn Europe to enact his revenge. While this plot is certainly not for the faint of heart, you can’t help but feel driven to accomplish Vano’s objective the second you put the controller in your hands.
The demo had me play through the opening of the game, where an incognito Vano disrupts a dinner of Nazi generals to wreak havoc and visceral violence on everyone in the room. It was here that I got a taste of combat; Vano is equipped with a knife and a mission, making him suited for basic light and heavy attacks. He can also use items around him as makeshift weapons if his knife is not enough for the player.
While the combat was satisfying to pull off, especially the finishers, I couldn’t help but feel that Vano was a bit stiff to control in my experience. For an action game, maneuvering between enemies didn’t feel very fluid compared to similar titles. I also ran into a major bug where my controller simply stopped working, and every button was suddenly unmapped, so I had a bit less time than most to experience the game.
After the brawl at the start of the demo, you get a taste for the exploration component of the game, where you climb into a window to infiltrate a Nazi office. While inside, you’re tasked with burning away any Nazi propaganda, including flags and posters, all while you can hear conversations from soldiers of the regime through the walls. It’s a small segment, but I think this scene alone captures the overall tone of the game really well; with a powerful regime seemingly all around you, the stakes for the player could not be higher, so every move needs to be calculated or risk extermination.
If the full game is even a fraction as interesting and engaging as the demo, I think ProbablyMonsters has a good hit on their hands. While my experience was somewhat marred by a controller bug, I can still appreciate the scope of the game that was presented to me, and I think Nekome: Nazi Hunter will still be a good action game on its own.
Nekome: Nazi Hunter
