Turbo Overkill: A High-Octane Action Experience on Switch
By Ask any “boomer shooter” enthusiast about their favorite standout examples of the genre, and Trigger Happy Interactive’s remarkable Turbo Overkill will likely make the shortlist, alongside Dusk and Ultrakill, if they’re feeling particularly friendly.
Indeed, this is a well-regarded retro-inspired FPS and, if you have merely spent a brief moment immersed in the blood-soaked boots of Johnny Turbo, it’s easy to understand why. Now, nearly two years after its full PC release, it’s finally arrived on Switch.
Turbo Overkill accomplishes everything it sets out to achieve. Its slow-motion shooting, wall-running, and chainsaw-knee-sliding (yes, we said “chainsaw-knee-sliding”) are exceptionally stylish. The game showcases a stunning aesthetic of rain-soaked, cyberpunk gloom and features a diverse assortment of twisted machine enemies to obliterate and shatter into countless vivid fragments under the gaze of massive neon signs. It’s a blast!
Ever wanted to blast hordes of robotic zombies into oblivion with lock-on bullets from your dual-wielded Magnums, soar over the tops of futuristic flying cars, or teleport inside a criminal before exploding out of them? Turbo Overkill has you covered.
The objective is to eliminate without remorse and without pause, and Trigger Happy has brilliantly nailed the combat-challenge essence of what distinguishes a great boomer shooter right from the outset. The game is exceptionally challenging on higher difficulty levels (which can be dialed down to easy for those who prefer), rewarding players who experiment with its various abilities, presenting a tough yet gratifying experience that requires skill to navigate unscathed—if you put in the effort.
In Turbo Overkill, Trigger Happy has excelled in its narrative development and world-building, introducing us to a hard-boiled future bounty hunter on a mission to serve justice on the streets of Paradise. With a sinister rogue AI named Syn to take down and rival bounty hunters to contend with, Johnny has quite a lot on his plate—not to mention the psychological challenges of wielding a massive bloody chainsaw for a leg. Players get to help him clean up the streets across three highly engaging episodes composed of five stages each. That’s about 20 hours of action if you intend to uncover all the secrets, or around 12 if you take it in stride.
In action, Turbo Overkill stands out as a contender among nearly everything we’ve recently played in this overstuffed genre. Johnny’s “hero time” feature makes lock-on rockets and unlockable alternate fire modes feel impactful and enjoyable to use. Eventually, you gain access to a grappling hook, which introduces exciting new attack and movement options, and enemies explode into delightful showers of meat and coins upon defeat. These elements contribute to the fun.
Of course, we must also integrate that massive, filthy chainsaw into our complaints for maximum flair, and Johnny can augment this—and his other limbs—with various enhancements and perks. Upgrades can provide bullet-time, micro-missiles, grappling hooks, and triple jumps that assist both in combat and in exploring for the color-coded keys (hooray!) necessary to progress, as well as for locating the game’s hidden cassette tapes and other collectibles. Pro tip: always check underwater for treasures!
Without a doubt, we can wholeheartedly recommend jumping into this title if you have any interest in retro shooters, at all. However, we would advise caution due to a few caveats affecting this Switch port that deserve mention; specifically, a drop to 30fps and a lack of gyro-aiming support.
Having already experienced Turbo Overkill at 60fps on another platform, it’s a bit disappointing to see this concession made, though it’s one we can accept here. The frame rate generally holds steady,