RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business Review – Campy, Gory, and Full of Action, This is RoboCop

Let’s be honest; no one thought RoboCop: Rogue City was going to be a banger, but it helped end 2023 on a high note in my mind. The game acted as a modern Robocop sequel that we never got. It demonstrated a genuine understanding of this campy, gory, over-the-top series, and I easily overlooked the limitations of the enemy AI and optimization.

With the reveal of RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business, we are invited back to Old Detroit to infiltrate the Omni tower and put a stop to the rise of mercenaries, and I couldn’t be more excited. If you haven’t played Rogue City, what are you doing with your life? But aside from that, I want to point out early on that Unfinished Business can be played without playing the first game, so do whatever you want.

Story: Murphy’s Law

Unfinished Business’ plot opens rather quickly after a mercenary outfit seizes OmniTower, hijacks OCP tech, and threatens to turn Detroit’s residents into collateral. And sure, that may be standard RoboCop, but what isn’t is the mystery voice in Murphy’s helmet guiding him floor by floor. This unseen handler presses him about free will, questions his “serve the public trust” mantra, while putting a sense of urgency around seeing this mission through. Their banter essentially humanizes a character who traditionally hides behind one‑liners. The script finally asks: Does Alex choose the hard way because he wants to feel alive, or because someone programmed him to? It’s smart, it’s funny, and it culminates in a narrative build-up that rivals the films.

Level Design & Optional Detective Work

Sure, the game takes place inside one skyscraper, but OmniTower is like one of those clown cars with the endless space. Each block of floors has a theme that differentiates them with unique landmarks, but expect to see a lot of concrete. Further, between gunfights, you’ll eventually meet some citizens asking for help, malfunctioning security kiosks, or crime‑scene puzzles that let you flex Murphy’s CSI overlays. These side missions rarely break ten minutes, yet they flesh out OmniTower’s “luxury dystopia” vibe and really add to the campy nature of this series.

Still, if you aren’t interested in these side quests, you could skip them. I enjoyed this approach because, honestly, sometimes I just wanted to move on to the next stage, knowing I would return later. After a level is completed, you are graded and can see what you missed.

Gunplay: Built Like a Brick, Shoots Like a Dream

Maybe it’s a skill thing, but during any encounter, no matter what, I was teetering on the brink of death. Movement is heavy, deliberate, and borderline feels like it’s on‑rails by modern FPS standards, but I feel like that’s the point. I rarely sought cover unless a rocket launcher was coming for me, but you know what? Even then, I just took it. Most firefights devolved into a glorious loop of walk forward, spot an enemy, annihilate. Finisher moves let you slam goons into vending machines or throw them around the room. Interestingly, most of the glitches occurred when executing a finisher, but I didn’t mind because I was having so much fun.

Weapon variety is decent. The iconic Auto‑9 still carries entire encounters, but the Cryo Cannon, shotguns, and miniguns make clearing out every room a blood bath. That said, I wish the act of picking up guns were a little smoother. You really have to be intentional about which weapon you’re trying to pick up. Something I found hilarious is just how long some of these guns take to reload. You’re basically getting shot at from all angles and casually reloading.

Enemy AI: Dumb but Dangerous

Enemies in Unfinished Business match the same energy as Rogue City. They rush headfirst into your gunfire, the more over-the-top ones sometimes ragdoll into geometry, and then there’s some flying and various robot enemies that will frustrate the hell out of you. Credit where it’s due: sheer numbers and new drone variants compensate for brainpower. OmniTower loves to pin you in a crossfire between ceiling turrets and ground troops, forcing you to prioritize targets and occasionally use the damage‑mitigating shield. While I did die plenty of times, I loved the sense of pressure these firefights put on you. It’s like each of these areas is designed like halls that send out triggered waves of enemies, so there’s a constant sense of pressure for the duration of the fight.

Upgrades & Menus: Paperwork in Triplicate

You can customize the Auto-9 and your suit. When it comes to your gun, you still fit circuit‑board chips into the Auto‑9 and unlock passive boosts, yet now each board hides a mini‑puzzle that asks you to route power through color‑coded nodes before the perk activates. It’s unique, but I found that it slows down the pacing when you have to stop everything and navigate unimpressive menus while trying to guess what it is you’re even unlocking.

As you collect items, you gain experience, which will eventually give you skill points. While the benefits from leveling up are greatly appreciated, especially in the late game, I found them to be somewhat uninspired. Further, the menu map is also relatively flat overall, but on the other hand, the in-game HUD is very cool. It’s as if you’re looking through the eyes of Alex under the hood. It extends to the gunplay, which highlights points of interest and enemies.

Verdict

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business doesn’t reinvent the Rogue City formula, but it does build off of its most fun elements. By shrinking the scope to one building, the experience zeroes in on character and environmental beats that just wouldn’t have worked before. Still, many of the glitches and gameplay limitations remain, and even though they work well within the Robocop series, optimization would go a long way toward enhancing the experience. If you were wondering if you should play Unfinished Business, well, that’s easy, because hell ya, you should.