Release Date: 18/05/2017
Played On: Win
Available On: Mac / Win / XBO
Time Played: 8h
Progress: Completed all missions.
Developer: Big Games
Publisher: Big Star Games
For the longest time, any game built on the reputation of some other form of media, tends to make a big old mess of things. Often I suspect it's because some executive decided that they needed a game to sell alongside the release of their next "blockbuster" movie, and rushed one out to cash in. So why would anyone make a game based on a movie that came out 25 years ago?
What's more, why would anyone decide that a movie featuring a lot of dialogue, and basically a single location, is prime for video game interpretation?
Apparently this isn't the first time that someone's mined Reservoir Dogs to theme their game, as there was a third-person game released in 2006. I never played it so can't speak to its quality, but the fact nobody ever talks about it says enough to sum it up.
I can understand Star Wars and Marvel based games, as they exist in the universe of their original stories. It seems like a movie tie-in game can succeed if it takes place completely adjacent to the original plot. That way nobody gets offended and there aren't inconsistencies that pop up on account of limitations inherent to the medium.
The exception to this is probably the games that follow the original plot faithfully and hit all the right beats along the way. Just think about Goldeneye or the Lego games, which do a good job of fitting in with the original plot, without alienating anyone.
Of course that's a broad stroke approach, but it's important to remember when thinking about a game like Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days. I also have an inherent bias, as Reservoir Dogs happens to be one of my favourite films and I've seen it enough to quote every line without thinking.
Having said that though, my love of Reservoir Dogs combined with past experiences playing terrible movie-based games, meant that my expectations were low going in. I wanted to check it out because I love games and I love the movie, but I was ready to be severely disappointed.
So when I tell you that Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, is a fun game in spite of itself; I'm being super complimentary. The nicest thing I can say about this game is that the game part is good and I enjoyed my time with it. The worst thing is that using Reservoir Dogs as a theme, only brought the experience down, as it would have been much more enjoyable without the dissonant references and quotes.
We'll tackle the gameplay later, as it's the best part of Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, but the theme needs to be addressed. If you're a fan of the movie, and everything else about the game looks uninteresting to you, then avoid this one like the plague.
The basics are that across the city there are a range of buildings and businesses that you are tasked with breaking into and robbing. On each mission you get a handful of characters from the movie, who each have different stats. The final mission uses everybody and tries to replicate the heist in the film, even though it's a heist film without an actual heist.
If that sounds confusing, then it should. The only thing tying this game to the movie is that all the characters wear suits and share the movie characters' names. Everything else you do in Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, has nothing to do with the film.
Except for the dialogue that is.
During missions characters will talk to each other, using lines and quotes from the movie. Additionally, every loading screen features a quote from the movie. This might seem like a good idea, but on one hand it makes no sense if you know the plot of the film; and on the other hand the quotes aren't even relevant half the time.
For example: every second loading screen has the quote "let's go to work" as said by Joe in the movie after they have the heist briefing. It's four words that are said at one throw-away moment in the film, but it appears so often during the game that you'd think it was "to be or not to be".
What's more, each character repeats their lines out of context so much that it sounds like a mad-libs arrangement using random lines from the script. Mr Pink manages to squeeze "I'm acting like a professional" into just about every scene. Mr White can't shut up about "if the manager gives you some static", and the rest continue to regurgitate their lines out of place and out of order throughout the entire game.
This is what ultimately brings the whole experience down, and kills any desire to replay missions for a better result. It's such a shame when the actual game mechanics and design are a lot of fun, and there's even some unique and interesting things going on. I can only assume that the Reservoir Dogs connection was used purely to get more eyes on the game, as it would have been more enjoyable (although relatively invisible) without it.
Thus, if you're a big fan of the movie - stay away. If you don't care about the source material, this might be worth a look.
Putting the disjointed "story" aside, the main gameplay loop in Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days consists of entering a building with a couple of guys, killing everyone and stealing everything, then making a getaway. Every mission follows this format to varying degrees, with little to differentiate them other than tougher enemies and different locations. Occasionally you'll have to "escort" someone at gunpoint, usually to have them unlock a safe, but other than that it's pretty straight forward.
It's easy to make comparisons with Hotline Miami, as it harbours a similar aesthetic. The top-down view and colourful palette do a lot to make each environment interesting and dynamic. As you mow down countless enemies, the blood and bodies on the floor tend to pile up and bear witness to the carnage you've unleashed. However, the similarities end there.
Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days actually feels more like a turn-based game than the flat-out action of Hotline Miami. This is thanks to the game's primary gimmick, which is the ability to make a move with one character, then rewind time to make moves with another character. It ends up being a ballet of coordinating multiple characters at the same time, which ends up being a whole lot of fun.
Imagine you have three guys in a vault who have just picked up bags of cash. There are currently a bunch of cops rushing the only entry into the vault, and they will definitely kill you all if you don't do anything.
So your first move might be to move one character to the left side of the door, and open fire on every cop as they stream through the bottle-neck. Unfortunately though, there are too many and they shoot your other characters who are still standing around in the vault without any instructions.
Activate the rewind to before the first character moved to the door, and this time move the second character to the right side of the door at the same time. Now as the cops rush in, they're assaulted by two team members opening fire on them as they pour in.
For an added cherry on top, why not rewind again, and this time position the third character across the room from the open door. Now when the cops stream in, have them open fire Scarface-style and shoot them all head on.
These ten seconds or so can now play out simultaneously and all three characters jump to life, position themselves accordingly, and all open fire on the helpless cops rushing into the room. Once each character's moves have played out, it's time to start again with the first and make the next move.
There's no real cap on how long you are able to rewind, as it all depends on the first character taking action. They set the cap, as you're able to run around with them as much as you like before hitting rewind. When everything's quiet, it might be time to slow down and spend a lot of time exploring, but when the bullets are flying; it pays to rewind often to keep everyone attacking together.
Throw a combo system on top of this, and you get some interesting plays happening organically. Each kill and item robbed adds to the combo meter, which in turn improves your score. Like more combo meters you need to continue performing these actions in sequence, with little to no down time in between. So imagine how quickly you can rack up some combos when you send one character to loot and kill everything on one side of a building, while sending another to the same on the other side.
It might be a bit confusing to imagine how it plays out in reality, but the rewind system really creates a rhythm to the game that's very enjoyable. It's a fine balance between a real-time action game (as time never pauses or stops), but with the planning aspect of turn-based tactics. After getting into the swing of these systems, you start approaching situations as if all of your characters were attacking at once.
At the same time there are the usual elements that you might expect. Different weapons can be equipped or picked up from dead enemies. Each character has varying stats on how much health they have, how fast they can move, and how quickly they can rob something. Additionally, the enemies vary, but mostly because they carry different weapons, and arrive in varying numbers.
Finishing a mission nets you a score based on a bunch of factors like time, kills, accuracy, amount stolen, and everything else. It's a shame that the Reservoir Dogs theme is off-putting enough that I didn't want to replay anything, as I would have loved to spend more time improving my ranks on each level.
Which is where the real disappointment of Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, raises its head again. I can't stress enough how much this would have been a super enjoyable game with loads of replay value, if only it used an original theme. All the out-of-context quotes, and misinterpretations of characters, does nothing more than turn an otherwise fun and challenging game, into something cringeworthy and awkward.
So as I said earlier; don't play this because you love Reservoir Dogs. In fact, if you do love the film, perhaps give it a miss entirely. However, if you think you can put up with the bad movie references, then you might have a blast getting into the unique rhythm of the semi-turn-based gameplay.
I'm hoping that I'll have forgotten about everything other than the excellent mechanics sometime in the future. Then I can jump back in and have a great time all over again, but I can't face hearing Mr Pink randomly state that he doesn't tip right now.
It just seems like this could have been something special if it had the confidence to carve its own identity instead of bastardising something we already know and love. I suppose that's the cliché story of games based on other mediums.
As a fan of Reservoir Dogs, I'm mad that this game basically ripped apart the script and disrespected the genius of the film. As a fan of interesting video games, I'm mad that this fun and original game idea, has been ruined by leaning on a poorly executed movie tie-in.
Don't make us all mad… in future just make a good game. That's all we ever want.
NB: Some release details provided in the header of this article may be incomplete, as Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days does not have an accessible store page in the AU region - so I had a hard time finding available platforms.