Acquitted for PC by Nordic Empire Games, is a Top-Down, Action/Shoot ‘Em Up/Hack ‘N Slash, Satire Game Inspired by the Events of the Kyle Rittenhouse Situation and Acquittal
We reported over a week ago about Acquitted, a PC game from Nordic Empire Games which is inspired by Kyle Rittenhouse and the events that took place around him. Since then, we purchased the game and livestreamed some gameplay. Now, it’s time for our review.
First, let’s go over how nice it is to play a game that not only has zero wokeness in it, but actually goes the opposite direction and celebrates the second amendment and Kyle’s acquittal. This premise actually lends itself to the entirety of the story for the game. The story goes, you have just been acquitted and released from the court house and must defend yourself from the braindead “zombies” which are trying to end your life. This is the basis for every level (which there are 100 of them) and each and every one gets that much harder.
Let me tell you now, once you get past level 15, things become VERY hard. You’ll have to learn new tactics to outsmart the AI as the communist flag carrying, Antifa zombies throw bottles, Molotov cocktails and even try to jump with knives toward you. The bosses are the funniest part of each level that includes them. Some of said bosses are HUGE, angry Berthas with big floppy chests swinging their crazy claws at you which will take you down in one hit. Other bosses are man-babies dressed like women. You’ll know they are on the playing field before even seeing them thanks to the great screaming sound effects given to them.
Speaking of sound and music, the sound effects are all perfectly placed and used for their given reason, but the music could use some changeups. There’s only one song, and even though it’s catchy and fits VERY well with the gameplay, it would be nice to have maybe three or four different songs. Some have suggested the ability to simply turn it off in order to listen to your own songs. The developer seems rather responsive to the community and has already made some bug fixes since the game’s release, so I’m sure more updates to fix things are coming.
The gameplay for Acquitted can best be explained by comparing it to other games like Dead Nation, Hotline Miami and Shadowgrounds. The biggest difference here, however, is that this is more straightforward and not based on changes scenery with each level. You aren’t working your way through a world; just swarms of braindead enemies.
Through 100 levels, you aim and shoot in all directions using a plethora of firearms and have the ability to drop/throw grenades, build barriers and even hack and slash with bats, swords and even weapons like axes. You start with a simple pistol and full-auto rifle but throughout the levels you progress through, you are rewarded with others like a shotgun, sniper rifle, grenade launcher and more. However, be careful as some enemies can steal weapons when running into you on later levels.
The gameplay is VERY addictive. Moreso than you’d think just by looking at the game. The controls help this by remaining smooth and fast. Reloading while running to get space works like a charm and nothing ever seems off. I though there may have been an issue at times with certain actions not working, but then I realized that actions you take in the game can only be done one at a time. It seems more like it’s something the developer purposefully coded in order for a better balance.
Speaking of looking at the game, let’s talk about the graphics which are all hand drawn. The art of the game may not knock anyone off their feet, but the designs for your character all the way through the braindead enemies are drawn in a way that fit the narrative. Your character, which you can change the colors for, is given a bright, happy look while all the braindead horde characters are dark-clothed, masked and running around with pink, purple or green hair.
The art has a certain charm about it that will likely trigger those types in the real world, but make everyone else in the know flat out laugh their asses off for hours while playing. In fact, you’ll likely die a few times at the start simply for the fact that you’re seeing Antifa members brought so well into a video game. It’s like Tron is now a real thing.
There are some issues I’ve ran into while playing Acquitted, so it isn’t without some bugs. They aren’t game-breaking, but something to keep in mind until they are fixed.
One of the bugs revolves around ultrawide monitors. Actually, it’s the display options in general. In Windows 11 (and 10?) there are specific options for every game coded for them where you can set specific display options like windowed mode and resolutions. This game isn’t coded for these options. Hopefully it will be as playing on an ultrawide monitor is buggy. The game doesn’t always know what to do and even when it randomly fits the screen, it will use only a small area for the hit effects and HUD.
On a smaller screen, the game wants to stay in windowed mode until you force it into full screen with your keyboard, but then you’re out of luck if you want windowed mode again.
On top of this, using a controller is a little iffy right now, but the developer has said he is looking to fix this. This issue revolves around the cursor still being used with a controller. Typically, games will rid the cursor from the screen when using a controller, so right now it’s actually a little difficult when using a controller. It isn’t broken, it just isn’t what you want.
Acquitted isn’t the most amazing game on Earth and it probably won’t win any awards, but for being their first game, Nordic Empire Games has already shown that they know what people like and how to have fun. The game is very addictive and the premise is both amazing (for being pro-2A) and funny (Antifa as zombies). If the game continues getting support, both by the players and the developer, then we could see this game turn into a milestone for freedom-loving people.
We need to continue creating and supporting companies, products and services that celebrate freedom.
You can purchase this game through Steam.
Played the game? Let us know your thoughts below.