Teyon isn’t a household name for your average player. The studio has existed for ages, yet you don’t exactly garner large appeal with the Heavy Fire series, much less Rambo: The Video Game. Yet this humble studio achieved something not even James Cameron himself could — it madea good sequelto Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Terminator: Resistance was an absolutely stunning breath of fresh air when it released — a compact first-person shooter with immersive sim elements, focused entirely on a gripping single-player story that works tirelessly to integrate into the existing film lore without contradicting anyone or anything in the first two films. Except it almost didn’t get that recognition.
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I won’t pretend to know what was going through critics' heads at the time — criticisms varied from its scale (even though it’s very well-paced?) to complaints about the animations of the very tame, brief,optionalsex scenes (I just… can’t begin to- yeah, no). Yet word of mouth between fans saved it. While Terminator: Dark Fate failed to garner a win on the silver screen, players were treated to one of the best single-player action games in years. The attention to detail is staggering, with Teyon clearly taking to heart the criticisms it received over its troubled Rambo project.
Except that wasn’t good enough for Teyon. Instead, its development team just kept adding to the game, with a prequel comic book and a rogue-like mode where you can play as an Infiltrator Terminator. Then it doubled down again, promising a remaster for the entire game that would be free on PC and for existing PS4 owners on their PS5s. Finally, just last year, the company closed things out with a final flourish, tying the opening of the original Terminator in with the events of the game with Terminator: Resistance - Annihilation Line.
Oh, and did I mention the team members got to put together an exclusive collector’s edition with Limited Run Games after winning so much goodwill with their players? Because that’s just how hard they managed to hit it out of the park when nobody was betting on them to even stick the landing with the core game. License tie-ins are supposed to be fire-and-forget affairs, not dovetailing to the point people are begging for more content.
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So you’re able to imagine my excitement when Teyon announced that it’s now bringing back another ’80s classic IP: RoboCop. While Terminator: Resistance was a loving fan letter that effortlessly grafted itself into the greater lore,RoboCop: Rogue City is a bold reimagining of the first three films as a single, cohesive narrative. Peter Weller is back as the titular future of law enforcement, and with just a glance at the first story trailer, it’s already shaping up to be a brilliant time.
Shaders and visual filters that look like you’re glimpsing the action through a VHS tape. Big hair, big attitudes, and even bigger explosions fill the screen. Levels look larger than ever, dripping with atmosphere. While the gunplay we’ve seen from this trailer and the two-minute demo is a bit hard to gauge for quality, the HUD integration looks fantastic, as is the fact you have to actually follow procedure, and caneven give out parking tickets.
What’s equally interesting is how Rogue City looks to be a total inversion of the power balance players experienced in Terminator: Resistance. Murphy doesn’t flinch when shot, can crush a skull with a mere punch, and has dead-on aim that would make Max Payne envious. How this all balances out is the question, but we’ll know soon — RoboCop: Rogue City drops this June for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Here’s hoping Teyon’s hotstreak is only just starting.
