Wanted: Dead is an action game that dabbles with a lot of different mechanics. The game’s protagonist, Hannah Stone, has an assortment of guns at her disposal. The game can be played as a run-and-gun shooter or a cover shooter. Hannah also has a katana to slice and dice enemies to pieces.
The shooting may not be up to snuff with some other big tactical shooters but the action is sound. The developers, Soleil, have worked on action games before like Valkyrie Elysium and Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, so they know what they’re doing in that department. Here's how new players to Wanted: Dead can make the most of their first few hours.
1 The Difficulties
Players can choose between Normal and Hard modes at the start, but will eventually unlock Japanese Hard as a third option. Wanted: Dead is not a game for casual fans of action games. It can be as brutal as the Ninja Gaiden series that was rebooted on the original Xbox.
There is no Casual mode, nor are there any assist features to give beginners a leg up. Checkpoints are also few and far between, so, before picking this game up it’s best for players to know what they are in for.
2 Skills To Unlock Fast
Once certain skills are unlocked, the game will at least become more manageable. All players have to do is make it through the first stage and unlock these skills as they go. The first non-mandatory skill to unlock should be the grenade. After that, it’s important to increase armor defenses as well as increase the amount and effectiveness of healing items.
Finally, players should prioritize unlocking Severed Arm Finishing Strike, which will help eliminate enemies faster once they lose an arm. There are other good skills to unlock after this that are standard in most action games such as better counter maneuvers but players should first focus on the oneslisted above.
3 When To Shoot And When To Slice
The first stage is the hardest because there are a lot of gun users involved. In situations where most enemies have guns, it’s important to use cover. The cover system is not precise, so players will have to get used to it until it hopefully gets patched.
In other stages, there will be a better balance between enemies with guns and enemies with melee weapons. If a group of six only has two gun users, for example, players should make a beeline for them with the sword. Eliminating ranged enemies first is a good tip for any action game and not just Wanted: Dead.
4 Customizing Your Weapon
It’s hard to tell when checkpoints rise up unless players die. If they do, then players will know checkpoints occur at bosses and whenever Vivian’s drone appears. This drone allows players to customize their rifle and their pistol with parts unlocked through each stage.
When upgrading weapons, it’s important to always go for accuracy. Weapon handling can be crucial as well, but accuracy is the best thing to focus on. That’s because the shooting segments need some work as well as the aforementioned cover system.
5 Look Out For Sub-Weapons
Hannah’s rifle and pistol will not be her only ranged weapons in levels. Enemies will drop sub-weapons that either run out of gas, like the chainsaw, or out of ammo like the grenade launcher. These sub-weapons will also be lost after completing the stage.
Usually, sub-weapons appear in areas with a boss or mini-boss, or in a room filled with enemies, so players should be on the lookout for them. These rooms often have red tanks around as well. Shooting those will cause them to explode. which shouldn’t be news for anyone that has played a shooter before.
6 Healing And Reviving
There are two ways players can heal in Wanted: Dead; three, if players count reviving at a checkpoint after death. First, players get stim packs and they begin with a stack of three. The aforementioned ability in the skill tree will increase this allotment by one.
Players can also “die” and be revived once via their comrade Doc. It’s a lot like the power in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which Wanted: Dead seemingly borrows quite a lot from in general as an action game.
7 Look Out For Notes
Notes are the easiest thing to spot in the game because they glow bright pink. They vary in form from maps to quickly scribbled notes and photographs. Grabbing each one will net players a cool 50 SP. SP is the currency used to buy skills in Wanted: Dead.
While 50 SP may not seem like a lot as abilities cost somewhere in the upper hundred or thousands, it all adds up over time. Players should be on the lookout for these notes on missions and back at HQ before heading out on a mission.
8 Adjust The Sound
This may sound like an odd piece of advice for an action game, but it’s recommended to adjust the sound levels before getting started with Wanted: Dead. They are off in the game, with the sound effects dominating everything. Even wearing headphones will not help the situation.
It’s best to crank voices up to the number one spot followed by the music, which is one of the game’s best features. Finally, players will want to lower those sound effects way down because they can be heard well even at 40%.
Wanted: Dead was released on February 14, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.