Anger Foot review – Hotline Miami fans will get a kick out of this

Reviews Anger Foot review – Hotline Miami fans will get a kick out of this ByRichard Seagrave 11 July 202411 July 2024

Welcome to Shit City, a place where notorious gangs rule the roost and make life for most folk unpleasant. You were pretty apathetic to it all, but then someone stole your impressive shoe collection, and now you’ve had enough. And so begins Anger Foot: a game in which you clean up Shit City, with your feet doing much of the work.

Just like in Hotline Miami, each level essentially requires you to make your way through a number of corridor and rooms until you’re able to reach the exit. And while you often start with a weapon in your hands, its limited ammo means you need to acquire new weapons as you go. even an empty weapon is handy, however, as it can be thrown to stun an enemy for a short while. And when you’re in close range, your right foot is as dangerous as anything: one swift kick can kill most enemies and even break down doors.

Initially, the enemies you’re up against aren’t all that threatening: thick-set goons with baseball bats and thugs with pistols. Soon, though, you’re also up against enemies equipped with riot shields, shotguns, and a whole lot more. There are enemies that make a beeline for you and explode, too, because of course there are. These are best swiftly shot while they’re far away, or kicked out of range so that you’re not caught in their blast.

Ultimately, Anger Foot plays out like a crazed thrill-ride, with you acting as quickly as possible to move from one room to another, kicking and shooting anything that moves. With just one or two hits killing you, it’s a true test of your twitch skills. Sometimes the odds feel stacked against you, in fact, as it’s hard to dodge bullets when you’re in a tight corridor. But with planning and perseverance, any stage can be overcome.

Sometimes it pays to make use of the environment, too. Why waste multiple bullets shooting a group of enemies when there’s an explosive barrel behind them to blow up instead? And if you find an energy drink lying around, why not take a sip to put you in an enhanced state, allowing you to up the ante for a short while?

One of the coolest things about Anger Foot, however, is the range of effects afforded to you by your footwear. You see, as you play through the game and complete levels, you earn stars. Each level has a couple of optional objectives you can complete to earn more stars, too, typically things such as only using your feet to kill enemies, and finishing within a target time. With those stars you then unlock a wide range of new shoes, with each pair offering a unique effect.

One pair of shoes might replenish the ammo of the gun you’re carrying after kicking an enemy, for example, while another might allow you to perform a charged kicking attack, catapulting you forward at great speed. You might even find that you can’t complete the optional objectives in some levels until you’ve unlocked a specific pair of shoes, meaning you might want to revisit some levels at a later date.

Its just a shame that as fun as Anger Foot is, with its zany gameplay and larger-than-life art style, it soon becomes overly repetitive. This is a game best played in short bursts, especially if you also don’t get on well with its pounding soundtrack that can quickly drive you mad. Throw in its challenging nature that sometimes verges on unfair, and you have a game that’s certainly not for everyone.

This review of Anger Foot was facilitated by a code provided by the game’s publisher. It’s available exclusively on PC.

Anger Foot review — GameSpew's score

Anger Foot 6 10 0 1Anger Foot is essentially Hotline Miami played from a first-person perspective, with your foot being your most valuable asset. As fun as kicking things with a variety of effects is, however, the action gets repetitive pretty fast, the difficulty feels unfair at times, and the soundtrack may drive you up the wall.Anger Foot is essentially Hotline Miami played from a first-person perspective, with your foot being your most valuable asset. As fun as kicking things with a variety of effects is, however, the action gets repetitive pretty fast, the difficulty feels unfair at times, and the soundtrack may drive you up the wall. Total Score