Anger Foot review

What is it?  A fast-paced FPS with one of the most satisfying melee moves around.
Release date:  July 11, 2024
Expect to pay: $25/£21
Developer:  Free Lives
Publisher:  Devolver
Reviewed on:  Core i5-12600K, RTX 3070, 32GB RAM
Multiplayer: No
Steam Deck: Verified
Link: Steam 

I don't mean to pigeonhole Anger Foot by reducing it to «First Person Hotline Miami,» but that's pretty much the elevator pitch for the game. Enemies go down in one hit, but so do you (with a few exceptions) and levels are tight little labyrinths where each room demands you clear it with maximum aggression and efficiency. The other topline gameplay feature is your titular angry foot⁠—not to be confused with the game's protagonist, Anger Foot. 

My favorite moment came when I traded in my go-to shoe power-up⁠—The Chargers, which grant a gap closing dash ability that also instakills enemies⁠—for a pair of sexy sexy stilettos in order to clear a mission's challenge objective. The curve ball is that these hot heels make it so bullets only stun enemies, while thrown weapons become an instant kill, and this was a particularly firearm-heavy mission. Having to run the level back with fresh eyes and a completely different approach was Anger Foot at its best: its Hotline Miami flow state killing remixed on the fly by clever design.

You are always a single button press away from one of the better instant melees I've ever seen in a game. The Anger Foot kick has a different vibe from Dark Messiah or Deathloop's legendary NPC punts—it kills enemies outright instead of knocking them into traps⁠—but it's similarly satisfying. Every fight begins with you blasting a door open with your clodhopper, often sending it flying right into an enemy for an instant kill. It's a fantastic mechanic, and my only gripe is that the powerup that activates bullet time on kicking a door down doesn't unlock until the very end of the game.

I really dig how much Anger Foot leans into the kick thematically and mechanically. Of course