Over the years, especially if you’re not a deep cut anime fan, there’s a version of cyberpunk we’ve all been trained to expect, it’s neon glow, glassy surfaces and hyper-clean UI, but PC-shooter Mullet Madjack, coming to Switch on 30 April, isn’t interested in that version at all, instead it tears the genre back to something older, rougher, and a lot more physical.
“The references were VHS era anime,” says game director and art director Alessandro Martinello, pointing to the best anime of the era, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Riding Bean, and Cyber City Oedo 808, but what matters is what he leaves out. “I pick things that differentiate the classic ’80s cyberpunk from the modern reinterpretation… fewer neons, more circular vents, and old tech like CRT monitors and a very bulky cell phone.”
