Turbo Overkill Review: Chainsaw-Legged Cyberpunk Masterpiece
Last Updated: October 29, 2025
In the roaring revival of the fast-paced, arcade-style shooter, it takes a truly special kind of monster to claw its way to the top of the pile. Enter Turbo Overkill, a game that doesn't just stand out—it carves its name into the genre with a revving chainsaw leg. After a celebrated run in Early Access, the full 1.0 version launched on PC in August 2023, solidifying its status as a hyper-violent, neon-soaked love letter to the classics.
It’s a relentless adrenaline rush from start to finish, and for veterans of the genre, it’s a symphony of perfectly executed chaos.
A Symphony of Destruction
Turbo Overkill wears its inspirations on its sleeve, proudly nodding to the hallowed halls of titles like DOOM, Quake, and Duke Nukem 3D, but it is far from a simple tribute. It elevates the formula with a movement system that is arguably one of the best in the genre. You play as Johnny Turbo, a half-metal killing machine equipped with a suite of cybernetic enhancements that turn every combat arena into a kinetic playground. A double jump, a heroic dash, and wall-running are just the beginning.
The game’s signature mechanic is the chainsaw slide—a devastatingly satisfying move that lets you glide through levels at ludicrous speeds, instantly gibbing any low-level enemy foolish enough to stand in your path. Chaining these movement abilities together while unloading a storm of firepower creates a combat flow that is both incredibly stylish and deeply engaging, demanding skill and rewarding aggression.
An Arsenal of Glorious Excess
What’s a great shooter without a great arsenal? Turbo Overkill delivers in spades with a creative, brutal, and impactful selection of weaponry. You begin with staples like dual-wielded magnums that lock on to targets and a powerful pump-action shotgun, but the arsenal quickly escalates into beautiful absurdity. The Telefragger, for instance, fires a bolt that you can teleport to, vaporizing any enemy unlucky enough to be at the destination point. The Boomer shotgun launches a grenade with its secondary fire, while the Twin Magnums can unleash a torrent of targeted micro-missiles.
Each weapon has a powerful secondary fire mode that further expands your tactical options. This entire destructive toolkit is backed by a robust upgrade system, allowing you to spend cash earned in levels to augment your favorite guns and Johnny's own cybernetics to suit your preferred method of mayhem. The full release presents the most complete and polished version of this destructive sandbox, honed to near perfection.
Welcome to Paradise, Now Get Out
The game’s setting, the cyberpunk metropolis of Paradise, is a stunning backdrop for the carnage. Dripping with slick neon lights, grimy rain-soaked alleyways, and towering futuristic structures, the world feels vibrant and lived-in, even as you’re painting it red. The level design is a standout feature, offering a brilliant mix of tight corridors and expansive vertical arenas that demand mastery of your movement abilities to navigate and dominate.
Enemy variety is excellent, ranging from shambling cyborgs to flying, rocket-spewing monstrosities, each requiring a different approach to dispatch efficiently. All of this is propelled by a pulse-pounding synthwave and metal soundtrack that perfectly complements the on-screen insanity, keeping your heart rate high and your trigger finger itchy.
The Verdict
Turbo Overkill is a masterclass in the modern retro-shooter, or "boomer shooter," genre. It understands what made the classics great—speed, overwhelming power, and unapologetic attitude—and amplifies it all with contemporary mechanics and a breathtaking sense of style. The core gameplay loop is so immaculately tuned that it remains thrilling for the entirety of its generous, multi-episode campaign.
While its relentless pace might be intimidating for those unaccustomed to the genre, the sheer, unadulterated fun factor is undeniable. For fans of fast-paced, arcade-style shooters, the PC version is an absolute, unequivocal must-play. It’s a loud, bloody, and beautiful experience that stands tall as one of the best shooters in years. With console versions for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch announced and on the way, a whole new audience will soon get to experience the glory of the chainsaw leg. Start revving your engines.