GLITCHPUNK
Cars and commentary collide in GTA2’s spiritual successor
Developer Dark Lord
Publisher Daedalic Entertainment
Format PC
Origin Poland
Release Q2 2021
Grand Theft Auto has made roadkill of almost every challenger over the years – True Crime: Streets of LA, Sleeping Dogs and APB all lie flattened on the highway of history. The trick, as a plucky would-be-mimic, is to choose your target carefully – and Glitchpunk developer Dark Lord has picked GTA2, the half-forgotten 1999 sequel. Back then, the series was still in top-down 2D, and experimenting in the realm of dystopian sci-fi.
“I was surprised during pre-production that not many games looked in this direction,” says Maciej Karbownik, Dark Lord’s founder and lead developer. “All the personal nostalgia aside, I consider the core gameplay loop of GTA2 an example of genius simplicity, that incorporates my favourite elements from both real-world simulations and arcade shooters.”