PO'ed: Definitive Edition was provided by Nightdive Studios for review. Thank you!
If you have read some of my reviews of the games Nightdive Studios has developed, you probably know I am a huge fan of the studio. They have redefined what it means to remaster older games, overhauling them in ways I wouldn't expect from most studios. Not only does the game remain faithful to the original, but it enhances it in ways that make it significantly more playable on modern hardware. The next game they have remastered is 1995's PO'ed, which I thought was a joke since it was announced on April Fools. But here we are, PO'ed: Definitive Edition is here, and it's the best way to play this weird game.
Following up on Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster with a PO'ed is odd. The former is a well-known game in a huge franchise, while PO'ed is a forgotten gem from long ago. It's a weird game, to say the least, and it isn't for everybody, but if you are a fan of games from the late 90s, you will feel right at home.
In PO'ed, you are a chef who is stuck on a ship that has been overrun with aliens. With your friends dead and the wonderful food you made ruined, you will take revenge on the aliens with a unique assortment of weapons like your trusty frying pan and your jetpack and get vengeance on the invaders. The entire game is a bit weird, permeating almost every aspect of it.
The crazy weapons you can find in the game are quite fun. From the frying pan melee to the meat cleavers you throw, fighting enemies is usually a lot of fun. There are moments where the gunplay doesn't hit and can feel floaty, though, and it does hurt the experience a bit. I did notice this primarily with the earlier weapons like the pistol and meat cleavers you throw, missing some shots I didn't understand, but thankfully, the later weapons you get, like the drill and rocket launcher, are significantly nicer to use.
This combines well with the movement system, which I enjoy for the most part. The levels are built to be more open, requiring you to use the jetpack to navigate around. I love using the jetpack to move around, and killing enemies with the rocket launcher is so much fun, but I got lost in levels more easily than I expected. There are some levels where the correct way to go is hidden behind a wall that does not indicate that you can move through it. It can be a bit frustrating at times, as completing some of the levels took a lot of time.
I did enjoy the overall crazy aesthetic and atmosphere of PO'ed. The varied, blocky level design, lack of music, slightly unnerving sounds, and outlandish enemy designs all work together and give a slightly unsettling feeling that I enjoy. The enemy designs specifically get me. Flying butts, clumps of meat, giant bats, and robots are just some of the foes you will encounter, and it's so cool seeing the unique style each one has.
But, even with some of the problems, it is perfect to play on the Steam Deck.
Like most Nightdive Studios' games, PO'ed runs like a charm on the Steam Deck. Outside of some spikes of battery drain going up to 11W, it runs flawlessly at 90 FPS and feels wonderful to play on the Steam Deck. The controls feel great, and while having the jump attached to the left trigger was jarring at first, it felt great when I got used to it. There isn't much else to say; it's fantastic to play!
The settings allow you to change controller bindings, audio sliders, FOV, toggle antialiasing and interpolation, turn your crosshair on or off, and change the language. You can also change some enhancements, such as view bobbing, HUD messages, auto tilting, view rolling, and more. There are also four different difficulties to offer a challenge if you so choose.
The game does support 16:10 resolutions, and there is controller support, but there aren't any cloud saves. There are no HDR settings. You can turn gyro behavior to "Gyro to Mouse [Beta]" to enable gyro controls.
PO'ed: Definitive Edition is a weird one I am at odds with. It is the best way to experience this game, and I feel like its a unique experience, thanks to just how weird it is. But some of the quirks it had on its release do hold it back. Things like the open-level design and some inaccurate weapons hold it back, but Nightdive has made it much more playable in all the right ways. The way it feels with a controller, the enhancements we can toggle, and the enjoyable gameplay with more powerful weapons are complemented by a near perfect on the Steam Deck. This one may not appeal to as many people as their last game did, but it's still worth checking out.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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PO'ed: Definitive Edition is a weird game with some odd design choices, but it is a fantastic to play on the Steam Deck.
