Liquid Swords' latest release, Samson, sets out to deliver an atmospheric '90s-inspired open-world experience. With a gritty, grimy setting and a fascinating attention to detail, it teases high hopes for those in search of something distinct. Unfortunately, despite its incredible visuals and compelling premise, Samson is let down by clunky mechanics, repetitive tasks, and some genuinely critical bugs that break both immersion and the game itself. Here's how this mix of ambitious ideas and flawed execution plays out.

A Strong Visual Start

On the surface, Samson is a treat for the eyes. The fictional neighborhood of Tindleston is a beautifully realized setting that radiates '90s urban noir. Rain-slicked streets reflect dim city lights, graffiti-painted alleyways feel alive with rebellion, and the cracked facades of buildings bleed character. It isn’t a sprawling city like Grand Theft Auto; instead, Tindleston packs remarkable detail into a small, well-defined space. The decision to create a focused neighborhood rather than a sprawling metropolis is one of the game’s best aspects—it feels intimate and grimy in a way larger open worlds often fail to.

However, Samson’s '90s billing feels underutilized. The decade is reduced to minor details like payphones replacing cell phones, but there’s no soundtrack of the era to immerse players. In fact, there’s no music on car radios—or radios at all—leaving the game eerily quiet where there could have been nostalgic charm.

Gameplay That Struggles to Keep Up

At its core, Samson is an open-world brawler with driving elements, and its gameplay loop reflects this. Players take on the role of Samson McCrae, an ex-con tasked with repaying a $100,000 debt to save himself and his sister. Days are divided into three action periods—afternoon, evening, and night—with limited “action points” for scooping up missions to earn cash. While enticing on paper, this structure unravels quickly.

The available missions are repetitive, forcing players to endlessly repeat tasks like debt collections, minor scuffles, and getaways. Initially compelling in its urgency to accrue cash daily, the routine becomes a tiresome grind. Worse, a slew of progression-stopping bugs—even after updates aimed at fixes—leave the main storyline unfinished for some players, including the reviewer.

Clunky Combat, Dull Driving

The gameplay doesn’t help make the grind worthwhile. The melee combat system is clumsy, lacking polish and finesse. There’s no firearm combat, and the hand-to-hand brawling lacks fluidity, offering no locking mechanism for enemies. What should feel exciting devolves into hammering the light attack button and swinging punches at air, hoping for a hit. Heavy attacks lack speed, rendering them impractical in groups. Enemies often ignore the player entirely, or get stuck in the environment, showcasing AI that feels unfinished.

The driving fares no better. While the visual depiction of cars and streets keeps the '90s aesthetic alive, the mechanics behind driving missions leave much to be desired. Rival and police vehicles often spawn unrealistically, and hitboxes feel inconsistent at best. For example, running over foes head-on can result in the enemy simply being pushed aside, while others can be instantly dealt with by reversing into them. Mysteriously, enemy AI seems coded to ignore reversing cars, eliminating any challenge this might present.

A Broken Reward System

For those hoping to build a crime empire or make a meaningful dent in Tindleston’s world, the rewards for progress in Samson are minimal. The game’s economy feels half-baked, with money largely cycling back into vehicle repairs for Samson’s personal car. Though the game attempts to foster attachment to this unique muscle car, its prohibitive repair costs force players to rely on stolen cars instead. Limited in variance, the traffic vehicles feature only four basic types, restricting player choice and making the few driving-focused missions repetitive.

The game does offer an XP progression system with upgrades tied to health, strength, and similar attributes. However, these upgrades appear meaningless since enemies level alongside the player, preventing any real sense of growth or power. By the time the reviewer cleared the $100,000 debt driving the game’s plot, there was little incentive to keep going.

Borrowed Inspiration, Unmet Potential

Fans of open-world brawler-driving hybrids might recognize nods to other games in Samson. Its DNA is traceable to Mad Max (also developed by Liquid Swords veterans), Driver, and even Sleeping Dogs. Yet, for all its obvious inspirations, Samson doesn’t properly integrate these elements into a cohesive whole. Mad Max’s attachment to vehicles, Sleeping Dogs’ martial arts mastery, or Driver’s thrilling car chases are all referenced in spirit, but Samson struggles to present even one of these aspects in a polished, enjoyable manner.

Technical Problems Break the Experience

Despite regular updates and fixes, Samson is riddled with technical issues. The reviewer reported game-breaking bugs that halted main-story progress midway through, locking them permanently out of completing the campaign. Missions glitched frequently, with characters or objectives freezing or disappearing entirely. Police cars spawned awkwardly behind players, ruining the tension of getaways. Enemies clipped through walls or ignored combat entirely. These glitches render progress frustratingly unpredictable.

Worse, once the primary story arc halts due to bugs, players are left grinding repetitive side missions indefinitely—an exhausting cycle that lacks any meaningful denouement.

Who Should Play Samson?

For all its flaws, there’s an undeniable allure in Samson’s lovingly constructed world. Tindleston itself feels alive—a detailed, oppressive urban setting unlike many generic cities in gaming. If atmosphere and visuals are paramount for you, Samson’s world might be worth the $30 price it asks.

However, the broken gameplay and repetitive mission design make it difficult to recommend. Fans looking for more polished alternatives in the open-world brawler or driving genre would be better served revisiting Sleeping Dogs, Driver: San Francisco, or Mad Max. These titles not only capture the essence of their respective gameplay pillars but succeed in blending story, combat, and driving into cohesive experiences.

Final Word

Samson could have been a strong contender in the small niche of open-world action-driving games. It draws players in with its gritty aesthetic and precise environmental design but squanders that goodwill on repetitive, bug-riddled gameplay. With its current issues, Samson feels more like an unfinished proof of concept than a fully realized game. Even for those craving '90s nostalgia, the lack of era-appropriate music and atmosphere leaves that promise half-baked. Unless Liquid Swords can iron out the game’s most glaring flaws with thorough updates, it’s hard to recommend Samson as anything more than a fascinating but failed experiment.

For those committed to exploring every corner of Tindleston despite the frustrations, just be prepared to encounter its many quirks and shortcomings along the way.