Teyon accomplished something that hadn’t been done since Robocop vs. The Terminator on Sega Genesis by making great licensed games based on both properties. Terminator: Resistance was a surprisingly competent FPS based on the IP, but RoboCop: Rogue City was even more impressive. Rogue City not only perfectly captured the power fantasy of being RoboCop, it honored the first two films in the franchise and continued their legacy, complete with the willingness to address some thought-provoking concepts and deliver plenty of biting satire. But for Unfinished Business, the world of RoboCop is dipping its toe into territory previously occupied by films like 2012’s Dredd and The Raid.
Releasing on July 17, Unfinished Business is a standalone story expansion to RoboCop: Rogue City that takes place entirely within the confines of the OmniTower — a mega skyscraper in New Detroit built by OCP but occupied by gangs and mercenaries. Ahead of Unfinished Business’ launch next month, Game Rant got to go hands-on with a preview build showcasing three of the regular levels alongside a standalone mission where players can step into the shoes of RoboCop’s bipedal predecessor: ED-209. Unfinished Business adds a few new wrinkles to RoboCop: Rogue City’s tapestry, but it’s mostly just a great excuse to step into the shoes of Alex Murphy once again and take out some bad guys.
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Unfinished Business Iterates on RoboCop: Rogue City Without Reinventing
Teyon effectively struck gold with its interpretation of what it would be like to take on the role of RoboCop with Rogue City, and it smartly doesn’t deviate much from that formula with Unfinished Business. RoboCop is still somewhat slow and plodding when moving around OmniTower, but he trades speed for power and being able to withstand a surprising amount of punishment. The same basic mechanics from the main campaign of Rogue City still apply in Unfinished Business. Players have their Auto-9 pistol handy at all times with a conveniently infinite reservoir of ammunition, but enemy weapon drops can also be picked up as a handy alternate. RoboCop can bust through walls, rip off mounted turrets, and grab enemies before tossing them like ragdolls across the screen.
New to Unfinished Business are some brutal takedowns that are both great to watch and satisfying to pull off. Grabbing an enemy near — what else? — yellow-tinted or painted objects triggers a prompt to execute a takedown, which then sees the camera switch to a cinematic angle while RoboCop smashes an enemy’s head into a television set or slams them into a circuit breaker box. Enemy AI is about what you would expect having played Rogue City (that is to say, enemies will regularly run right into RoboCop’s line of sight to graciously provide confetti-like headshots), but the few new enemy types on offer in Unfinished Business do require a bit more engagement to take down.
While not all of the new enemies were available in the levels from our preview, we did get to go toe-to-toe with the new armor-clad mercenaries in OmniTower as well as face off against swarms of airborne attack drones. OmniTower is filled to bursting with plenty of repurposed OCP technology, which RoboCop’s targets have put to great use in trying to stop him from proceeding through its floors. Of course, there are still plenty of OCP-branded healing charges and loot boxes scattered throughout the floors of OmniTower, too. RoboCop is far from without recourse.
There’s a small assortment of new weapons in Unfinished Business, but the Auto-9 once again reigns supreme as the best weapon of choice for most encounters. The same progression systems from Rogue City return, but they’ve been adjusted to account for Unfinished Business’s shorter length when compared to the base game. You’ll come across upgrades and experience points more frequently in Unfinished Business, which results in the progression and power curve being a bit more pronounced and swift. Considering the increased threat that RoboCop is going up against, it’s all the more welcome.
Keeping Unfinished Business Confined to a Single Navigable Space Puts the Focus on Combat
If RoboCop: Rogue City is the video game equivalent of what RoboCop 3 should have been, then Unfinished Business is tantamount to RoboCop making a cameo in The Raid or maybe a more sci-fi-leaning take on Alex Garland’s Dredd. Following a devastating attack on the Metro West precinct, RoboCop learns that he and the OCP tech that keeps him functioning were the primary target, with the mercenaries responsible having fled to the OmniTower — the centerpiece of OCP’s “New Detroit” urban development project. Much like in both Dredd and The Raid, the entirety of Unfinished Business’ story is set within the confines of the OmniTower, as RoboCop makes his way from floor to floor and eliminates all opposition in his way.
It’s an interesting story set-up, but it also allows Unfinished Business’ combat to take center stage. As great as Rogue City was, it wasn’t without its pacing issues, most of which resulted from its surprising inclusion of RPG-style dialogue trees and side quests. There’s still some of that DNA present in Unfinished Business, but this is an experience that focuses primarily on RoboCop being a laser-focused weapon of revenge. Aside from an OCP tech who joins up with RoboCop as his “guy in the chair,” running support while he mows down one criminal after another, Unfinished Business keeps things simple and straightforward, and what we played was already benefiting from that streamlined approach.
The ED-209 Mission is an Undeniable Highlight of RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business
The other component of gameplay that was on offer in our preview build of Unfinished Business was one of the new alternate character missions. For the first time in a game based on the property, players can complete flashback missions as Alex Murphy or storm through an entire floor of the OmniTower as ED-209. We didn’t get to play any of the Alex Murphy missions, but we did get to play one of the ED-209 levels, and it was hands-down the highlight of the preview.
ED-209 handles about like you’d expect any bipedal tank to, and it packs an absolutely ridiculous amount of firepower. There are only two weapons, a rocket launcher and the unit’s twin Vulcan cannons, and you’ll regularly swap between them as they overheat and need to recharge. The amount of enemies this level throws at ED-209 is almost comical, considering they’re all rushing to their imminent demise, and the frequency of explosions and crimson spray from the path of destruction ED-209 leaves in his wake makes playing as RoboCop almost seem tame in comparison. We only got to play one of these levels, and can’t help but hope that the full standalone experience includes more.
Like Terminator: Resistance before it, RoboCop: Rogue City was a surprisingly great licensed game made with a clear reverence for the source material and IP, and its satisfying gameplay loop was rife with opportunity for Teyon to explore it further. The developer has now done that in a standalone experience that is shaping up to be a worthwhile experience, regardless of whether you played Rogue City, and it adds enough new content to not feel like it’s retreading well-worn territory.
RoboCop: Rogue City
- Released
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November 2, 2023
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business launches July 17, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this preview.