No Law is one of those games that’s impossible to ignore. At first glance Neon Giant’s new Cyber-noire action adventure seems to share a lot in common with CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece Cyberpunk 2077, but when it comes to gameplay it’s a different beast altogether.
Developer Neon Giant has promised they’re “leaning hard” into gun feel and impact, and are “doubling down on what we do best: rich urban density, stunning visual variety, and chaotic cityscape combat.”
“It’s a new franchise in a new setting just with a new level of brutal, satisfying FPS action,” the Swedish developers add. Previously, the team released the beautiful ARPG The Ascent, but the team behind the title also have experience working on DOOM, Wolfenstein, and more.
There’s no concrete release date yet, but there are a few details out there, along with a gameplay trailer that give us strong hints about what to expect. So, here’s everything you need to know about it – and why No Law needs to find its way on to your wishlist.
What’s No Law about?
No Law is a first-person cyber-noire action RPG where you play as Grey Harker, a military veteran seeking a quiet life in the city of Port Desire. However, “while he no longer goes looking for trouble, one fateful day, trouble finds its way to his front door,” reads the description on the No Law Steam page.
The good news is that Neon Giant is no stranger to tackling the ‘Cyberpunk’ genre, as they previously released the brilliant 2021 hit, The Ascent. The top-down (ish) shooter was highly praised for its stunning visuals and art style, so rest assured, the team know exactly what they’re doing.
How does the gameplay differ from Cyberpunk 2077?
Much like Cyberpunk, there will be a city to explore and choices to make. While details are scarce on what these choices entail, expect to face real consequences for your decisions. Gameplay suggests a more action-orientated experience, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be linear.
“Whether you decide to help a friend in need or flatline some mouth-breathing alley rat, your choices will leave a mark,” the Steam page reads. Neon Giant also confirmed that there will be ‘new outcomes’ and ‘alternate paths’ to encourage multiple playthroughs.
Port Desire itself is lush with greenery, in contrast to the pristine man-made parks scattered around Night City. A hub for import and export, Neon Giant claim that “nothing is off limits” with gameplay catering to both stealth-minded and action-orientated players. From the gameplay trailer, there’s a ‘bullet time’ feature, similar to Max Payne – while there’s a slightly greater focus on melee than in Cyberpunk. Body physics look incredibly detailed, with enemies launched and thrown into environmental objects that react and break on impact. There’s also a cybernetic UI that highlights options without breaking immersion – helping to identify threats, routes and tactics on the fly.
“We’ve also carried forward our love of systems-driven design,” a post from the devs on the Xbox Wire post reads. As a result, enemies will react to sounds, sightlines, and pressure. “Because of emergent systems and NPC reactivity, two players who “do the same thing” can still see the world react differently,” they wrote.
There’s no multiplayer, but it will be coming consoles, confirmed via the listings pages on both the Xbox and PlayStation store.
When is the No Law release date?
As previously alluded to, there isn’t a concrete release date as yet – but the gameplay footage shown in the trailer does suggest it’s a fair away along in development. You can, however, add the game to your Steam wishlist. “If The Ascent was our statement of intent, No Law is our next step – an invitation to lose yourself in a city that pushes back,” say the devs. We can expect to see more deep dives in the coming months – and we can’t wait.
