Gangs of Sherwood review: Slogging through tedium for fool's gold

Gangs of Sherwood boasts an interesting premise. Based on the stories of Robin Hood, Appeal Studios' latest adventure combines the iconic myth with a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid dystopia. All of this is encapsulated within an action formula while also featuring co-op play for interested players. As an AA title, it likely is not on many players' radars.

But does the game deliver on its promises of being a fun action game with unique characters and distinct playstyles across bombastic levels to warrant attention?

Rise against tyranny as the Merry Men in Gangs of Sherwood

The gang in its full glory (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

The game is set in a fictional rendition of Great Britain, where the denizens have incorporated tech into their everyday medieval-era lives. Throwing a not-so-subtle wrench into everyone's livelihoods, the Sheriff of Nottingham has raised a powerful army thanks to the power of the Lionheart, a magical jewel responsible for emboldening his greed for power.

To fight back, a rebellion has risen in the form of the titular gang of heroes. They must defeat the evil army and save the common folk from looming tyranny. There are four playable characters in the game: Robin of Locksley, Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, and Little John. As those familiar with the tale of Robin Hood will notice, all of these are caricatures of personalities from the legend.

All levels are very linear (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

Each boasts varied gameplay styles, and players will fight through three Acts, with each featuring 3 distinct levels to save commoners who have been captured and take down the Sheriff's minions. Gangs of Sherwood also includes 1-4 player co-op, meaning players can team up with buddies to coordinate assaults on the vile and unjust.

My first impressions of the game were satisfactory enough. In fact, it is evident that most efforts went into the presentation of the game. At the same time, looking at other aspects of Gangs of Sherwood, it quickly became clear that this ride was going to be a rocky one.

A hero to save the day

Pick one of four heroes with unique abilities (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

After clearing the tutorial area, players will find themselves in Major Oak - the game's hub. It is a cathedral converted into a bastion for outcasts, where players can upgrade their heroes, undertake missions, and more. Each level is a very linear affair. After picking their character of choice, they will go from point A to B, defeating foes and bosses and finding chests, money, and other collectibles while saving kidnapped citizens.

Before players begin their adventure properly, we suggest navigating the tutorial area to see how the hero plays because they have different flows and rhythms. Robin is agile and attacks using a bow and arrows - which can magically replicate to dish out volleys of damage. Marian is also swift, wields a rapier, and can stack Magnetic Daggers on foes, which can then be triggered for massive damage.

Robin is very fun to use (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

The other two are beefier gentlemen: Friar Tuck and Little John. The former is a burly fellow who demolishes anything in his way with his massive mace. The latter, on the other hand, is a mustached redhead who can charge up Heat Points on timed hits to deliver powerful blows. My go-to pick was Robin; his ranged barrages allowed him to defeat foes before they could even get close.

This is especially true after players invest in skills and upgrades at the hub, many of which are well-designed. Players can invest in them using money earned after beating a level and also increase their People's Favour rank. This further unlocks new progression paths like Artifact Slots and new skills. I picked the Smirking Arrows, which boosts Robin's damage by sapping the enemy's health.

However, as we will discuss further, all of this is for naught as Gangs of Sherwood falls apart in more areas than one

Gangs of Sherwood's slivers of competence are overshadowed by dull gameplay and underwhelming design

Let me get this out of the way first: Gangs of Sherwood is not a "bad" game. Rather, "undercooked" is the perfect descriptive term for it. Let's start with the story, which, while nothing worth writing home about, gets the job done by pushing the set pieces and gameplay forward. Where it stumbles, however, is its eagerness to instill humor while also trying to be serious.

As players navigate the levels of Gangs of Sherwood, they will often come across distraught individuals or scenes that are supposed to provoke emotion, from NPCs who crave revenge for the injustice rained down upon their loved ones to the bodies littered around civilian caravans demolished by the Sheriff's ambushing army.

R.I.P. little piggies (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

Yet even during such heavy moments, Gangs of Sherwood's characters will not shy away from making cheeky remarks and humourous quips - which while initially funny, lose their charm real quick due to their repetition. This habit of overstaying the welcome is an issue that permeates other aspects of gameplay, too. The combat and core design can be best described as a mix between developer Fatshark's Vermintide games and Capcom's acclaimed Devil May Cry series.

Picking pages from the former is evident with its fixed classes and linear beat-em-up design. The iconic Japanese character-action game, on the other hand, makes its influence felt with the real-time hack & slash combat and a Style Meter equivalent. Unfortunately, Gangs of Sherwood fails to capture the essence of what makes either game good.

In place of Vermintide's screen-filling hordes, there are enemy encounters with different foe types. Yet there is only a small variety of them throughout the game, an already short 5-8 hour story. This makes enemy encounters a "been there, done that" affair real quick. As for the combat itself, impact animations feel satisfying enough, but the execution itself is janky and repetitive, especially the bizarre double jump "dash" animation that makes platforming frustrating.

Rebel Takedowns in the game (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

Gangs of Sherwood does have some interesting ideas of its own. However, there are checkpoints at set intervals throughout a level. This doesn't just replenish all health for the character but also automatically levels them up, thus granting them an extra health bar at each new Checkpoint. Additionally, Robin and Marian can squeeze into tight areas, while Friar Tuck and Little John can break open barricades or lift heavy blockages.

Then there are Rebel Instinct and Rebel Takedowns. The former is filled up via a gauge, and activating them grants a damage boost to the player while also regenerating health. The latter allows performing finishers to gain bonus money - and just like combat encounters, this can get boring quickly. So, no, that is not enough to save the game.

The ball of disappointment keeps rolling

Despite its faults, the combat is fast and frantic (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

Coming back to fundamentals, players can switch between heavy and light attacks to string combos, with options for dodging and blocking, too. Aiming is also an option, allowing players to land Robin's arrows and Marian's daggers precisely. Coupled with the small enemy variety and mediocre enemy AI that can be easy to exploit, Gangs of Sherwood quickly devolves into a mind-numbingly boring slogfest.

This is true for most boss fights as well, and I would not blame players for putting down the controller after a brief session. But wait, there's more: While levels they can branch out, there is no room for exploration besides dead ends that may have some chests containing money or Artifacts, the latter of which grant passive boons that are lackluster in the long run.

One of the many random Artifacts found in the game (Screenshot via Gangs of Sherwood)

As for accessibility, there is no way to bind keys, no matter what peripheral players prefer. This is a shockingly bad design decision for a 2023 action game. Players are encouraged to replay the game's levels to gather money and upgrade their characters, but what is the point when money does not carry over between heroes? Instead, players will need to grind through areas for each character to unlock new skills.

This just pads out the game unnecessarily, adding to its repetitive nature. As for the co-op in Gangs of Sherwood, I did not get to test that at the time of review. Up to 4 members can participate, meaning players can have the entire party duking it out on the battlefield. However, given the number of issues the game suffers from, it is hard to imagine that aspect being a saving grace.

Graphics, sound, and performance

The game can be a looker at times (Screenshot from Gangs of Sherwood)

Gangs of Sherwood is an Unreal Engine 4 game that doesn't push any visual boundaries. Despite that, it is a good-looking game with solid environments like densely packed forests and lonely ruins. As such, it is somewhat surprising that last-gen platforms were skipped from release.

Also, perhaps this is just me, but I found the performance to be all over the place depending on the level, with varying GPU usage for some reason. Additionally, I could not get a stable 60 FPS even at the hub area for most of the game. This is a tad odd, as the game was reviewed on the following specs:

CPU: Intel Core i7-12650H (up to 4.7 GHz)
RAM: 16 GB DDR4
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (8 GB)
SSD: 1 TB NVME

Some combat encounters even had the frame rate drop as low as the upper 20s, which can sour the gameplay rhythm, so there's that. In terms of the sound, the audio is good with orchestral sounds and tunes. Additionally, the narration and voice acting are well done, too.

In conclusion

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All of this mounts towards a dull, frustrating experience worsened by the fact that some aspects of the game, like the presentation, do shine through.

At the end of the day, Gangs of Sherwood buckles under its flaws. Poor design decisions and repetition are the key culprits in keeping the game from being anything above passable. If players are adamant about diving into the game, then I would recommend waiting for a deep discount.