Close Menu
  • Gaming
    • Game Guides
    • Codes
    • Game News
    • Game Previews
    • Game Reviews
    • Game Features
    • Game Lists
    • Platforms
      • Nintendo
      • PC
      • PlayStation
      • Xbox
      • Mobile
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Movie Features
    • Movie Reviews
    • TV
    • Reality TV
    • Royals
  • Celebrity
  • Human Interest
  • Astrology
  • Videos
  • More
    • Anime
    • Lists
    • Podcasts
    • Reviews
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn YouTube
  • About Us
  • Join Our Team
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Advertising Policy
The Nerd Stash
  • Gaming
  • Celebrity
  • Human Interest
  • Videos
The Nerd Stash
Home»Game Features»RoboCop: Rogue City Reveals the Challenge of ’80s Remakes

RoboCop: Rogue City Reveals the Challenge of ’80s Remakes

Perversions of justice.

Patrick ArmstrongBy Patrick ArmstrongNovember 8, 20234 Mins Read
RoboCop poses in Rogue City
Image Source: Teyon via The Nerd Stash

Skip To...

  • โ€˜80s Action Movies and Social Commentary
  • RoboCop: Rogue City, Rambo, and Video Game Themes
  • The Future of RoboCop
This article is over 1 years old and may contain outdated information.

The โ€˜80s gave us some of the most enduring action movies ever. While these films and their plots were memorable, it was often their over-the-top heroes that fans latched onto. Decades later, characters like RoboCop, Rambo, and The Terminator command much the same respect they did upon release. Even when those franchises arenโ€™t releasing new movies, the heroesโ€™ frequent guest appearances keep the nostalgia alive. With the recent release of action FPS RoboCop: Rogue City, the โ€˜80s are back in the spotlight. Unfortunately, Rogue City also reveals a challenge that Alex Murphy and other classic heroes will face going forward.

โ€˜80s Action Movies and Social Commentary

A scientist talks to RoboCop in Rogue City
Image Source: Teyon via The Nerd Stash

Most people donโ€™t think of โ€˜80s action movies when they think about social commentary. Thereโ€™s an argument that we should do just that. RoboCop, First Blood, and Terminator did more than just introduce muscle-bound heroes with a fondness for big guns and explosions. The stories of Rambo, RoboCop, and Terminator asked pointed questions about the world around them. 1987โ€™s RoboCop dealt explicitly with a variety of social issues. That included what the privatization of the police would mean for justice and the law. Plenty of fans just wanted to see cool gunfights and couldnโ€™t have cared less about the filmโ€™s deeper themes. For those who wanted depth, however, Paul Verhoevenโ€™s film brought it in force.

Related:

How Long Is RoboCop: Rogue City? Answered

A major part of the original RoboCop as well as Rogue City is Omni Consumer Products. In the bleak future of Old Detroit, this massive company has its hands in just about everything. Its latest venture is the privatization of the police. The ODPD is transformed from a traditional police force into a private army, blurring what it means to serve โ€œlaw and order.โ€ At the center of this social and political maelstrom are Officer Alex Murphy, aka RoboCop, and Officer Anne Lewis and Sargeant Warren Reed. RoboCop doesnโ€™t just use his metal fists and Auto 9 to deliver a beatdown to the cityโ€™s most violent citizens. He also raises tough questions about what the responsibility to Protect and Serve looks like.

RoboCop: Rogue City, Rambo, and Video Game Themes

Two gang members look out a broken window in Teyon's new action RPG, the kind of action spectacle that features RoboCop, Rambo, or the Terminator
Image Source: Teyon via The Nerd Stash

One of the biggest problems with RoboCop: Rogue City is it betrays the legacy of the original film. Failing to ask tough questions would be bad enough, but the game actually turns its back on the satire and cultural commentary of the original. During the main plot and side quests alike, the player is forced to accept injustice and illegal actions without any opportunity to question or challenge them. When RoboCop stops short of entering a building without a warrant, Anne kicks the door in and chides RoboCop for following the law. When a store owner accuses two young people of disturbing his customers with their loud music, RoboCop can tell the young people off or threaten them with electrocution. Thereโ€™s no investigation, no attempt to see the other side.

Related:

5 Best Skills in RoboCop: Rogue City

If a new Lego or SpongeBob game lacked cultural commentary, it wouldnโ€™t matter. For a franchise like RoboCop with such commentary in its bones, however, Rogue Cityโ€™s thematic shallowness is a massive blow to what makes the original great. Imagine a Rambo game that tries to do justice to First Blood without saying anything about war or veterans. Arguably, the closest weโ€™ve come to that is the Rambo and RoboCop skins that have appeared in Fortnite. Purged of their themes and symbols, theyโ€™re just empty costumes. Thereโ€™s nothing wrong with loading into Fortnite as a squad containing RoboCop, Rambo, Terminator, and Naruto. That said, they’re closer to kids in Halloween costumes than the actual characters.

The Future of RoboCop

A villain in Rogue City smokes a cigarette before facing off with a hero like RoboCop, Rambo, or Terminator
Image Source: Teyon via The Nerd Stash

RoboCop has a lot of staying power. Thereโ€™s almost zero chance that Rogue City will be the last game we see from the franchise. So, what should the future of RoboCop look like? If you donโ€™t care about keeping franchises faithful to the original, then it doesnโ€™t matter. If you do, then the next game featuring Alex Murphy has some wrongs to right. The writers in particular are responsible for creating an authentic narrative thatโ€™s more than just โ€œshoot Torch Heads and chat with the Old Man.โ€ Developers owe fans an authentic portrayal of whatever characters theyโ€™re working with. Otherwise, this cyborg icon of law and order becomes a glorified toaster with a gun.

RoboCop: Rogue City is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Related Topics
RoboCop: Rogue City Teyon
Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Email
Patrick Armstrong
  • Website

Artist and writer with a lifelong love of video games. Their favorite games include Dead by Daylight, Meet Your Maker, and Project Zomboid.

SUGGESTED READS

Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate Campaign Walkthrough
Game Guides

How To Complete The Edge of Fate Campaign in Destiny 2

Destiny 2: How To Fix Error Code Chicken
Game Guides

Destiny 2: How To Fix Error Code Chicken (Updated for The Edge of Fate)

Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate Error Code Cat
Game Guides

Destiny 2: How to Fix Error Code CAT (Updated for The Edge of Fate)

Destiny 2 The Final Shape Battleye Error
Game Guides

Destiny 2: How To Fix Battleye Error Code Plum (Updated for The Edge of Fate)

The Edge of Fate Launch Patch Notes
Game News

Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate Patch Notes

Destiny 2 Centipede Error Fix
Game Guides

Destiny 2: How to Fix Error Code Centipede (Updated for The Edge of Fate)

Trending
A picture of the sneaky California couple stealing flowers.

Sneaky California Couple Bags Dozen Flowers in Brazen Midnight Heist: โ€˜Totally Unhingedโ€™

Minnie laptop as a dad joke

Michigan Girl Dies Inside After Dad Gifts Her Minnie Laptop Instead of Mini Laptop, ‘Ruining Your Child’s Birthday is So Funny’

A picture at the South Carolina restaurant.

Racist South Carolina Restaurant Owner Tells Black Pastor Heโ€™s Not Welcome There: โ€˜Your Racism Is Showingโ€™

California Disabled Veteran and US Citizen Released After Being Detained

ICE Agents ‘Unlawfully’ Imprison Disabled Veteran in California for 3 Days After Breaking into His Car and Pepper-Spraying Him: โ€˜Heโ€™s a Veteran for Christโ€™s Sake!’

The Nerd Stash
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
  • About Us
  • Join Our Team
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Advertising Policy
© 2025 The Nerd Stash. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.