Wanted: Dead is a game of many aspirations, melding together the classic hack-and-slash melee-based combat of an old PlayStation 2-era game with a more modern approach to a third-person shooter and throwing you into a cyberpunk version of Hong Kong.
Though quite a linear experience, there are several missable things in the game that you might want to acquire before moving on to New Game Plus, which is handled a bit differently than most modern games. Nonetheless, whether you're deciding if you should start New Game Plus or are still working your way through the story, there are many aspects you should be made aware of before pulling the trigger.
New Game Plus Overview
Before you begin New Game Plus in Wanted: Dead, there are a few things you must know before you even roll the credits, which we will lay out for you in the sections below as they are crucial and a bit all over the place in terms of what you'd expect out of a New Game Plus mode.
No Chapter Select
The first thing to get into is there is simply no Chapter Select in Wanted: Dead, meaning after you roll the credits, you must either select New Game Plus or start a whole new game entirely. There is no other option. And, due to this game not having manual Save Slots, you cannot revisit previous saves or chapters.
To make matters worse, there is no clear "Point of No Return" in the game either, so if you missed a Collectible or wanted to tackle some of the Mini-Games for the remaining things you needed, you may miss your chance to do so. You will have to playthrough the entire game again to obtain the things you missed your first time through.
Point Of No Return
Speaking of the Point of No Return, after you defeat the boss "Kolchak," you will visit the Police HQ one last time. This will be your only remaining chance to hit up the Claw Game for missing Figurines and other Collectibles. So, be sure to take advantage of this knowledge to avoid locking yourself into another playthrough.
Difficulty Selection
Lastly, when selecting a New Game Plus, you cannot choose a new Difficulty and will be locked into what you picked your first time through. Which sort of defeats the purpose of New Game Plus. However, you can start a New Game and make an additional Save that will exist alongside your Cleared or New Game Plus Save if you want to tackle a new Difficulty. Unfortunately, all your progress will be gone, which we will discuss below!
What Carries Over?
So, what exactly does carry over in New Game Plus? Well, pretty much everything, but it's a bit more involved than that, so let's go over it. First, let's start with what beating the game unlocks. After you roll credits in Wanted: Dead, you will gain access to the "JAPANESE HARD" mode, which you will have to start a new Save File to access since, as we covered, you cannot change the Difficulty for your New Game Plus playthrough.
Now, let's go over everything you get to keep in your new playthrough if you select New Game Plus. You can find the complete list of everything that carries over in the table below, along with a brief explanation to help clarify what that means for your new playthrough!
Everything That Carries Over
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Skills And Skill Points |
Your Skills and accumulated Skill Points will carry over into New Game Plus, giving you access to all your abilities from the jump. |
|
Weapons And Attachments |
Stone's Rifle and Taker Sidearm will carry over into New Game Plus and all the Attachments you earned for both. Additionally, if you unlocked the Gunsmith's AR via the Training Range Mini-Game, you will also have access to that from the start. |
|
Collectibles |
All your Documents, Figurines, Music, and VHS Tapes will carry over into New Game Plus, allowing you to focus on the ones you missed your second time through the story. |
|
Mini-Game Scores |
Any Score you set in the Training Range, Crane Game, Ramen, Karaoke, or Space Runaway Mini-Games will carry over. Along with the Training Mode challenges. |
|
Kill Stats |
The Kill Stats needed for some Achievements and Trophies will also carry over, meaning if you need 1,000 Melee Kills and only got 800, you will only need to obtain 200 to get it to pop. This applies to all kill-based Achievements and Trophies, such as the Finishing Moves one. |
We recommend trying to get as much done as possible during your first playthrough, as you will likely have every Skill unlocked and Weapon Attachment before the game's final stretch, so New Game Plus will almost be exclusively for you cleaning up the Collectibles or kill-based Achievements and Trophies.