RICO London from Ground Shatter Ltd. is an arcade-style first-person shooter that casts you as Detective Inspector Redfern on New Year's Eve 1999, fighting an arms ring in a single high-rise. The game centres on high-speed room breaching, slow-motion bullet-dodging, and scavenging weapons to climb floors before midnight. It pairs a comic-book visual style with drop-in two-player co-op and multiple difficulty modes, aimed at fans of brisk cooperative action and score-driven runs.

An arcade FPS built around rapid vertical assaults

Inside the high-rise you play Detective Inspector Redfern, pushing upward floor by floor to stop an arms trade before midnight. The core loop emphasises kicking down doors to trigger slow-motion room breaches, clearing rooms and scavenging weapons to continue ascending. The design mixes arcade scoring with roguelike-lite progression, pressing players to balance aggressive combos and survival as enemy density and difficulty increase on higher floors.

Two-player buddy-cop play reshapes pacing and risk

Playing with a partner alters how runs unfold: the title supports local split-screen and online two-player co-op with drop-in/drop-out, so sessions can change mid-run. Cooperative sessions change resource distribution because players collect weapons and traits during the climb, making revives and combo management meaningful decisions. The buddy-cop framing directs encounters toward synchronized room clears and score competition between partners.

A comic-book look carries the action, but polish varies

Visually the title uses cel-shaded, comic-book aesthetics to frame gunplay and level structure. Reviewers praised the vibrant art and the satisfying momentum of its breach mechanic, which gives each room clear a strong sense of impact. However, some reports noted technical polish issues at launch and a shift toward more linear, less varied level layouts than the original RICO, which can reduce variety across multiple runs.

Progression rewards repeated runs but narrows exploration

Progression depends on collectible weapons and performance-enhancing traits that modify runs, creating a roguelike-lite loop of incremental growth. Available modes include Story (Easy), Classic (Medium), Hardcore (Hard), and a Daily Play that offers recurring score-focused challenges, supporting replay through short, competitive goals. The vertical tower structure raises stakes every floor, so the climb stays engaging for players who prefer concise, repeatable sessions over open exploration.

A focused pick for action-first players, with limited scope

RICO suits players who want short, intense runs and score-driven progression rather than long-form exploration. Its concise design amplifies momentum and match-to-match goals, but the narrower level variety and reported launch polish issues reduce appeal for those seeking expansive levels or maximal technical smoothness. Recommended for action fans who prioritise repeatable, high-tempo sessions on Xbox One.