Revenge is at the heart of Nekome: Nazi Hunter, and ProbablyMonsters is taking that concept in an unapologetically violent direction. Playing as Vano Nastasu, a young Romani man whose family was murdered by Nazi soldiers, players are given a very personal reason to hunt down the people responsible. During our hands-on time with the PC version, it became clear that this is a game built around turning that anger into brutal close-quarters combat, stealth and carefully planned attacks, all wrapped in a strikingly stylized presentation.
What we know
Nekome: Nazi Hunter is a single-player, third-person action game from ProbablyMonsters, planned for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a Q1 2027 release window currently targeted. The game follows Vano Nastasu, a young Romani man whose family is murdered by Nazi soldiers, leaving him driven by grief and a desire for revenge. The narrative charts his transformation from victim to hunter as he tracks down the people responsible, with the story moving between different locations and periods of his life. The title itself refers to the idea of revenge or vengeance in Yiddish, reinforcing the personal nature of Vano’s mission.
Gameplay combines close-quarters combat, stealth and environmental interaction. Vano can fight with his fists and knife, pick up improvised weapons, use firearms when they become available and exploit objects in the environment. Stealth allows him to thin enemy numbers before a confrontation, while a Focus system can slow the action and provide opportunities to target enemies or chain attacks together. The game also features notoriety and fear mechanics, with Vano’s actions potentially causing enemies to panic, retreat or otherwise behave differently. Enemy awareness is designed to persist, meaning that careless attacks can attract attention and reinforcements rather than simply resetting the situation. There are also side objectives involving the destruction of Nazi propaganda, while a skill system allows Vano to develop his combat abilities, stealth options and use of improvised weapons.
What we saw
This preview is based on a demo build of Nekome: Nazi Hunter that we played during a hands-on session at Gamescom after meeting with ProbablyMonsters. The demo offered a look at both sides of the game, beginning with a combat-heavy sequence before moving into the earlier part of Vano’s story and introducing the stealth-oriented gameplay. This gave us an opportunity to experience the contrast between the game’s deliberately excessive violence and the more methodical approach used to infiltrate enemy-controlled locations.
What we thought
Nekome: Nazi Hunter immediately makes its intentions clear, and the combination of subject matter and combat works surprisingly well as a foundation for the experience. Vano isn’t fighting simply because the game needs an excuse for combat; his violence is directly tied to the loss he has suffered and his determination to hunt down those responsible. The narrative therefore gives the brutality a clear context, while the opening sequences provide a glimpse of how his journey develops from a personal tragedy into a sustained campaign of revenge. There is still plenty that remains to be seen about the story, particularly how Vano develops beyond his initial motivation, but the premise gives the game a stronger foundation than its deliberately provocative title might initially suggest.
The combat is clearly intended to be the main attraction, and there is plenty of variety in how Vano can approach an encounter. Punches, knife attacks, environmental weapons, stealth takedowns and Focus abilities can all be combined, while the fear mechanics are designed to make enemies react to particularly brutal attacks. The violence also fits the revenge fantasy rather well, with the game’s exaggerated finishing moves matching the heightened tone of Vano’s story. At the same time, some of the early demonstrations of combat have lacked the physical impact expected from a game so heavily built around hand-to-hand violence. Attacks can feel somewhat loose and the counter system takes some getting used to, suggesting that the underlying combat still needs refinement before release.
Stealth provides a useful alternative to simply charging into every room, although this was less convincing in the build we played. Sneaking behind enemies and performing takedowns can be effective, but detection and positioning do not always feel entirely predictable, which can make stealth seem less reliable than the more straightforward option of attacking everyone directly. That is potentially at odds with a game that wants players to scout areas and manipulate enemy numbers before combat begins. The broader systems, including enemy awareness, reinforcements and fear, could make stealth more interesting as development continues, but the demo suggested that this is an area where ProbablyMonsters still has work to do.
Visually, however, Nekome: Nazi Hunter already has a very striking identity. The stylized character designs and period-inspired environments give the game a distinctive look, while the exaggerated violence prevents the presentation from becoming relentlessly grim despite the subject matter. That approach is important because the story itself deals with genocide, murder and personal trauma, and a completely realistic treatment of the violence could have made the experience considerably more difficult to engage with. The audio and voice work help sell the dramatic side of Vano’s journey, although the latter still appeared uneven in places. With its strong visual identity, deliberately excessive combat and revenge-driven premise, Nekome: Nazi Hunter has established an intriguing foundation; the remaining question is whether ProbablyMonsters can give those systems the refinement and weight they need before its planned Q1 2027 release.