American Fugitive

If you were a fan of GTA, particularly GTA 2 during the late '90s, and enjoyed the charming text dialogues along with the top-down 2D graphics, then you’re in for a treat here. This game may not be a high-budget blockbuster, and it might lack a plethora of options or an extensive arsenal of weapons. Some might argue that it doesn’t deliver enough intensity or that the dialogue is sparse, and while those points are valid, they don’t tell the whole story.
For those who appreciate indie games reminiscent of the classics, this title offers a heartfelt and engaging narrative that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you’re looking to unleash some chaos, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to drive over obstacles, trigger explosions, and leave tire marks everywhere. The playful, almost cartoonish 2D graphics add to the fun, making the experience feel vibrant and entertaining.
Playing this game feels like stepping back into 1999 with a fresh twist—fewer glitches, improved controls, and a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere. The characters may not have much to say, but their emotions shine through, making the gameplay enjoyable. With a lengthy storyline that keeps you engaged, I’ve completed over 15 missions in just four hours and am still exploring the first area. This game is quickly becoming a cult classic, sure to be remembered alongside GTA. I wholeheartedly recommend it with a solid 9/10!

You play as a dude falsely accused of murder, so naturally the only logical response is to steal every car in the county and punch a man over a sandwich. The police? Olympic-level psychic bloodhounds who can find you in a cornfield because you bumped into a mailbox 20 minutes ago.
It’s like someone took the chaos of early GTA, mixed it with Smokey and the Bandit, and said “What if crime... but sad?”
I didn’t kill my dad, but I did rob 12 houses and a donut shop.
7.5/10

American Fugitive is an endearing mid-game. It's fun enough that you want to keep playing it until you beat, but not good enough for you to remember it after beating it. It's bad to the point you wonder why you're playing, but not bad enough for you to stop playing. It's a game that absolutely deserves to be bought on a sale, or even full price if you want to 100% it, but that has no chance of becoming a classic or to be remarked among the greatest games of the year.
In short, it's a throwback to the top-down GTAs, but adds enough flavor to be its own thing. The camera perspective, missions structure, open world, car-robbing, spray painting, and simplified gun combat from GTA 1 and 2 remain, but we're also introduced to house-robbing mechanics, skill trees, lockpicking, chest digging, lots of stores, clothes-swapping, pawning loot, and many gimmicks such as towing cars, operating cranes and forklifts, etc. Those are not revolutionary additions, but they mostly work in the game's favor. The problem is that those systems are too simplified or irrelevant to really matter, and most missions are too simple to take advantage of those systems. It's nothing that drags the game down, but never really helps it to soar high.
It's similar to graphics. The top-down camera perspective is familiar, and looking at individual models show that they are detailed, but then the world as a whole is really generic and unremarkable. You start to learn some of the map by heart after traversing it so much between missions, but it's never varied enough for you to really know where you are, which is a shame. It's good individual asset quality, but poor general art direction. Sound is similar - individual sound effects and songs make sense and have interesting production values, but once you quit the game, it's very hard to remember any of it. The lack of voice acting really hurts here, because the game tries really hard to tell a serious story (it's almost cute to see) but then the delivery is kind of slapstick.
Again, there are many negatives in the game, but they are not enough to justify a thumbs down. This is pure stupid brainless mid-level fun, and I'm fine with that

As others have said, American Fugitive is like an homage to the early top-down GTA games but with an emphasis on burglary, which means you can enter just about any building. It's got a certain charm being set in a small town, and it's pretty fun to go on rampages. But I have a few issues with the game, namely the repetitiveness. The missions start to follow more or less the same premise at a certain point, so there's not much for me to look forward to in the late game. Also it's annoyingly difficult to end any police chase, and I've spent the better part of many missions just driving around the map and losing the cops because I accidentally bumped into another car on the way. Overall, this is still an enjoyable and worthwhile game, especially if you get it at a reduced price.

I LOVE this game! If you like the Old school GTA games then you'll love this, ignore the reviews that say the shooting an the driving is bad, its my favourite part! i LOVED doing the races and mindless rampages. the building looting was really great too one of the best reasons to play!

This game gave me some real GTA2 vibes — with the big difference that this one actually has a map (something GTA2 didn’t). Overall, it’s a fun and playable experience. The only downside is a bit of grinding with tank crushes and kills if you’re aiming for 100% completion.

Good short timekiller, clearly inspired by GTA. Missions may be rather repetitive, but the overall gameplay is engaging and forgiving