This game was so much fun, I put off writing this because I continued playing after beating the main story. BACKGROUND:
This was another one of those games I heard about just because it made a few headlines when it came out. Don't know much about it, but I'm intrigued enough to check it out. PLOT: The game kicks off when FizzCo, a beverage company, hosts a pre-release party for their new drink OverCharge in Sunset City. Unfortunately, it turns out OverCharge has a dangerous side effect: people who drink it are transformed into grotesque mutants. In a matter of minutes, the party becomes ground zero for a mutant outbreak, plunging all of Sunset City into chaos. In an effort to cover things up, FizzCo quarantines the city, making escape all but impossible. Your player character (whom you customize at the very beginning) was part of the sanitation team during the party, and manages to survive the outbreak. You'll be teaming up with an assortment of characters in an effort to escape (or perhaps even save) the city. The whole "city becomes a dystopia after an outbreak that transforms humans into monsters" angle is by no means original, but Sunset Overdrive more than makes up for the basic plot by being one of the most ridiculous fucking things I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing. If the circumstances that cause the outbreak didn't give it away, this game absolutely doesn't take itself seriously, and leans all the way towards incredibly over-the-top stupidity (I say that as a compliment) and zany humor. Majority of the events that transpire during the course of the story defy all manner of explanation; without giving anything away, I had my fair share of "what the fuck am I looking at" moments while playing. The comedy isn't for everyone, and not all the jokes land, but the amount of absurd horseshit that happens in the story, all the irreverent, tongue-in-cheek meta jokes, and all the weird-ass characters was more than enjoyable to me. I streamed most of my playthrough to friends on Discord, and the lot of us were cracking up at all the shit we were witnessing. All of the characters have strong personalities, but the standout to me is, strangely enough, the player character. Despite being an interchangeable avatar that you make at the start, the protagonist is fully voiced and has a distinct personality all their own. They're also a big source of the game's humor, given how they get to talk not only during the story moments but in gameplay. PRESENTATION: The game's art style oozes personality. Not only is it bright and cartoony, but the effects are something out of a comic book; explosions aren't just a shower of particles, but they also leave the words "boom" for a brief moment. Along with the spectacle of the game's ludicrous action and all the fever dream scenarios that take place, the game leaves a lasting impression visually. I also really enjoyed the game's music, which leaned heavily towards punk rock for its soundtrack. It took me back to my days playing the Tony Hawk games, which goes for the same genres for its song selection (and happens to be influential in shaping my taste in music). As I'll explain later on, this is not the only thing in the game that gives me Tony Hawk vibes. Sunset City is fantastically designed, with every location feeling distinct and memorable. The enemy designs are equally memorable, and the weapon designs fall quite in line with the over-the-top vibe of the game. There are a ton of customization options for your player character, with a plethora of outfits you can swap around to put together a look that's just for you. Again, this reminds me of the character creator in Tony Hawk games, which had plenty of clothing options. The voice acting is also great, especially for the player character, who absolutely feels like a fully fleshed out character because of all the personality in their dialogue. Interestingly, you can toggle the vulgarity (of which there is a lot in this game) on and off; I'm not sure that'll be enough to lower the game's Mature rating, but it's there, I guess. My favorite thing by far in this department is the wide variety of respawn animations. Every time you die and respawn, your character makes a ridiculous entrance that fits in well with the absurdity of the entire game. A lot of these animations are referential of pop culture, with references to movies (the hanging-from-a-cable entrance from Mission Impossible, arriving from the DeLorean Back to the Future-style), TV (the Star Trek teleport beam), and more. Death isn't particularly punishing in this game, and these respawn animations make it an actually pleasant experience. GAMEPLAY: Sunset Overdrive is a third person shooter. As you may expect, you'll face off against hordes of enemies and use a wide variety of weapons to fend them off. What makes this game special, however, is the flow of its combat. Compared to something like Gears of War (also a third person shooter), this game doesn't emphasize defending yourself by hiding behind cover. Instead, the game encourages you to be aggressive and move around a lot (much like Doom). And movement in this game is something else. Mobility in this game is much like Jet Grind Radio (if you don't know what that game is, it's basically a game where you roller-blade everywhere), as you'll be grinding on rails and wires to move quickly. You'll also be able to bounce on various objects to gain height, wall run Mirror's Edge-style, air dash, and even run across water. It feels really good to perform all these actions, as the world is designed such that you can chain them all together (almost like a combo in a Tony Hawk game), and your momentum is carried all throughout. There's even a combo counter that increases every time you chain these movement options in quick succession, adding to the satisfaction. This game has you explore a decently sized open world, and because of how the world is designed, it feels really good to go from point to point using your movement abilities. It was so fun to the point that I didn't even bother using the game's fast travel system. This is another thing that reminded me of Tony Hawk games; the great thing about those games is the level designs are tailor-made for you to chain tricks together to move across and around, and that design philosophy is present in Sunset Overdrive for pretty much the entire open world. Your movement abilities matter a lot in combat, because you are your most vulnerable against enemies on the ground. Apart from a dodge roll, you can't do shit simply walking around, so the best way to avoid damage is to use your environment to zip around enemies while shooting them. Again, it's similar to Doom where holding still is a death sentence, but this game has an added flair to the way you move to keep yourself alive. The weapon variety in the game is impressive. You have access to shotgun-type weapons, assault-rifle-style weapons, grenade launchers, and even guns that deploy traps. Many of these weapons can have unique effects, like electricity that stuns, fire damage, freeze, enrage (which charms enemies to make them fight for you), and even acid. They all have their uses (mostly based on enemy effectiveness), and they're all pretty satisfying to use. As an added bonus, they all have ridiculous designs. The fast-paced nature of the game also removes the need for reloading, allowing you to focus purely on shooting. In addition, weapons level up the more you use them, increasing their ammo capacity each time. There's unfortunately no reliable way to acquire ammo drops, but I rarely ran into situations where I was completely defenseless (because you can switch between weapons and you have a decent melee attack). You can upgrade your character and weapons using Amps, which are equippable mods that provide all manner of passive buffs. These are purchased by cashing in the game's many collectibles (of which there are an overwhelming amount strewn about the world), and you can swap out what you have equipped at any time. What's interesting is that Amps are only activated when your Style Meter is full. The Style Meter is filled when you manage to chain both movement tricks and enemy kills quickly, which encourages you to move and shoot constantly to keep yourself at full strength. You also have something called Overdrives, which are another type of equippable mods. These are purchased by spending Badges, which are earned by performing certain actions enough times (for example, you get Grind Badges when you do enough grind tricks). The Overdrive buffs are super helpful, and it's cool that you can unlock them simply by playing. There are a decent number of enemy types, ranging from the OverCharge mutants, marauders known as Scabs, and even killer robots. The challenge is definitely managing their numbers (especially tough during the tower defense modes). There aren't a lot of bosses, but they're pretty wild, and their fights are also designed to take full advantage of the game's mobility. There's a good amount to do in the open world apart from the main missions (which you can replay if you wish). There are a ton of collectibles to find (and it's great because most of them are actually used to acquire Amps, and only are few are collectibles-for-collecting's-sake), plenty of side missions (ranging from traversal missions that test your understanding of the game's mobility, fetch quests, and combat challenges), and a ton of enemies that endlessly spawn (if you just want to kill shit). There are even two DLC missions you can buy if the main story isn't enough. Some of the main missions have you take control of a temporary weapon, and they're up there as among the most fun the game has to offer. There's one where your melee weapon is replaced with an absolutely busted enchanted sword, and it's hilarious. VERDICT: I had a blast playing through Sunset Overdrive. Its flashy combat paired with its super fun movement felt rather satisfying, the story and humor, while far from perfect, was entertaining, exploring the world felt great, and both the visuals and the music helped enhance the game's shenanigans. I wouldn't call it the most innovative shooter out there (a lot of its elements are things you've likely seen elsewhere), but I think it stands out enough on its own as a high-octane, batshit experience of a shooter. I can recommend this game for people looking for a shooter that's just semi-mindless fun. The movement takes a bit of getting used to if you haven't played games like Jet Grind Radio (or even Tony Hawk's Pro Skater), but I think it won't take long for most people to figure it out. If you're looking for something decidedly more complex or serious, you won't get much enjoyment out of this game, but if you just want to have a fun weekend, this is absolutely worth playing. Check out the game on Steam: Sunset Overdrive on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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