Score: 9.25 / 10
Xbox One
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Release Date: October 28th, 2014
Pros:
- Open world that encourages you to explore
- Embraces the humor of the story in the gameplay
- Movement is fluid and fast
- Slew of collectibles, challenges, and missions to experience
- Vast array of weaponry and customization
Cons:
- Co op's anarchy makes it difficult to follow
- Interruptions of necessary fort defense can halt the flow of the campaign
So many elements of other titles are melded together into a single cohesion of destruction and mayhem. Take the scoring and soundtrack of Tony Hawk, the weaponry of Ratchet and Clank, and the characters of Borderlands and you have Sunset Overdrive in a nutshell. The world is your literal playground as you grind along rails firing explosive teddy bears at hulking monsters. Complete missions ranging from donning a triceratops head and mauling enemies to chugging cough medicine to infuse leeches to use on a LARPer. The absurd is glorified in this game, and it turns fetch quests and enemy clearing into something entertaining.
The basis of gameplay revolves around keeping up momentum combining traversal and combat. Your style meter builds as you shoot and move at the same time, encouraging you to stay in motion and mix up your weapons. This is eased by the simplicity of transitioning. It takes a little bit to get the hang of, but thanks to the number of traversals you can keep a combo up forever if you wish to; wall running, grinding rails, and bouncing on the tops of umbrellas or cars keeps you moving and harder to hit. These are littered throughout the world, promising a chain to each move you do. Treating the game like a traditional third person shooter is doable, but much less rewarding and much more dangerous in the possibility of getting hit once the number of enemies picks up.
The world is an open city with few limits, and the content offered is immense. Challenge icons testing your ability to perform set actions or speedy traversals, collectibles ranging from shoes dangling from power lines to toilet paper strewn across light poles, and side missions to earn extra cash are everywhere. Every corner of the map is utilized in some way shape or form, to the point that if I felt like setting off to a new location I was sure to find new collectibles or points of interest nearby. Towering power plants, amusement parks, and dog parks are just a few iconic areas you will grind across in your adventures.
You cannot have a serious plot with the tone of those game, and as such
Insomniac has created a self referential comedy. You play a down on his/her
luck sanitation worker, who escapes the madness of a viral outbreak created
by an energy drink, Overcharge. With the help of the locals, you act as
one of the last few survivors who seek to escape the city. Stellar
voice work gives life to a plethora of unique individuals you will assist
along the way, and cutscenes always promise a laugh. While the games emotional appeal and dire necessity of escaping the city is lacking, it meshes well with the carefree attitude of the game.
Every action you do will make you more powerful in some way by rewarding experience, cash, or overcharge to spend. The weapons for purchase range from grenade launchers to freeze bombs to automatic rifles, each with a unique twist or attribute that can be further augmented with amps like freezing bullets or enemies that explode in confetti. Likewise, cash can be spent on your visual aesthetic, offering scuba suits to pimp hats in customizing your character to your preferred post apocalyptic look. With customization for your epic ability that triggers on style level 3 to tailoring your overdrive perks for more automatic weapon damage, there is a wide array of options to not only tailor your look but lean toward your preferred play style to match.
Chaos Squad is the game's multiplayer component that matches you up with seven other players for mission based mayhem, culminating in a defense night similar to the campaign. The mode is exactly what it suggests, as weapons and enemies are flying everywhere. Missions across the city are pretty straight forward but offer varying rewards for the defense night. The chaos is a blast, but also so much that you can hardly gain a sense of what is going on; additionally most players have varying degree of weaponry and some can clear entire groups with a single shot of their high powered weapons.
Sunset Overdrive is a game I am sad I missed out on at launch, but glad I made a priority to play later. It is easy to pick up and harder to put down as missions, challenges, and collectibles beckon your call. The simplicity of the gameplay and plethora of customization opens up a wide potential of possibility and experimentation. The over the top humor and action is a blast, and the momentum never slows as the game presses forward. Random, frantic, and explosive; it is a game worthy of your time.
Every action you do will make you more powerful in some way by rewarding experience, cash, or overcharge to spend. The weapons for purchase range from grenade launchers to freeze bombs to automatic rifles, each with a unique twist or attribute that can be further augmented with amps like freezing bullets or enemies that explode in confetti. Likewise, cash can be spent on your visual aesthetic, offering scuba suits to pimp hats in customizing your character to your preferred post apocalyptic look. With customization for your epic ability that triggers on style level 3 to tailoring your overdrive perks for more automatic weapon damage, there is a wide array of options to not only tailor your look but lean toward your preferred play style to match.
Chaos Squad is the game's multiplayer component that matches you up with seven other players for mission based mayhem, culminating in a defense night similar to the campaign. The mode is exactly what it suggests, as weapons and enemies are flying everywhere. Missions across the city are pretty straight forward but offer varying rewards for the defense night. The chaos is a blast, but also so much that you can hardly gain a sense of what is going on; additionally most players have varying degree of weaponry and some can clear entire groups with a single shot of their high powered weapons.
Sunset Overdrive is a game I am sad I missed out on at launch, but glad I made a priority to play later. It is easy to pick up and harder to put down as missions, challenges, and collectibles beckon your call. The simplicity of the gameplay and plethora of customization opens up a wide potential of possibility and experimentation. The over the top humor and action is a blast, and the momentum never slows as the game presses forward. Random, frantic, and explosive; it is a game worthy of your time.
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