Sunset Overdrive comes from the minds behind the Ratchet & Clank series, the lovable purple dragon Spyro, the Resistance saga and the poorly received Fuse.
Sunset Overdrive is Insomniac’s first Xbox One exclusive and as such there are big hopes that the colourful open-world adventure will score high with critics and players, in turn giving the Xbox One a much-needed kick up the rear.
So how does Sunset Overdrive fare? Is it worthy of the Xbox One and more importantly, is it worthy of your hard-earned cash? Read on for the full Sunset Overdrive review.
Story
Let’s start with the setting. Any half decent game single-player game should have at least a half decent story to set the scene and give the player a purpose for being in that world. Sunset Overdrive manages a half decent story, but only half decent. If you’re looking for a deep and engaging story that’ll keep you playing past the wee hours of the morning just to find out what happens next, this isn’t that game.
It’s not a bad thing though. Sunset Overdrive plays like a parody of the most popular games available and as such it’s not meant to be taken seriously in respect to the story.
A big energy drinks company has infected the population of Sunset City with an experimental energy drink and it’s your job to bring down the evil Fizzco and look awesome in the process.
You meet a few notable characters throughout the course of the game and most of them are fantastically played and presented, though don’t expect character development, it doesn’t exist here. Characters are superficial but it falls in line pretty nicely with the game as a whole; everything is superficial and focuses on appearances.
It’s fun to play through the story, but it soon becomes apparent that the story is more of a paperclip to loosely hold everything together, lest it just be an open world where you run, grind and jump around smashing monsters heads in with colourful weaponry.
Gameplay
So the story isn’t up to much, but it’s OK as long as the gameplay can bring balance to the metaphorical force.
Thankfully the gameplay is superb, but not without its flaws. You’re free to traverse the city and in doing so you’ll probably get a sense of deja vu. Everything feels a little familiar, too familiar.
Grinding around the rails is clearly inspired from the inFamous series with a splash of Jet Set Radio for good measure. It works well and doesn’t feel out of place.
The gunplay isn’t too shabby either with a huge array of customisable weapons available throughout the game, with more presenting themselves with progression. Weapons are upgradeable and such upgrades can be bought using the in-game currency, offering a little incentive for carrying out the outrageous tasks.
Combat is hilarious fun, albeit a little repetitive at times. Enemies are challenging enough that they don’t feel like target practice but not so challenging that much thought is needed. Some common gameplay clichés are brought in to play; the bigger the enemy, the more firepower it’ll take to kill it. Simple, clean and concise, though very repetitive. I suppose any game can start to feel repetitive after extended playtime, but my attention span is pretty good and I can stay entertained with a new game for hours on end. However on this occasion I found myself feeling a little too relaxed with the feeling of going through-the-motions after just a couple of hours.
After realising that Sunset Overdrive just isn’t suited to massive binge sessions (not for me anyway, your experience may differ!) I did find that I had a lot more fun when I only played for an hour or so at most. It helped keep things fresh and prevented me from treading the old ropes repeatedly. Still, this is just my opinion and my experience, you may well find that you’re able to play for upwards of four hours and still not get tired of it and if that’s the case, all the best to you.
Character customisation is a big bonus in Sunset Overdrive, you’re free to change up your appearance throughout the course of the game, unlocking more outrageous outfits in the process. Dead Rising, anyone? Bears, mohawk, bright pink top with green bottoms, it’s all up to you. Just don’t mix the pink and green, that’s soooooo 2002…
Sunset Overdrive does borrow a fair amount of its gameplay mechanics from other games, but it’s done tactfully and isn’t immediately obvious, though hardcore gamers will pick them up immediately.
One issue that I kept running into was the controls. Movement around the city is fluid and fast but still fairly easy enough with multiple routes available to wherever it is you want to be going. One common problem I often found was that I wanted to go one way, and my fingers and thumbs performed their duty, yet the game decided I needed to right instead of left, or run instead of grind, causing a few frustrating moments along the way. It’s not a deal breaker and it’s fairly common with open-world game in particular (Assassin’s Creed, I’m looking at you) so I’m able to look past it. It rarely took away much fun, so it’s not the end of the world.
Graphics
Graphically speaking, Sunset Overdrive isn’t really the showpiece to display the power of the Xbox One, but it’s pretty nice to look at all the same. The artistic style is coherent with the rest of the games features; bold, wacky and full of life.
I’ve never come across so much colour on one screen since playing Super Mario Sunshine on the Gamecube. The vibrant world is brought to life in stunning detail. There are some graphical inconsistencies, though nothing that detracts for the overall enjoyment of the game.
The world brims with colour and just begs for every nook and cranny to be explored. If you found the visuals and gameplay of Crackdown on the Xbox 360 then you’ll appreciate what Sunset Overdrive has to offer as it liberally takes cues from the former.
Like I said earlier, it’s not the graphical showcase of the Xbox One, but it’s still a beautifully detailed world that just oozes style. Think of it as a interactive, colourful comic book and you’ll get the picture.
Sunset Overdrive is available exclusively on the Xbox One. You can get your copy from Amazon or check out the sweet White Xbox One bundle that includes the game. Nice!
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