Star Overdrive appeared very spectacular when it appeared on the Nintendo Associate Showcase in August of final 12 months. A cross between Tony Hawk, Ratchet & Clank and even with some Breath of the Wild taste spiced in, the vibe felt harking back to old-school GameCube period motion video games. Nevertheless, enjoying Star Overdrive feels extra like a chore than a rebellious motion. Its empty world, hole fight and extreme grinding (not on rails) feels just like the fats ought to’ve been trimmed or might’ve been extra centered in execution.
As Bios you obtain a misery sign from a planet the place your girlfriend has gone lacking. The touchdown turns right into a crash as you’re stranded on this mysterious planet stuffed with sandy dunes, historic curved constructions, and the stays of a drilling operation with a vanished crew. Solely geared up with a keytar and hoverboard you set out to determine what occurred to the mining operation and clear up the secrets and techniques of the planet. Gameplay is fairly easy. Utilizing your hoverboard you’ll be able to velocity across the wastelands, performing methods to realize velocity and finally discover waypoints that result in segmented puzzle arenas. The sport has a pleasant visible palette, making the same wanting vistas really feel colourful and engaging to discover. The sense of motion feels good, as your hoverboard may also be used to glide and sprint via platforming challenges. These are sometimes signposted by the segmented arenas the place you’ll want to finish a problem as a way to activate powerlines, achieve new talents or unlock watchtowers to progress within the story.
That is sadly the place the sport fell aside for me. When it comes to the core loop it obtained too stale for me too rapidly. Whereas motion can really feel good, far too usually I discovered myself rapidly shedding management over my hoverboard and crashing straight into the bottom. Being unable to finish challenges in time and having to try these again and again made for a irritating expertise. Particularly as a result of the sport is forcing gamers down a really particular path, gathering parts that may be crafted into particular upgrades for the hoverboard. In a way, it’s a scavenging recreation, the place defeating sure varieties of enemies can yield sure rewards. Mushy, onerous, tech, and alien sources are available differing values and every can improve the stats of the hoverboard. Including wings makes the board simpler to maneuver within the air and a greater booster will increase the velocity gained from doing methods. So after grinding I discovered myself again on the board and nonetheless wanted to throw myself again and again at these related feeling challenges. Racing via hoops throughout the wasteland obtained particularly tedious as the identical music began pounding my ears. For a recreation that makes use of a keytar, cassette tapes and specifically written music tracks, the soundtrack feels drab and boring. The aesthetics scream Hello-Fi Rush, however the feeling whereas enjoying lacks the thrill one could count on from a skating recreation.
The fight particularly fails to make an impression. A easy button masher, the place you’ll be able to dodge and counter should you time your assaults proper, however simply whacking away offers with the vast majority of enemies. Specifically after you unlock particular talents. In an identical vein to Breath of the Wild you’ll be able to unlock everlasting talents that drain a meter to do various things inside fight and for exploring the overworld. One energy helps you to seize and toss objects and one other shoots projectiles at opponents from a distance. There’s just a few puzzles that require the usage of these, however none really feel notably satisfying to resolve. You’d suppose that fight with a Keytar can be extra partaking, however preventing enemies seems like a chore. Even the boss battles, that make use of the huge open house, really feel too floaty and an excessive amount of like a set-piece to actually make an impression. I by no means felt linked to the world of Star Overdrive and will really feel the sport creaking beneath its excessive ambitions.
A kind of ambitions is maybe in its efficiency. At occasions it feels extremely easy and locked at a secure framerate. Which is spectacular for a recreation of this dimension. However then I’m blazing via this open house and it simply means nothing. Jumps really feel unresponsive and making velocity can drop like a stone when you attempt to board uphill towards a steel construction, which is much too usually required. The objects are there, however there’s no impression. There’s no really feel within the animation that sells me on the exploration, on the fight or on the world that Star Overdrive is attempting to construct. In chasing efficiency and concepts from higher video games, too usually it’s like Star Overdrive hasn’t found out its personal identification. The ambitions and the inspirations are clear, however Star Overdrive isn’t including something to the dialog outdoors of “wasn’t driving a protect in Breath of the Wild exhilarating?”.
It’s clear that the group behind Star Overdrive may be very proficient and impressive of their craft. The visuals make for an attractive world and there’s a nice really feel for what makes motion mechanic. Nevertheless it all comes collectively within the last recreation as a clunky undertaking with too many influences and too little of its personal. I’m principally dissatisfied in Star Overdrive as a result of I can see the gem of recreation that was there and it simply doesn’t come to fruition. Even when the efficiency was extra constant and the animation was a bit extra polished, there may be little or no to the loop right here that makes Star Overdrive advice
