The race to become indie of the year could well have a new opponent in Rollerdrome. He has it complicated because 2022 is coming strong and he is not perfect, but he well deserves a position at the height of the greatest. Because he is unique, the Tony Hawk with guns falls short very quickly and, in fact, he has a very special charisma that, far from being tied to his appearance, also transmits in the playable.
From the creators of the OlliOlli saga, Rollerdrome It’s one of those games that you pick up first thing in the afternoon and don’t put it down until you reach the end in the wee hours of the morning. And if the addicted were not enough, the next day you repeat again to try to achieve all the challenges that you have left behind.
It’s not essential, but it looks a lot like it
After that last line I spent several minutes deciding whether to include a “it’s a great game” or not. I hope that by the end of this text you have been able to draw your own conclusions. Personally I have enjoyed Rollerdrome since I haven’t done it with a large part of the games I’ve tried this year, but there are ideas that don’t quite add up.
In the playable it is an almost seamless plan. With sections more focused on telling you a story that could not captivate you less and that is told based on computer messages and newspaper clippings in small sections in the first person, what matters here is to arrive as soon as possible at the door that begins a new level.
Luckily, that “let me play“, does not manifest itself at any time. If you want to stay and read, you can do it, and if not, take a couple of steps forward and you will find the aforementioned door. In what head could it fit to deprive yourself of the irrepressible desire to start reading? jumping around with guns. Roll7 no, of course.
Once you have overcome that initial narrative phase that you will not find in all levels, it is time to get down to business. Jump, aim, shoot, blow a head, burst an explosive barrel, create a combo, get ammo and repeat the process. Watching one of his videos you could not imagine how simple all this is.
A game you thought you already played
With the control scheme of Tony Hawk to do grabs, grinds and turns -acceleration and jumps work differently, instead-, start playing Rollerdrome it is relatively easy. You already know that button configuration and you also know how to do tricks with it.
What doesn’t quite add up is how to shoot accurately when you’re flipping, but it’s actually just as accessible. Pressing the aim trigger will slow the action down for a short period and the crosshairs will lock onto the nearest enemy. Now only the easy thing remains, to shoot.
With weapons ranging from classic dual pistols to a ray gun, the key is to remain vigilant to avoid enemies at close range and lines of fire from those attacking from afar. If you do it at the right time, marked by the color of that line or the different attacks of each rival, you will have a kind of witch time
Tricks give you ammo, kills give you life, and combos give you points. And with something as simple as that, Rollerdrome It delivers one of the funniest experiences I’ve had in a long time. He is, as his friend Antonio Halcón always was, much more addictive than he might seem.
Rollerdrome is addictive to rage
Under the classic play of unlocking levels depending on the challenges you have managed to overcome -another idea inherited from the Tony Hawk-, the loop of repeating missions to achieve the required score, collect all the letters or do this trick in that place, ends up hooking you without quarter.
You know that you have enough to play the next level and the next, but how can you leave it now that you are just a few points from reaching the objective and on top of that you have forgotten to kill X with X weapon. Overall, more than Rollerdrome is always good news.
And it succeeds despite, not thanks to, repeating the aesthetics of certain scenarios in excess, introducing few variations of enemies, offering few weapons, being relatively short, and having the brilliant idea of putting a final boss, which is quite small, and also repeat it…
While is true that Rollerdrome It is far from perfect, it does everything possible at the playable level to seem so. The constant bite, the familiarity of what you have in front of you, and the fun and manageability of creating increasingly crazy combos, make up for anything bad you can throw at it in a heat.
iGamesNews’s opinion
Perhaps the worst I can draw from my experience with Rollerdrome it is that, unlike the game in which it is inspired, the need to return to it once finished for the mere fact of enjoying it shines a little by its absence. On the other hand, it’s not the first game I’ve enjoyed like a pig in a pigpen never to return to it again, so it all depends on what expectations you may have.
Because of its original concept and how incredibly effective it is in its execution, it is undoubtedly one of those games to keep in mind if it catches your attention. There are few times when a game like Rollerdrome manage to surprise at the same level both in his announcement and once at the controls, so that alone is worth supporting his arrival.
Rollerdrome
platforms | PS4, PS5 and PC (reviewed version) |
---|---|
multiplayer | No |
developer | Roll7 |
Company | Private Division |
Launch | August 16, 2022 |
The best
- Some controls that you already thought you knew
- Most addictive challenges
- An original and surprising gameplay
Worst
- The narrative sequences are not too inspired
- Once finished it does not invite to be replayed
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