Star Overdrive appeared very spectacular when it appeared on the Nintendo Companion Showcase in August of final yr. A cross between Tony Hawk, Ratchet & Clank and even with some Breath of the Wild taste spiced in, the vibe felt paying homage to old-school GameCube period motion video games. Nonetheless, 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 may’ve been extra targeted 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 outfitted 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 simple. Utilizing your hoverboard you’ll be able to pace across the wastelands, performing tips to achieve pace and in the end discover waypoints that result in segmented puzzle arenas. The sport has a pleasant visible palette, making the same wanting vistas really feel colourful and attractive to discover. The sense of motion feels good, as your hoverboard will also be used to glide and sprint by means of platforming challenges. These are sometimes signposted by the segmented arenas the place you’ll want to finish a problem with a view to activate powerlines, acquire new talents or unlock watchtowers to progress within the story.
That is sadly the place the sport fell aside for me. By way of the core loop it obtained too stale for me too shortly. Whereas motion can really feel good, far too typically I discovered myself shortly shedding management over my hoverboard and crashing straight into the bottom. Being unable to finish challenges in time and having to aim these time 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 sorts of enemies can yield sure rewards. Tender, exhausting, tech, and alien assets are available in 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 pace gained from doing tips. So after grinding I discovered myself again on the board and nonetheless wanted to throw myself time and again at these comparable feeling challenges. Racing by means of 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 might anticipate from a skating recreation.
The fight specifically fails to make an influence. A easy button masher, the place you’ll be able to dodge and counter when you time your assaults proper, however simply whacking away offers with nearly all of enemies. Particularly 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 enables you to seize and toss objects and one other shoots projectiles at opponents from a distance. There’s a couple of puzzles that require the usage of these, however none really feel significantly satisfying to unravel. You’d suppose that fight with a Keytar could be extra partaking, however preventing enemies looks like a chore. Even the boss battles, that make use of the large open area, really feel too floaty and an excessive amount of like a set-piece to essentially make an influence. I by no means felt linked to the world of Star Overdrive and will really feel the sport creaking beneath its excessive ambitions.
A type of ambitions is probably in its efficiency. At instances it feels extremely clean and locked at a steady framerate. Which is spectacular for a recreation of this dimension. However then I’m blazing by means of this open area and it simply means nothing. Jumps really feel unresponsive and making pace can drop like a stone when you attempt to board uphill towards a steel construction, which is way too typically required. The objects are there, however there’s no influence. 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 typically it’s like Star Overdrive hasn’t discovered its personal identification. The ambitions and the inspirations are clear, however Star Overdrive isn’t including something to the dialog exterior of “wasn’t using a defend in Breath of the Wild exhilarating?”.
It’s clear that the staff behind Star Overdrive could be very proficient and bold of their craft. The visuals make for an attractive world and there’s a nice really feel for what makes a great motion mechanic. Nevertheless it all comes collectively within the last recreation as a clunky challenge with too many influences and too little of its personal. I’m principally upset in Star Overdrive as a result of I can see the gem of a great 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’s little or no to the loop right here that makes Star Overdrive a great advice