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. 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 might’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 remedy the secrets and techniques of the planet. Gameplay is fairly easy. Utilizing your hoverboard you possibly can pace across the wastelands, performing methods to achieve pace 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 by platforming challenges. These are sometimes signposted by the segmented arenas the place you’ll want to finish a problem so as to activate powerlines, achieve new skills 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 bought too stale for me too rapidly. Whereas motion can really feel good, far too typically I discovered myself rapidly dropping 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 elements that may be crafted into particular upgrades for the hoverboard. In a way, it’s a scavenging sport, the place defeating sure varieties of enemies can yield sure rewards. Comfortable, exhausting, tech, and alien sources 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 methods. So after grinding I discovered myself again on the board and nonetheless wanted to throw myself again and again at these comparable feeling challenges. Racing by hoops throughout the wasteland bought particularly tedious as the identical music began pounding my ears. For a sport 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 sport.
The fight particularly fails to make an affect. A easy button masher, the place you possibly can dodge and counter if you happen to time your assaults proper, however simply whacking away offers with the vast majority of enemies. Particularly after you unlock particular skills. In an analogous vein to Breath of the Wild you possibly can unlock everlasting skills that drain a meter to do various things inside fight and for exploring the overworld. One energy allows 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 significantly satisfying to resolve. You’d assume that fight with a Keytar could be extra partaking, however combating 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 affect. 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 maybe in its efficiency. At instances it feels extremely clean and locked at a secure framerate. Which is spectacular for a sport of this dimension. However then I’m blazing by 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 in opposition to a metallic construction, which is much too typically required. The objects are there, however there’s no affect. 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 found out 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 protect in Breath of the Wild exhilarating?”.
It’s clear that the group behind Star Overdrive may 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 motion mechanic. However it all comes collectively within the remaining sport as a clunky challenge with too many influences and too little of its personal. I’m largely disenchanted in Star Overdrive as a result of I can see the gem of sport 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
