I’ve been playing games for years now and often feel that I’ve seen it all. Modern triple-A games offer improvements on a tested formula but rarely bring something new. Where are the days that developers dared to think outside of the box? Where are the days we played something entirely new? A game that could easily spawn a completely new genre. Enter Rollerdrome, a game unlike any other and one of my favorite games I’ve played this year. Why? Let’s jump in!
Rollerdrome
The game is set in an alternate near-future where a mega-corporation known as Matterhorn has taken over one of the most popular sports on the planet. Why are they investing in such popular sports? Probably to distract the masses from their true intentions by making Rollerdrome even more popular, engaging, and deadly. The true intentions of the mega-corporation aren’t apparent right from the start, it’s up to you to discover what they are up to and ultimately, stop them before it’s too late. You play as Kara Hassan, a newcomer to the sports and the hero of the game. She’s there to outshine her direct rival and wants to become the best in front of the entire world. In order to do so, she’ll have to get past the Federation’s House Players who are equipped with some extremely deadly weapons and gear. It’s here where the unique gameplay of Rollerdrome kicks in. This isn’t just another skating game, it’s far more than just that as it easily combines different genres to create something new. See it as the love child of DOOM, Tony Hawk, and Max Payne.
Enter the arena
The backstory and progression of Kara Hassan is nicely done and adds an extra layer of depth to the game. From time to time, you’re able to walk around backstage before you enter the arena, which will give you some extra insight into Kara and her motivations. It’s great to have this and it’s even more fun to see how Kara evolves together with the player. You’re controlling Kara but the stronger she gets, the stronger you’ll get as a player too. It starts off with just a couple of revolvers but the more you advance, the better your equipment and skills will become. One thing’s for sure, the arenas aren’t something to take lightly. If you want to survive, you’ll better get good at Rollerdrome!
Before you can enter the real arena and take down some hostiles, you’ll need to learn the basics of the game. At its core, Rollerdrome plays as a fast-paced skates game where you’ll be able to perform a lot of classic tricks. The flow of skating resembles the iconic flow found in the OlliOlli franchise. Learning how to perform tricks is easy and the game is a bit more forgiving since you can’t crash, if you make a mistake, you’ll still be able to skate your way around the arena. The skating is very fun and arcade-like and thanks to the gorgeously designed 3D environments, you’re free to skate wherever you want to go, even unlocking new and hidden paths from time to time. You’ll get the hang out of the skating in no time, the controls are kept simple and straightforward so they are incredibly easy to learn. Nothing too special here but Rollerdrome is far more than just another skate game.
Aside from skating, you’ll be shooting most of the time. You start with a simple revolver but the more you’ll play and unlock, the bigger and deadlier your weapons will become. Targeting your enemies happens automatically so you can still aim pretty good while performing some gnarly tricks. The goal of the game is to clear the arena of all enemies without dying. If they manage to eliminate you before that, it’s time to restart the level. The combination of skating and shooting works surprisingly well and thanks to Reflex Time, you can take down your enemies in epic slow-motion shots. It’s like you’re playing Max Payne in gorgeous cell-shaded graphics. After playing this game for days, I can really say the team discovered a new satisfying genre which I always came back to for just one more round. When it clicks, it clicks good and you’re always returning for one more shot. It’s incredible how well high-paced skating and shooting work together as a completely new genre. The best part of it all, is that the controls are surprisingly easy to master, which doesn’t mean the game is easy to complete.
Get good or die trying
What I love most about Rollerdrome is the fact that it’s one of those games that’s easy to learn but hard to master. Going up against Matterhorn isn’t an easy task and just like Kara, the player will struggle to achieve this goal. If you want to survive the arenas, you’ll have to work hard on your skills and timing. Dodging bullets and timing your counterattack is crucial if you want to make it out alive. I love how it all looks so easy but actually is quite challenging to get good at. First, you’ll need to learn how to do your tricks without losing your natural flow. Tricks are necessary to refill your ammunition but if you land somewhere you didn’t intend to land, this could easily take out your flow and pacing resulting in a couple of direct hits from your enemies. Always staying ahead of the competition is key to survival but survival alone won’t cut it.
If you want to advance to new arenas, you’ll need to complete a couple of challenges first. This reminded me a lot of the oldskool Tony Hawk games where you had to clear a couple of challenges before you unlocked a new playground. Rollerdrome follows this same formula but spices things up a bit. The challenges range from taking down a certain number of enemies before the time runs out to perform a specific trick at a certain location. There are some easy challenges to complete but the more I advanced, the harder it became to clear the challenges all while staying alive in the deadly arena. The game is difficult for sure but it always remains fair. If you want to win, you’ll have to trust the process and put in the hours. Not a fan of challenges? The game offers tons of accessibility options in the menu which will result in a lower level of difficulty. The game is made to be enjoyed by everyone and those options really help out a lot if it’s all a bit too challenging.
Although it’s never easy, the game does give you more than enough reasons to keep going. Besides the gorgeously created arenas, you’ll face off with more difficult enemies and even some impressive bosses the more you advance. Of course, I won’t go into details about those but rest assured, they are definitely worth beating!
Conclusion:
Rollerdrome is easily one of my favorite games of this year. The combination of skating and shooting works like a charm and it’s extremely difficult to put back down. When you start playing this, you’ll want to see the ending of the epic fight for power, even if it takes a lot of shots and retries. Looking for something new? Be sure to play this one!
