Star Overdrive from Caracal Video games and Pricey Villagers is self-described as a “Excessive-speed motion journey set in an open world”. That appears like quite a lot of players on this period however does it truly ship on its promise right here?
Star Overdrive
Gamers in Star Overdrive will tackle the position of BIOS as he intercepts a transmission from his important different NOUS. NOUS is stranded on a planet referred to as Cebete and BIOS units out to search out her however bites off a bit greater than he can chew when his ship crash lands onto the planet’s floor.
Upon escaping the wreckage, you’ll discover your trusty Keytar and a sophisticated Hoverboard which is able to turn into your predominant tools within the recreation that can enable you traverse the unusual lands and clear up puzzles. The Keytar doubles as a weapon and due to BIOS’s ingenuity, you need to use it to unlock particular abilities that can unleash kinetic vitality to defeat foes or activate equipment.
Gameplay in Star Overdrive is an eclectic combination between driving your Hoverboard out within the huge open lands of Cebete and puzzle platforming your approach via mines and deserted dig websites. The sport begins off fairly sluggish however picks up the tempo when you begin upgrading your Hoverboard and your individual private Ability Tree.
Gamers will discover the overworld and head in the direction of markers on their map which clearly point out particular issues. For instance you may head to markers labelled with a picture of a tape and decide up NOUS’s private logs which assist flesh out the story. In actual fact, that’s the place the sport’s storytelling comes into play usually since BIOS doesn’t say something. Other than the visible storytelling, not a lot else is occurring so the private logs actually maintain the plot going ahead and provide you with a purpose to press on.
Gamers will subsequently discover the overworld, travelling from level to level, discover some extra and puzzle platform till they full particular targets. It’s extraordinarily easy however hey, it really works. The overworld is gorgeous and also you’ll have a tonne of enjoyable hoverboarding round and pulling off tips as you launch your self over dunes and hills and get some severe air time.
The fight in Star Overdrive entails some hack and slash button bashing gameplay since BIOS will beat down on enemy creatures along with his Keytar. He may also make use of his particular abilities in a while as you unlock them to deal extra harm corresponding to having the ability to seize an enemy and throw it at one other. It’s very enjoyable though BIOS does really feel a bit underpowered at first earlier than he positive aspects some upgrades to his protect and Keytar.
The Hoverboard could be upgraded through the use of crafting supplies which sadly is a damaging level right here. Gamers should consistently be urgent a button to gather supplies which are discovered within the atmosphere and it might have been higher if they only obtained mechanically collected as you run over them or stroll by.
You’ll improve the Hoverboard at a crafting bench that’s positioned in every main space of the map that you just unlock and there’s a stage of customization right here primarily based on the crafting supplies you throw into your Hoverboard. You may select to reinforce your pace or management for instance primarily based on what sources you’re throwing in.
Gamers may also select between a number of completely different skins for the Hoverboard in addition to change its color utilizing Dyes that you just discover within the recreation world. It’s nice to see this stage of customization right here since I didn’t anticipate it in any respect and was pleasantly shocked after I noticed it in-game.
Star Overdrive’s gameplay loop continues as a sequence of discover right here, clear up that, go there, rinse and repeat and whereas it may appear formulaic at instances, the sport does simply sufficient to maintain issues attention-grabbing. For instance, there are some boss enemies that seem and with out spoiling an excessive amount of, these are very enjoyable to tackle along with your Hoverboard.
There’s additionally races that you are able to do along with your Hoverboard however with out upgrades, controlling your board is perhaps a bit tedious and annoying. That is particularly the case if you find yourself flying over water or metallic with out the proper upgrades and your hoverboard loses its anti-gravity energy.
Star Overdrive additionally options fairly a number of janky components corresponding to enemy A.I that seemingly goes loopy at a whim’s discover with their assaults. For those who mistakenly take out your hoverboard whereas platforming, you’re going to finish up falling in the event you’re on a tall piece of equipment. This may be extraordinarily disorientating so it’s finest to utterly neglect about your Hoverboard mechanics while you’re fixing puzzles to your personal sanity’s sake.
Puzzle fixing is fortunately fairly straightforward and there isn’t quite a lot of backtracking within the recreation. When you’re executed with a number of puzzles in an space, you usually transfer on to the subsequent and the story continues. The sport is available in at round 12-15 hours lengthy however you may simply spend much more time simply exploring and hoverboarding whereas doing tips since that is fairly enjoyable to do.
Graphically, the sport is flat out attractive with visuals which are begging for a photograph mode. It’s completely legal that there isn’t one on this recreation. Builders, what had been you pondering? This recreation wants it! The artwork fashion is so stunning with solely the mines being considerably lacklustre since they appear comparable.
The soundtrack of the sport is superb with some true banger tracks right here. Discovering all of the Star Overdrive Tapes is a should for the reason that music contained inside them could be very gratifying to hearken to. NOUS is voiced acted and she or he sounds superb on the private logs however it might have been good to have BIOS say one thing too. NOUS might have even have been fleshed out a bit extra since apparently she’s been stranded on Cebete for years but it surely appears like she’s simply been there for a number of weeks at finest.
The place is the psychosis ? The drama ? The intrigue ? A little bit extra pizazz would have executed this recreation’s story quite a lot of good and doubly so if BIOS himself would been voiced and began monologue-ing however I digress right here. The sport barely scratches the floor of what it might have executed with the story.
Remaining Verdict
General, Star Overdrive is a strong indie title that does a complete lot proper but in addition falters from some minor missteps. Most of my complaints contain both the story being a tad lackluster or the sport simply needing a bit extra polish in sure elements. Nevertheless, it’s undoubtedly price selecting up and enjoying via and the attractive visuals actually do draw you in. Hoverboarding is the star of the present when you’ve upgraded your board a bit and utilizing BIOS’s powers is extraordinarily enjoyable.
A bit extra variation within the enemies would have been appreciated however protecting issues easy and simple was clearly a core growth tenet right here. Choose up Star Overdrive or check out the sport’s demo, it’s quite a lot of enjoyable and lives as much as its claims of being a high-speed motion journey title. Youthful players can even have a blast right here for the reason that recreation isn’t onerous to finish both.
Star Overdrive Trailer
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