While this may not be the most articulate way to describe a video game, Sunset Overdrive can be summarized in just one word… “Cool”. Insomniac Games proved to us back in 2002 with Ratchet & Clank that they are more than capable of taking a classic genre and building a fun/entertaining franchise out of it. For that very same reason, Sunset Overdrive is another one of their releases which could stand out for months if not years on the market.
Third person shooters are quite common nowadays, and ultimately the game needed something to help it stand out. While other development teams might look towards implementing a new stand-out feature or tweaking what they already have on offer… Insomniac Games does a complete 180 by providing an experience that is less sophisticated, but in return delivers something that is genuinely enjoyable to play from the moment you boot it up until the credits roll. Everything is about fast paced combat that rewards you for not being cautious; complemented by a grind system that is reminiscent of the old Tony Hawk games, a comical storyline with more hits than misses and a colourful 90’s vibe that is hard to come by in video games nowadays.
Storyline
Sunset Overdrive stars you… or at the very least some figment of your imagination. Sunset City is celebrating the launch of a brand new Energy Drink known as “Overcharge Delerium XT”. Unbeknownst to even the company behind the drink (Fizz Co), it turns out that taking a single sip of it will convert any human being into a horrific and delirious mutant (OD), with no way to turn back. Having worked at the launch party and seen first hand what the mutants are like, you barricade yourself at home for several weeks until deeming it imperative to emerge. With no immediate means of escaping the city, the protagonist allies himself/herself with a number of very profound personalities as they work towards a means of escape.
Ultimately, what Sunset Overdrive comes down to is a continual supply of missions that range from Defeat X to Achieve Y. These are staples found in almost every open world game, and it is often the storyline that dictates if an experience is a pleasurable one or a complete snooze. You shouldn’t approach this game as the next The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or Watch_Dogs as you will walk away disappointed. But despite not providing a serious storyline; the witty banter, various references, fourth wall breaking and an all-around comical and (at times) absurd approach to storytelling culminated into an overall enjoyable experience.
What really shines is not necessarily the events themselves, but the dialogue that takes place during them. One example of a possibly dull quest turning a lot more enjoyable is when your character has to travel to a water factory to collect bottled water for an entitled rich kid. This generic sounding mission leads to a quest where you need to decontaminate the factory – being egged on by a sarcastic automated voice over the intercom (Voiced by Tara Platt). I was left disappointed when that five minute quest ended. There are still some bland moments in Sunset Overdrive and not all the comedy worked, but there was more than enough to pull me into long play sessions.
Design / Music / Voice Acting
Sunset City is a small open world environment that is comparable to the scale that Seattle was in Infamous: Second Son. While expansive cities may be to the taste of some, with no vehicular transport around the city, its size is perfect to entice players into exploring it but not making each trip across it take fifteen minutes. Sunset City is bright, colourful and overall a very well designed city; with many unique buildings and landmarks littering its landscape. The world also effectively integrated Sunset Overdrive’s grinding system into its structure, and it is plausible for someone to travel from one side to the other by exclusively grinding, bouncing and jumping.
In my interview with Creative Director Marcus Smith, he mentioned that they wanted to go for more simplified character customization than Saints Row for example. While I can understand the justification for including only two body types for each gender, there was a distinct lack of design options for clothes and hairstyles. That being said, the character designs themselves were of a good standard, and were well animated throughout the game. Visual references are also big in this game, and it is worthwhile dying a few times to see what sort of respawn animation you are treated to.
Sunset Overdrive features almost impeccable voice acting from everyone involved, for both main and secondary characters. Special mentions go to both Yuri Lowenthal and Stephanie Lemelin for voicing the male and female protagonist respectively. This was one of the few games where I was left sorely tempted to do a second playthrough, to experience everything the other gender (In my case, the female protagonist) had to say. Other highlights include Scott Whyte as Fizzie and Tara Platt as both Bora Bora Intercom Voice and Four Kim.
Gameplay
Sunset Overdrive is not a game about precise accuracy when aiming your weapon. It is not about taking cover while enemies wielding exploding heads dash towards you. Nor is it about delivering an experience that is exactly the same as most shooters found on the market nowadays. In fact, treating this as any normal third-person shooter will likely see swarms of enemies overrun your character and lead to his/her demise.
Instead, this is a game about fast-paced action with “Style”. You must use your creative assortment of weapons while always remaining on the move. This can be done through grinding on narrow cables several metres above ground, defying physics by jumping on bushes (or one of the many other things you can grind/bounce on) and then jumping or air dashing between the two. Being elaborate in battle (aka. Don’t touch the ground) progressively fills the Style Meter, which at different levels activate different amps that you have unlocked and equipped on your character or weapon. It is possible to make it through most of the game while ignoring the amps system, however this system adds additional versatility to your arsenal and can allow even the most rudimentary weapon or melee attack to have great impact when in a pinch.
The weapons on offer range from standard to “out there”, which is very reminiscent of the approach that Volition took for recent Saints Row Games. Some of the more creative weapons include one that shoots out bowling balls, TnTeddy (Which does as the name implies) and “High Fidelity” which attacks enemies with the almighty power of vinyl records. Each weapon can have an amp attached to it, in addition to being leveled up through regular use. But ultimately no one weapon will give you an advantage against major bosses, which even early on in the game tends to come down to wearing it down slowly rather than having brief 30 second battles. While combat is approachable, this does highlight one issue with battles. It is easy to take down small mobs, however taking down bosses usually came down to depleting your ammo cache rather than using any sort of strategy to take them down.
The core gameplay mechanics in Sunset Overdrive are highly enjoyable, and even the more rudimentary quests have some little plot feature to help make them unique. Throw in a tower defense mini-game, several challenges and many unusual collectibles and the open world itself holds many hours of post-game enjoyment.
Final Words on Sunset Overdrive
This may not be a game for everyone, and those who would prefer a more serious, hardcore third-person shooter may be better off looking elsewhere. However just like Insomniac Games did with Ratchet & Clank more than a decade ago, Sunset Overdrive manages to achieve a solid balance between gameplay entertainment and plot. The storyline is structured yet incredibly quirky, the visually appeasing open world begs you to explore every corner of it and the gameplay is less complex but still offers plenty of challenge. This is easily the best Xbox One exclusive to date, and one I could see the developers taking further.
