There are few premises capable of stealing my heart as quickly as Rollerdrome, but after approximately 30 seconds gliding around on rollerskates while shooting enemies in slow motion, I was completely sold. Immediately doing away with any sense of realism or pretext for the over-the-top chaos, this violent roller derby set me against armed brutes in a battle arena that was part extreme sports game about pulling off stunts and part shooter that had me clearing the course of hostiles while flying over halfpipes. Stuff all that awesome inside a beautiful and stylish cel-shaded world and I found myself positively smitten before the end of the very first level.
The concept behind Rollerdrome is simple, yet brilliant. What if you could do tricks, catch sick air, and grind rails like in an extreme sports game, while simultaneously taking on waves of enemies with an extensive arsenal of guns? But what’s impressive is just how well it nails both the skating, extreme sports fantasy and the badass John Wick-esque slow motion shooting mechanics.
For example, doing tricks is the only way to resupply my ammo reserves, meaning that I couldn’t just focus on killing enemies, but I had to do so with style or I’d find myself with an empty mag and quickly get eliminated. This did a great job at mandating the pulling off of dope tricks and forced me to find a balance between flexing on the enemy with my skating prowess and blowing said enemy away with a grenade launcher at point blank range. Learning to perfect that balance and juggle these two objectives to clear levels was an absolute joy and immediately addictive.
The more matches I won, the more deadly weapons I unlocked. Beyond my basic guns akimbo, I acquired a shotgun that was extremely deadly but required proper timing to use effectively, and a grenade launcher that had very limited ammo but dealt enormous damage over a large area. But as I became more deadly, so did the enemy, and by the end I was fighting ninjas who blasted me with blue kamehameha waves and even a battle mech that descended upon me with missile launchers. Rising to the challenge to defeat these enemies required precise timing and aim, but also that I continue to hone my skill at grinding along rails and performing more complex tricks to quickly reload my ammo.
Aside from the obvious and unsubtle joys of roller-based homicide, Rollerdrome also features a completely stunning cel-shaded art style that fits so wonderfully with the over-the-top premise. Stages are deceptively beautiful in their simplicity, like one area that had me gliding around a ski lift and another that had me taking down enemies in a shopping mall. Everything just looks so clean and crisp and practically begged me to use it as a playground to carry out my gnarliest murder sprees. Also, I found it really amusing just how emotionless my character was as she flew through the air and shot people – pure ice in the veins of this one.
Everything just looks so clean and crisp and practically begged me to use it as a playground to carry out my gnarliest murder sprees.
Based on the first handful of levels, Rollerdrome seems to focus on a near future where lethal roller derby has swept across the land as a popular sport. As a newcomer to the deadly games, I rose through the ranks while picking up tidbits about the lore and as I slowly learned more about the state of the world and my place in it. I have no idea if the story is going to have a serious tone or be complete nonsense, and I’m not really sure I would mind either way, but gaining a small window into the setting in between death matches was a nice way to take a brief break in between bouts of blasting away my enemies with a shotgun while grinding a rail.
I’ve only played the opening hours of Rollerdrome, but it’s safe to say that I already find myself addicted to its fast-paced gunplay, legitimately impressive skating mechanics, and of course, a premise that had me chuckling to myself from beginning to end. I look forward to honing my skills when Rollerdrome is released next month.
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