Out of all game genres out there, action games are by far the most popular, and Sunset Overdrive is a prime example of that. This third person shooter and action hybrid is a title like none other, it leads you into a bizarre story and provides something that all people want, and that is freedom of doing just about anything in a massive open world.
The story in Sunset Overdrive is quite simple and it takes place sometime in 2027 when FizzCo have released a new energy drink that was supposed to provide you with a lot more power. However, this energy drink skipped health protocols and it seems that everyone who consumes it will automatically transform into hungry mutants. We play the role of a former FizzCo employee that wants to escape the city and save the other people that didn’t turn in the mutants yet. There are a few twists to the story that will appear later on as you play, but they aren’t that important to the overall story, instead the main focus is on the gameplay.
And yes, the gameplay here is amazing. The large metropolis of Sunset City is basically a funny, twisted and large open world that can be explored as you see fit. Your character’s genre and appearance can be customized according to your taste and, once that is done, you will get right in the story.
The main focus in Sunset Overdrive is on agile combat, as your character is highly acrobatic and he/she can run on walls, engage in zip line slides and so on. Not only that, but the character can even use the grind rails as the means to navigate the streets, even though going on foot is still an option.
Sunset Overdrive comes with a wide range of weapons that are fairly standard most of the time, such as assault rifles for example, but what we liked the most is definitely the TNTeddy grenade launcher that fires dynamite strapped on teddy bears. This large amount of creativity from a design and gameplay standpoint is what makes Sunset Overdrive different, as here you can choose any weapon you want, go wherever you see fit and just solve the missions that you find in the game world. Speaking of them, the missions are varied most of the time, even though some might become a little repetitive towards the end.
You do get the opportunity to upgrade your weapons and make them even more powerful, either by visiting the shop or progressing in the story.
We do need to mention the extensive cooperative mode where you basically have to defend your base from numerous waves of attackers. There isn’t any co-op for the main campaign for now, although it’s rumored to be brought to the game soon enough.
Graphics in Sunset Overdrive are very good and the dystopian world is amazingly created, with numerous things that will catch the eye as you explore it. Character design is very interesting and respawn animations are crazy, yet so fun!
To sum up, Sunset Overdrive is one of the most interesting games that you can find right now on the Xbox One. Despite being a platform exclusive, it’s a title that’s plain fun and which you will definitely enjoy as you play. Thanks to the funny premise, interesting characters and an amazing gameplay, you will find yourself playing it for hours and hours! This is the reason why we recommend it to anyone that wants to relieve some pressure after a hard day by killing monsters in a wacky world!
Our rating on this innovative game design is a solid 9/10.
YouTube: Sunset Overdrive: It’s your apocalypse, be who you want to be
