Insight We tried the amazing shooting and rollerblading video game that no one saw coming this summer
Scheduled for release this August, this new shooter is likely to be a real sensation.
Unpublished project of the parents of Olli Olli World, RollerDrome seems straight out of the bowels of Jet Set Radio, Max Payne and Sable at the same time. We are in 2030, in a society galvanized by excess and violence. The fashionable sport is the Rollerdrome, a great competition to the death based on big guns and rollerblades of which you are the new darling. As you race down the slopes, a plot slowly unfolds.
Preview conditions
We had access to the first six levels of the game on a PC version.
Gunfights at Sable
At each level started, it’s the same refrain: our protagonist Kara rushes onto the track, the sound of her rollerblades sliding on the varnished floor crystallizes the moment; a still delectable silent start before an electrifying soundtrack takes over. 80s synthwave vibes provide a vibrant backdrop to ultra-smooth movement across wastelands that double as deadly arenas. The Moebius aesthetic flatters the retina at all times, although it deserves more evolving decorations. As the levels go by, the enemies multiply, equipped with a nice range of weapons: nail bats, snipers, explosives, and even big lasers… The competition gradually becomes an elegant game of dodging and piercing shots where life points are harvested from the remains of your opponents. The cadence must absolutely be maintained until the final elimination and keeps you in a kind of very pleasant flow.
Here the grinds follow one another and the tricks are easily mastered, the latter each benefiting from their dedicated tutorial. An encyclopedia will allow you at the same time to counter some oversights. Rollerdrome is very easy to handle, making it accessible to as many people as possible. If their approach remains fairly low-tech, tricks are essential and their success grants you ammunition refills: a good way to balance the gameplay by forcing you to roll with style. Also you will quickly relegate pirouettes to the background as the action can become a purely mechanical means of snatching a few balls. It will take a bit of perseverance and trials on the counter to combine well-centered shots and beauty of the gesture. The best moments of satisfaction are all the same the sequence of perfect dodges and the slow motions that you operate to pulverize some enemies to perfection.
Skateboards have style
As Kara struggles to carve out a place in the final thanks to your prowess, an increasingly difficult path is looming and which draws a very well balanced difficulty. Added to this is a pleasant feeling of progression. So far, we have had access to six levels of the game and have secured our place in the quarter-finals. You will have to complete a certain number of challenges for this stage to open its doors to you. The scoring system pushes you to the best combos while victories grant new weapons: our gun duo is quickly accompanied by a shotgun and then a grenade launcher. A panoply that complements itself very well since it will be necessary to use it skillfully against the right enemies. At the same time, the range of abilities evolves in a more minimal way, but still grants a welcome addition: the walljump, making the movements more and more pleasant although they could perhaps have benefited from a more great verticality.
With good replayability encouraged by a slew of challenges to complete and scores to surpass, Rollerdrome promises a very decent lifespan, possibly ten hours. Enough to spend a great time trying to be the greatest champion of the Rollerdrome league and to pierce the veil of mystery that surrounds the intentions of the Matterhorn company, a screenplay aspect against a plot background sufficiently set back to fully enjoy the fire of action.
No printing
Until the quarter-finals, Rollerdrome is for the moment a little treat in terms of sensations. With its comfortable grip and well-balanced levels, the roller shooter is a call for perfect dodging and piercing shooting. We can’t wait to see if the next levels will offer beautiful additions and exotic scenery. The game lands on PC, PS5, and PS4 on August 16.
Editorial review
Promising
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