Sunset Overdrive is a game that amuses players with superhero acrobatics, mad skateboard moves when navigating the environment and a unique sense of humor and style.
As the story progresses, players are introduced to various unique weapons, such as electrical laser rifles, high-frequency vinyl blasters and Fizzle launchers that can melt off one's skin.
The game takes place in the year 2027 in a town known as Sunset City. Energy drink company Fizzco launches a new product, dubbed Overcharge Delerium XT, and offers it exclusively to its hometown, making the people the first to try it. As a way to beat out the competitors, the company overlooked a negative side effect during the whole process. Anyone who drinks the product instantly turns into a mutant.
The goal of the game is to escape the doomed city, which can become increasingly complicated as the player meets a pack of survivors. While it is true that they will help in building an escape vehicle, they want to make sure that the player helps them first. They come in various shapes and colors, such as cheerleader ninjas wearing Day of the Dead facepaint, militarized Girl Scouts, a hillbilly gun fanatic, LARPers and spoiled rich kids.
"Sunset Overdrive sets out to create a world where the apocalypse is fun instead of depressing, and that means putting control in the player's hands. Developer Insomniac has given players a sandbox to play in, toys to play with, a treasure chest full of costumes and jokes that lampoon and acknowledge how absurd the whole thing is," says Joystiq in its review.
Is this game worth the player's time? Joystiq gave Sunset Overdrive five stars, which means a definitive yes.
For game reviewer Polygon, Sunset Overdrive is "contagiously enthusiastic."
"As a collection of mechanics and ideas, Sunset Overdrive is an impressive evolution of things Insomniac has been doing for a long time." The game earned 9 points out of 10 which, based on Polygon's review scale, means that it is a fantastic game and well recommended.
Hardcore Gamer, which scored the game 4 on a 5-point scale, says, "There are few games like Sunset Overdrive ... All in all, Sunset Overdrive is a breath of fresh air in a stagnant, overpopulated marketplace of gritty shooters."
Insomniac Games is releasing Sunset Overdrive on Oct. 28 for the Xbox One. The game is published by Microsoft Studios.
