There are many liberating sports for the human being, anchored by gravity on a ground with the only possibility of putting one foot in front of the other, both for walking and running. Skates are one of them: having wheels under your feet that allow you to go to new speeds is something that over time has been perceived as liberating not only by people, but also by some productions released on different media. We mention among the many Rollerballa 1975 film that even shares some plot incipit with this game, but if we wanted to go further we could even land on manga with Air Gear, where in that case guys of all kinds compete in aerial combat and not with skates to the limits of fantasy . Rollerdrome has the same basic concept, but offers a very fun (and even a bit contrasting, in the first moments) and unique gameplay: let’s talk about it better in the review.
Retrofuturism
Characteristic and original setting
The current of the retrofuturism has its peculiarity in imagining the future as it was seen decades ago, with those tones definitely distant from what we are experiencing: the example is Rollerball itself, a film that we have already mentioned and which has some points in common with Rollerdrome. Set in 2018, that film tells a world governed by corporations not too different from that of the game of Roll7, a studio already known for OlliOlli.
Rollerdrome is set in 2030year in which the corporations I’m in charge and all the attention of the public is focused on the violence and excesses of a new brutal sport, the Rollerdrome. The corporation that implemented it is the Matterhornwhich seems among many things to hide secrets that our protagonist, Kara Hassan, will have to reveal.
To accompany thecharacteristic and original setting then one thinks about it soundtrack really superlative: it is an original soundtrack with sounds and tones that the most savvy of the retro-futuristic genre could recognize not so much because they have already heard it, but for the peculiar style. The graphic sector, in turn, accompanies the player through this style very close to comics, with marked and black dotted lines and contrasting colors capable of making every single detail unique and evident during the game.
Grind & Shoot
The gameplay formula of the game is very simple: Kara will be able to exploit all the skills he owns with his skates on his feet, but in doing so he will have to kill the enemies inside the arena, collect tokens and complete challenges. Every cupconsisting of 4 arenas, will unlock after completing a fair number of challengeswhich will go from being purely techniques or d ‘killingwith something in between that becomes the perfect synthesis of the title.
As for the movement part, Kara will be able to perform trick, backflip, grind over edges or objects, do wallride on the wall and depending on the button you press, even the technique will change. There is no penalty in finishing the combination badly, as Kara will not be able to fall, which is implemented to make the game as smooth as possible.
Because the more complex part comes into play during shooting phases: between one trick and another, in fact, you will have to kill the enemies that you will find in front of you, each with different abilities and therefore with a different system to be killed. Kara will be able to exploit different weapons, also different from each other and with timing and bonuses that will change depending on which one you use. Equipping another weapon involves pressing the corresponding arrow on the d-pad, which is quite quick to apply. All this is peppered with a couple of simple yet effective mechanics: the ability to slow down time by pressing a button for a certain moment, and the fact that the ammunition will be recoverable by doing tricks.
The combination of tricks and shooting phases is the strong point of this game
Here then is where the game assumes a completely different connotation: you will not be able to go around without doing anything, only by killing, because you will be left without shots in a short time, and you will not be able to do only tricks as to finish the arena you will have to kill all the enemies (the same ones that once killed will then give you energy extra, which will go away quickly if you start taking hits).
As always, the combination is the forte of this game, which is revealed as you progress through the game. Let’s take an example: already towards the third or fourth arena, you will have to be quick in dodging (special button to do a somersault) the enemies from hand to hand, the sniper who will aim at you from a distance and shoot after a certain number of seconds, the missiles launched by a third enemy and those with shields, capable of doing area damage by slamming it to the ground. To all this, of course, the timing must finally be added: dodging in time will lead you to have time slowdown bonuses, which is especially useful with many enemies in the field.
Once got into the rhythmthey will think about breaking it challenges: in fact, in order to advance, you will have to complete various objectives, from accumulating points by doing combos and increasing the modifier, up to making specific tricks near certain areas, collect these tokens scattered around the map and kill enemies in certain ways. Over time, learning the behaviors of those who stand against you, it will be easier and easier to recognize what to do and when, one of the most successful dynamics of the game.
Rollerdrome it lacks a bit of longevity and lacks a multiplayer component: designed for the single player, this game however has one classification that you can climb, which however does not involve all the fun that you can experience in the challenges scattered around the arenas. It would be interesting to see if a multiplayer PvP implementation could take place in the future, but for now Rollerdrome is what you have before you, a game on skates where you will have a lot of fun chaining together deadly and style combinations.
Review
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Rollerdrome (Tested on PS5)
8.3Total Score
A retro-futuristic world inspired by Rollerball but with its own identity (writing but also stylistic thanks to unique graphics and a fantastic soundtrack), a gameplay halfway between doing tricks with skates and killing enemies in slow motion like the better than Max Payne, this Rollerdrome is a fresh and fun experience, which perhaps it is a shame to arrive at the end of the summer, but which will surely wrest hours and hours of challenges and fun from those who love this kind of titles. Too bad for the absence of synchronous multiplayer, it could have been an interesting addition, but for now we will do with the rankings.
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