I don’t think roller skating and third-person shooters are going to be a chocolate and peanut butter situation, but Rollerdrome proves just that. The developer of OlliOlli World, Roll7, has found plenty of ways to let both sides of this unique coin shine without overwhelming them by inventing what is essentially a new single-player his sport. We wrap that package into an interesting world beyond sports than you might expect.
The year is 2030 and you enter the Rollerdrome as rookie skater Karla Hassan. In this brutally clever dystopian futuristic blood sport, participants skate or shoot for their lives against waves of “house players.” So neatly identifiable enemy classes, from simple melee combatants to mini-mechs with homing missiles. While you’ll mostly chase high scores and complete optional challenges in each stage, Carla’s quest to become a Rollerdrome champion is more than just dressing up in between action. The dark reality in which it happens.
Sprinkled throughout the campaign, first-person sections let you explore locker rooms, office spaces, and a few other locations before heading into the arena. We provide, but these sections are also an opportunity to better understand the role you play in the corporate employer’s intrigue.With Rollerdrome, you don’t have to sift through documents or listen to conversations. You can also go through the door and join the battle. A few companies can control every aspect of life.
However, if you’re here just for the action, the Roller Drome is absolutely for you. Roll7 has a knack for creating finely tuned mechanics relevant to extreme sports (just look at OlliOlli World this year). The devs are clever because skating and gunplaying happen at the same time, and frankly, these he found where he needed to reduce complexity in order to make the two halves mesh well. While skating, don’t worry too much about your speed unless you or your opponent stop you. Conversely, weapon sights are also relatively forgiving. If you are in range and your crosshairs are fairly close to the mark, an autolock will appear. , with some smart concessions, both skating and shooting are fun and approachable, leaving room to master. time.
Rollerdrome isn’t aiming to be the most complex skating simulator or shooter, but it still has many challenges. I was consistently pleased with how it played out after waves of increasingly difficult enemies while trying to complete a list of optional tasks like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. You might collect a set of detonated tokens, land certain tricks, or kill giant enemies with a tiny pistol.OK, that last one might be a little different than Tony Hawk. Shooting down enemies is a big part of what you do, with each run acting as a chance to chain cool kills and chic skating tricks, each attempt improving your flow through a particular stage. Enemy placement isn’t randomized, so you’ll quickly find a more efficient path to maintain momentum and a better way to knock out some of those fun targets on subsequent attempts. can be found.
The arena itself is gorgeous too, thanks to the Rollerdrome’s bright and colorful art design. There are several types of environments that a level can be themed in, all of which take place in semi-pedestrian locations such as dry American desert canyons and Midwestern shopping malls. But once you come to appreciate the fascinating world of Rollerdrome, its mediocrity is by design, its mundane nature lends itself to pops of color, angular lines and intriguing retro-futuristic design. No detracting. These locales are also complemented by a rocking soundtrack from composer Electric Dragon. This soundtrack takes his ’70s disco pacing, blends it with his sound of ’80s synths, and tilts it to sound futuristic.
Focused on the momentum of the action, Rollerdrome draws from its surrounding visuals and soundtrack and incorporates that tempo into its mechanics. Each kill increases a score multiplier, and even just shooting an enemy will prevent that multiplier from dying even if you can’t land. More bullets were always within reach thanks to the creative ammo replenishment. Every trick you pull off restocks your arsenal, and all four of your guns share the total amount of ammo (the first few times I switched between them surprised me). This means you can slip through enemies and recharge your clip on the go, so you can’t throw defensive shields at them or give them a chance to strike between shots. I used it properly, chained shots between tricks, and fell into a Zen-like rhythm. Even if you fail, you can learn how another weapon choice or another path worked better.
Moving, shooting, and reloading through levels is key to mastering Rollerdrome, but there’s plenty of room for improvisation. The campaign slowly but smartly distributes new enemy types and new weapons with unique abilities, so you’re never overwhelmed as you progress. Taking a recruit is one thing, but it takes quick thinking to do so while two bat-wielding enemies haunt you and three missiles close by. Deep end instead of throwing it headlong. To hold your breath and look cool, you can also temporarily slow down time when you hold down the left trigger to aim. Slow motion may be well-worn territory now, but Rollerdrome’s odd mix of genres makes it feel fresh again, turning nearly every slowed-down attack into a screenshot-worthy moment.
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Whether you’re being bombarded with sniper beams, homing missiles, or mines, the Rollerdrome lets you dodge and activate super reflex mode. This is a consistently satisfying reward, but it doesn’t overwhelm you thanks to the limited (but fair) ammo before you have to perform a few more tricks. You’ll need to make good use of it, as nearly all of Rollerdrome’s wide variety of enemies will try to stop you in the last few stages. It’s overkill at first glance, but a replay or two makes the seemingly tough finale feel more comfortable.
The biggest change from the normal campaign level is a pair of boss fights that are both a highlight and a disappointment. They put a clever twist on the usual mechanics, forcing you to fight a single giant enemy instead of waves of smaller ones, and it’s the blast that tears the first giant enemy apart. It didn’t feel like a materially different challenge as its formula-up doesn’t change much. I was even expecting other cool takes on big enemies.
But that’s just the beginning of the Rollerdrome’s thrilling experience. And if you’re enjoying about five hours of the campaign as I am (with a few more hours spent replaying levels), there are brutal and surprising new options that open up after that. The “Out for Blood” campaign offers remixed versions of previous levels with all enemy types available in the first battle (and along with them comes a remix of an awesome soundtrack). I tried the first few and these are no joke. Especially if you consider any of the base levels difficult, but if you can survive it should prove to be an even more rewarding ordeal.
