It’s rare to find a game that you’re not convinced by, but then, in the final months before release, get really excited for. This was very much the case with Sunset, after its uninspiring reveal at E3 2013. Microsoft devoted plenty of time to Insomniac’s baby, but it wasn’t until E3 June of this year that we really saw what all the fuss was about, and that fuss was about fun.
With no reservations, I’m happy to say that Sunset Overdrive is the best fun I’ve had on an Xbox One, and an absolutely essential purchase.
Insomniac games hasn’t really delivered during the past few releases for PS3, nor for its first Multiformat release, Fuse. Resistance was slowly dying as a franchise, and Fuse was met with a lukewarm reception. Sunset was perhaps Insomniac’s last chance at a truly AAA game – and you can tell they went all-in.
Visually, the unique, intrusive graphical style speaks volumes for the kind of game you’re going to play, a mixture of Amped’s bombastic presentation mixed with the nearly cel-shaded appeal of Borderlands, but with the colour, contrast and brightness turned up to 11. Offering a small, if well populated open world with a solid 30fps, Sunset shows you Sunset City from the off – and what it hints at, and what becomes very apparent, Is that Sunset City isn’t just a city; it’s playground.
Rogue Energy Drink. Overdrive Delirium XT, zombies. It’s a predictable plot, but one which will mean nothing in the story of your time with Sunset – it’s not so much about the plot, but how you decide to play. Yes, there is one, and it’s pretty weak, but the tongue in cheek jokes, mixed with slightly outdated pop culture references of the script are a delight.
All of this doesn’t really mean much until the first time you grind, and expand this new found amazing ability to grinding from one building to the next, switching to underneath enemies, and back into the grind above with the press of a button, before laying on a barrage of fucking mental ammunition to destroy your targets. That’s when you realise that Sunset Overdrive is the bastard son of Jet Set Radio Future, and a riot to play.
Hidden among the aforementioned ‘story’ there’s a solid risk-reward system for the more hard-core among you, with style points increasingly allowing you to ‘amp’ your abilities, and effectively modifying your guns. When you’re dealing with guns that fire teddy bears, you know you’re going to lay down some fire, and do it with a smile.
You’re looking at a good 10-14 hours for the single player for the average gamer (I played across a few evenings), but it may be a little shorter for some. Chaos Squad co-op missions will increase its shelf life in your collection, but while that’s an interesting compliment to make the game more social, it’s not nearly as satisfying as the main game,
Sunset Overdrive is another cracking addition to Xbox one’s line-up this Christmas, and a worthy exclusive in its own right. A game that may have just rescued Insomniac from turning to non-AAA development, Sunset is an endorsement of the vision Insomniac had for the title from the very beginning. Microsoft should be commended for backing this to the hilt; a game in which it’s hard to describe in that easy one-line marketing pitch.
Actually, I think that’s easy. It’s bloody brilliant.
