If you’re into such games as Race the Sun or Trackmania, then Shortbreak Studios, a sister company to Techland, might just have the game for you. The Collider 2 will test your reflexes, concentration and attention span with its (almost) endless runner style approach.
Somewhat ironically to its namesake, your main goal during the course of the game will be to avoid any form of collision whatsoever. You’ll instead be navigating your craft throughout lengthy sections of an alien mothership whilst trying to squeeze past increasingly difficult obstacles. Think Lando Calrissian’s jaunt in the Millennium Falcon, and you won’t be far off. As far as the narrative goes, you’ll pretty much be making that up as you go along, however sprouting an impressive moustache before repeating ‘that was too close’ does help.
The variety in gameplay is about as diverse as you can expect, yet it is alleviated somewhat with three slightly different takes. The standard, ‘get through the level as fast as you can’ is supplemented by another that requires you to fly through and collect alien artefacts; before being rounded off with one which necessitates you destroy certain objects. Thankfully the shooting is done automatically; so all you’ll need to worry about is lining yourself up with the glowing red targets. The final level in each stage also changes things up a little with a ‘boss battle’ of sorts too. Whilst they only really revolve around shooting weak spots and generally avoiding more threats, they’re something to look forward too, and help to break up the pace a little.
If you do happen to tire of the games’ standard missions, you can have a pop at the hilariously escalating survival mode (provided you’ve levelled up enough to unlock it that is). Once there, it’s you persisting for as long as possible, in the hopes for a decent spot on the weekly leaderboards.
With the simplistic controls, requiring only mouse movement to aim your ship, and a button to utilise your boost, it’s easy to focus on the gameplay. It also features pad support, but I found the sensitivity of the thumbstick just wasn’t as predictable or precise as the ol’ pointer. Fastidious control is recommended too, especially with the reliance on your ever-terrifying boost. The later levels will insist on its usage, and even just getting three stars on the earlier stages is impossible without it.
The game’s premise will feel all too familiar to those who’ve played any form of mobile game in that, you’ll be ranked on a one to three star basis depending upon your performance. With over fifty levels to conquer over several stages, there’s plenty to accomplish during the games’ main campaign mode, it’s just whether you can get to them or not that’ll be the issue. The linear order in which you select levels only becomes an issue once you unlock the next tier of missions, as you’ll need a certain number of stars in order to progress. Whilst this is a pretty standard affair for games like this, it will inevitably mean you going back and replaying earlier levels to get the pre-requisite amount to advance. Considering the difficulty spikes you’ll encounter throughout, this might happen more frequently than you’d like.
To ease the trauma a tad, there are also temporary upgrades you can pick up in your travels too. Nothing overly original, but you can’t go wrong with a burst of unlimited boost, being able to pass through obstacles, or a magnet for collecting coins without having to pass through them. In turn, collected coins will allow you to buy new ships, upgrades, colour patterns and even up the potency of the temporary buffs you collect mid-mission.
Opting for the sci-fi setting as opposed to its prequel’s more ‘psychedelic’ approach, not only alleviates the headaches, but makes for a much cleaner view. There’ll be the odd, disorienting, colour splash from time to time with seemingly little purpose other than to distract you, yet that’s to be expected. The visuals themselves look sharp enough and the emphasis on a high frame rate is the right way to go. There’s very little in the way of graphical options besides resolution and gamma however, meaning what you see it what you’ll get. There’s also support for VR, be it the Oculus or the Vive, but frankly, just the prospect alone of moving the ship with my head makes for an uncomfortable stomach. It’s a nice addition but sadly one I won’t get chance to experience, for those who’ve managed to get their hands on a piece of VR kit, another game to try out can never be a bad thing.
In closing, The Collider 2 probably won’t keep your attention all day, nor will it likely be something you’ve never seen before, instead, it’s simply a solid game that’s best played in short bursts. The difficulty will frustrate some, as might the lack of any real gameplay variation, however the controls are spot on and the upgrade system keeps you striving for hitting that next milestone. Its addictively short levels compliment itself, and it’s a great way to lose half an hour’s worth of blinking.
