Road to Hell.
Can you remember Road Rash? Woo, what a game. I spent many, many hours round my mate’s house playing it on his Mega Drive, and it remains to this day one game I wish would get a new iteration of (Although, seeing as EA hold the license, maybe not.) I am clearly not the only person to think this as there have been a few modern re-imaginings, one of which is Road Redemption.
Originally Kickstarted five years ago, Road Redemption’s promise was to ignite that thrill of motorcycle combat, trying to stay on two wheels while beating the crap out of your opponents. And while the game does manage to evoke this to some extent, it misses out where it counts.
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One
Multiplayer: Local and Online
Price I’d pay: $12.99
If you have never played Road Rash or a game of similar ilk, the premise is quite straight forward; take to the road on a motorcycle and compete in races, but not just any standard kind of race, a combat race. Instead of just trying to overtake the opposition, players can beat them over the head with a baseball bat or a machete. Maybe they would rather shoot at them with an assortment of guns, or if their aiming is bad, stick bombs to their bikes. You get the drift. All of the action takes place in a variety of different race types. There is a standard race, which means I had to finish 3rd or better, and races that required a certain number of enemies to be killed within a set time limit. There were also assassination missions and various other gameplay elements to mix things up. Each time players play, the games are randomized and the tracks procedurally created to try and keep things fresh. It doesn’t really work however, as the bland environments meant that I never really noticed any difference in how the track was laid out.
The game also suffers from poor presentation in both the way in which the menus operate, to how the game looks when playing, and the graphics are very last-gen with noticeable pop-in and a really bland design. It does look a little better on PC, but not by much. I understand that the game has been in development for five years and that it was only a small team working on it, so I don’t want to give them too much of a hard time. It certainly is something I could overlook if the gameplay held up. But although there are a splattering of good ideas here, it falls apart slightly with the core gameplay.
Firstly, there are the controls. Back in the days of Road Rash games controllers were much more basic and only had 3 action buttons. The speed of the action was slower as well, so when it came to controlling the bike and smacking people around the head, it was all very simple yet satisfying. But the age we live in now, controllers have about 10 buttons, all of which MUST be used and the game runs at break-neck speed. For a racing game, this is fine but when I had to juggle acceleration, braking, turning, handbrake turns and avoid oncoming traffic all at the same time as I was trying to line up my attacks, make my attacks, defend attacks against me, and dodge the cops it all became a little too much. I cannot count how many times I ended up miles off the tracks because there was too much going on.
Things do get better as players level up as they can increase their health, which is something everyone desperately needs to keep an eye on early on. But leveling up is very slow going to start off with, with the game being very stingy with XP. It really took the fun out of the game and slowed the pace right down when I kept on crashing out. Along with the awkward controls the game is also guilty of some severe rubber banding. No matter how far ahead of the pack I got, the other racers would catch up within seconds. I can understand this happening when the objective of the race is to knock out other opponents; there is no chance to win if there is no one to hit. But when it’s just a normal race, then it becomes so frustrating. Coupled with the ease of getting thrown of the track, not once did I finish first.
At least there are plenty of unlockables in the form of bikes and riders, each with different stats. There are only a few to select at the start, but adds to a sense of progression when players unlock more throughout the game. There are also a lot of options when it comes to combat. Of course, there are the melee weapons like swords and pipes available, though only a Machete and a pipe are unlocked at the start. But along with these players can gain gun weapons and bombs. These add a little more depth to the combat and I found the sticky bombs the most fun. Players can even grab hold of an opponent’s head and smash it against their handlebars. The combat options are far more extensive than I would have thought, and add some real fun to the action.
As for modes, there is little on offer here; just a campaign, campaign+ and online, which has barely anyone playing it. Road Redemption does however feature local multiplayer for up to four people. Grab some friends for some split screen action and either work together to reach your goals, or turn on one another. The choice is yours.
Road Redemption isn’t what I hoped it would be, and that may not be entirely the game’s fault. Nostalgia can be a cruel mistress. However, the flaws on show here do prevent the game from standing up on its own, and although it can be fun and engaging sometimes, I would recommend waiting for a price drop before picking it up.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.