Livin’ on the Edge | Sunset Overdrive Review

Insomiac Games have been making crazy games for a long time. They started off with Ratchet and Clank with all their crazy weapons, and now they’ve moved past the PlayStation brand and cozied up to Microsoft for their latest venture. The end result of this new venture is Sunset Overdrive, and while it may not be the next great Microsoft IP, it is one fun game. With a great sense of humor, an expansive open world to explore and bright, colorful visuals, this game was designed to appeal to the masses. While the game does have a few faults of its own, this is certainly something you’ll want to play on a relatively sparse Xbox One library.

The game starts with Fizzco, a giant soft drink manufacturer, that has just launched a new line of energy drinks. They didn’t bother to test the products before it came to market, so they just shipped it to stores to start pushing the product. Unfortunately, the energy drink has a nasty side-effect, it turns you into a hideous monster with the desire and capability of killing everything in its path. You are then given the task of getting out of town as quickly as possible. While this sounds like an easy task, you’ll need a lot to get out and getting everything isn’t going to be easy. You’ll meet people along the way that can help, but they will want something in return so you’ll spend plenty of time helping people who help you as well. It doesn’t sound too engaging, but it does a good job keeping everything moving forward.

While the story isn’t really anything to get excited about, Sunset Overdrive’s open world certainly is. The game is full of upgrades, collectibles, monsters, missions and more. You’ll always find some task that needs to be done, some collectible you accidentally passed over or some upgrade you are a few kills away from. It seems the game is designed to keep you close to something and it is just enough to keep you playing and exploring the world. Every action you take contributes to some gauge or skill that levels up so even if you are doing nothing, you are doing something. This system sounds complicated, but it really isn’t anything too involved once you get going. The sense of progress is always present so you never get bored or feel like you wasted your time. The sheer amount of collectibles can get overwhelming at times, but if you aren’t a completionist, you should be okay in that respect. No matter what, Sunset Overdrive is incredibly engaging and keeping you playing is the main goal.

One of the better parts of the game is just how absurd the game is a whole. If you’ve ever played a Ratchet and Clank game, you know that things can take a turn for the weird. Sunset Overdrive takes that absurdity and cranks it up to ten. From mission items, to story elements to even names of things, there is plenty of material that will make you turn your head. For instance, one mission requires you to find a missing dog, once you find the dog, it turns out to be a robot. It is just random encounters like this that make this game both interesting and fun at the same time. There are also a ton of pop culture references whether it is celebrities, internet memes or songs, you’ll be bound to recognize something said in jest. You never know what the game is going to throw out at you next, but you can’t wait to experience it.

Probably the best part of Sunset Overdrive is the level of customization built into the game. You can change everything about your character at any time. Just head over to a base and change to your heart’s content. Even if you want to change the gender, body type, accessories, clothing and weapons of your character, all at one time, it is possible. You can also unlock new options from just playing the game which feeds back into the customization system. It works great, the system is seamless and it really lets you be whoever you want to be in the game. In addition to character creation, the weapon system is just as varied and random as the rest of the game. If you ever wanted to throw teddy bears with TNT strapped to their chest or hurl vinyl records at mutants, this game has you covered. Being able to change everything about your avatar and your attacks makes this game truly unique. Everyone wishes that the stock character would have some level of customization to them, but we rarely get it. Sunset Overdrive embraces change and it is a better game for it.

While there is plenty of game to get through on your own, Sunset Overdrive allows for up to eight player co-op and several missions designed to take advantage of that. This mode works well, the matchmaking is strong and it feels great playing with your friends and taking on whatever the game can throw at you and trust us, it gets tough. Players will be given hordes of enemies to get through all while completing a set list of tasks to finish. Each task takes coordination and teamwork to pull off, but you’ll be handsomely rewarde with bonus cash, vanity items and weapons, all of which can be used in the single-player mode. This system makes the game rewarding and engaging and that is the most important part to co-op.

Overall, Sunset Overdrive breathes new life into the open world franchise. There is tons to do and plenty of boxes that need check marks, yet you never get too overwhelmed at all the choice you have. The customization system is a masterpiece when it comes to both your character and your weapons, so you’ll want to play just to get new options to mess around with. On top of all that, the humor in the game is great and you’ll probably laugh out loud more than a few times. If you want a truly excellent experience on the Xbox One one, look no further than Sunset Overdrive, it seems a bit on the far side of gaming, but you’ll be glad you made the trip.

This review is based on a retail copy of the Xbox One version of Sunset Overdrive developed by Insomniac Games