Rollerdrome Review: A Blast If You Don’t Think Too Much About It

Rollerdrome can exactly be described as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with guns. Latest news from Roll7, the developer of OlliOlli . Series, Rollerdrome is a score-based arena shooter, but on roller skates. The game requires you to skate and shoot your way past the “Indoor Player,” enemies armed with spiked armor that will make you feel right at home in Mad Max. The game’s presentation, from the clean, slick art to the catchy synth soundtrack, is designed to immerse you in the thrills of typical bloody sport.

In ‘s novel Rollerdrome, set in an alternate dimension in 2030, is a very popular televised sport. You can see why: It’s great to watch protagonist Kara Hassan suck big air from half a tube, pick his nose, then pull out a pump pistol and knock a sniper off their perch, all in one flexible motion. In the hands of a skilled player, having Hassan run through the game’s diverse arenas looks as much an art as a murder.

Image: Roll7 / Private Division, Take-Two Interactive via Grayson Morley

This is a game that feels good to play, the important thing is RollerdromeMore serious story. Gunplay and ice skating go hand in hand, mechanically: Tricks get you more ammo and ammo gives you fewer enemies, thus helping you perform more tricks, ultimately allowing you to spend Kill more enemies. It’s frenetic, engaging, and surprisingly easy to parse, which matters when bullets fly by, requiring you to dodge at the last second. Doing so will activate RollerdromeBullet time’s version, Super Reflex, makes even the simplest kick look like something out of the Matrix. From start to finish, the gameplay is as hard as hypnosis. No doubt you’ll immediately retry a level as soon as you beat it, making sure you can kick through a bad guy with a glowing dual pistol in just one. a little betterbecause you just failed A.

Rollerdrome wish you have an absolute blast and it succeeds. Rollerdrome also want you to know that the “explosion” you are having is in service of the Matterhorn, a growing monolithic corporation that is increasingly friendly to a fascist police state, and every time you complete it, help that corporation. perfecting their growing arsenal, which they of course sold to the police – a fact that has not yet escaped public perception, leading to a violent working-class uprising, a coalition of The alliance includes a number of Rollerdrome participants like yourself, who, it was revealed at the start of the game, join the sport of Rollerdrome by paying a six-figure fee, taking on a debt that is about to ruin a life which the corporation stalks them as a threat and promises that they can never leave the Rollerdrome.

But good luck remembering that when you’re on the wall with a grenade launcher in hand!

RollerdromeIts narrative sections are segregated from its gameplay. Sometimes you find yourself in the locker room before a game or on the train heading to the next round of a competition, reading notes, letters, and apparently unprotected memos written by bad guys. evil writing. What you are reading is very interesting, but game part of the game, part where you have fun, is everything swishing, pow, and any onomatopoeia for railroad grinding. It’s entirely possible, in the heat of a Rollerdrome run, to forget that you’re testing weapons and killing (maybe?) prisoners or some other class of disadvantaged people in the game’s near future. It’s so much fun! That’s the way, the way, the way too fun!

Image: Roll7 / Private Division, Take-Two Interactive via Grayson Morley

At first blush, it seems that the two faces of Rollerdrome do not talk to each other. The seriousness of the story is out of sync with the pure adrenaline candy in its gameplay. Unlike Encode or Papers, please – other games that make you think about what you’re doing – RollerdromeThe gameplay of the game seems not to reinforce the critical, political narrative, but rather to obscure it. But the more I played, the more I felt that going to the Rollerdrome would erase all but my adrenaline and my desire to win. If Rollerdrome, the fantasy sport of RollerdromeIsn’t it as fun to play or watch as this, how can it overshadow the machinations of faceless monoliths who want to control and bring the public into captivity? Rollerdrome then it must be fun to play that one wouldn’t would like dissent, even if one is inclined to do so.

So anyway, yes, Rollerdrome To be Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with a gun, but it’s also a commentary on the potential for violent entertainment to dull our senses to the violence in our real lives. Good luck remembering that as you’re chasing an S.

Rollerdrome was released on August 16th on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. The game was evaluated on PlayStation 5 using a pre-release download code provided by Deep Silver. Vox Media has an affiliate partnership. These do not affect editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.