Carmageddon: Rogue Shift

[B]Read what the game is about and play the demo before buying it[/b] I love classic carma but I had to admit the formula became stale. This spinoff gives carmageddon the new breath it deserves. I'm going to write a full review when I have more time in the game but for now I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Tl;dr review - it's a fun 20 - 30$ driving combat game for one or two play attempts in a session. Not something you'll be doing for a long run, but definitely worth a try. However, the game lacks certain adjustments and polish that hold it back from being a full recommend. Full review - This game gets to about 80% of its full potential. And yeah, a B-minus isn't a "bad" grade, but you definitely know it could do better. It sounds almost nitpicky to say that the game gets every concept about 80% right and that makes it frustrating, but when you PLAY it, and if you play other driving games, you feel why that last 20% can feel so bad. Let's just preview this with the starting menu loop. You select "new game" -> you go to the store -> You select a difficulty -> You select a car - > You start your run. Now here's the first rub: You can NOT break that cycle. If you're at the store and you want to exit out of the game? You have to go all the way to CAR SELECTION, then hit back and it takes you to the main menu. Oh but what if you're at car select and you want to change difficulty? Hit BACK to go to the MAIN MENU, and then go through the store and THEN you can change your difficulty. I present this not because that is the most unforgiveable sin a game menu has ever committed, but to put out the mindset of the game going forward. It's full of little things that someone probably pointed out, but was just not important enough to fix, no matter how small. Okay let's talk driving - I LOVE the weight and feel of the weapons aside from the laser gun. Heavy, chunky noises and effects and things go boom. Zombies are fun to drive through. Most impacts are satisfying, weighty moves that punish both parties and just has good game feel. The drifting on the other hand? And grip level in general? Well it's neither mario kart nor is it Forza Horizon, that much is for sure. And it's not so much about the grip level as it is when you have and don't have grip. Drifting is slow in this game - no boosts initially, but if you do it right you do gain boost for later. But you can easily find yourself spinning out without no real warning from the car, particularly if it has low grip to begin with. but then to get going again, its easy to powerslide in a loop and lose a ton of time. Meanwhile, the game's rubberbanding takes a lot of the thrill and edge off of all of this. If you're way into the lead, don't bother trying to extend it. THe enemies are getting free boost/speed and will be on your tail shortly. Or if you've got at least a lap left in the race, don't despair when you're dead last - you'll be back in the fight in just a few turns. So while it's hard to quantify the technical side of driving, I'm settling on the word "pointless". Which is a slight problem because you NEED to get a good result to keep your run going in most maps. But just have some faith that the game will provide and make sure you pick up weapon upgrades when you can and you'll be fine in the races themselves. I do wish the cars had a bit more momentum against the environment though, and the drift physics really do need some extra work. I get this isn't ridge racer, but a little bit of speed boost would go a long way towards making slipperier cars feel more satisfying. I think I'll end off by commenting on the overall gameplay loop - I think the economy is well balanced, you often have just enough to get the upgrades and weapons you need to succeed, but the game sometimes doesn't provide what your build needs in the shops, so some boss fights or races can become a slog. But that just happens sometimes in Rogue-likes. It's a hard game to play for multiple runs at a time though. The aforementioned fail due to bad luck in the shops is bad enough (this game has time limits for boss fights/races so unlike FTL or many other rogue-likes, you can't just have a slow fight and tough it out if you've got the HP) but having a great run hit the end stretch only to die in 15 seconds on a race because the guy behind you got a machine gun that murked you before you could even blink is VERY frustrating as it feels like the game has no counterplay or....no, I change my mind there - the game PUNISHES you for starting off too well. THe rubberbanding means enemies are always behind you and your weapons can't shoot back. You WILL lose a run or two to an enemy behind just mowing you down on the first lap because you rushed into the lead. Or you lose a run after leading a race the entire time only to spin out because you drifted too hard on the final turn, and the racers all behind you are SCREAMING by at top speed thanks to the rubberbanding to keep them on your tail so you just lose in the final turn. This all goes back to my 80% comment at the start - yes, you learn your lessons about some of this, but I can't help but feel like some counter-play or even a better AI balance or something could solve this. That last 20% isn't game breaking, and right up to those moments I was having fun. But a death like that can sour a good run and make me not want to do another run. That is the ultimate crime of Carmageddon, and it's why you see negative reviews - it is a Rogue-like that does NOT encourage you to just do "one more run". It takes too long to get into a good run, and you lose it in far too frustrating of a manner to encourage just one more go. But it's a shame because when you are in the thick of a good run, it is a blast to play. So take all that as you will.