In this era of reboots, remasters and re-releases, it’s surprising that a number of EA’s classic 16-bit games have never been given the modern treatment: Desert Strike, Road Rash, FIFA… all remain trapped in the ‘90s, never to be resurrected (Okay, maybe not FIFA).
Nine years ago, developer Ian Fisch decided it was time for another Road Rash game. When it became clear that EA wasn’t interested, Fisch set up a Kickstarter to get a spiritual successor made instead. After an up-and-down development hit by numerous setbacks and delays, Road Redemption finally launched on PC a year ago, and now it’s on Switch too.
Fans of Road Rash will know the basics: Road Redemption has you riding your motorbike through lengthy courses, with the main gimmick being that you can beat up your opponents and knock them off their bikes. Although this was pretty much the sole major mechanic in Road Rash, though, here it’s only the tip of the iceberg: Road Redemption adds a bunch of roguelite features and other fun ideas to keep you hooked long after the wanton violence loses its appeal.
There’s a plot in there, but it’s fairly throwaway. Set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future, a masked biker assassin has killed the leader of a notable weapons cartel. There’s a huge bounty of $15 million on this assassin’s head so, as part of the Jackal biker gang, you have to race across the country and reach said assassin before any rival gangs do. This involves driving through the turfs of three deadly gangs – the Reapers, SIGMA and the Phantoms – each of whom has their own hefty boss biker to contend with, too.
The setting is basically Road Rash meets Mad Max, right down to the dodgy Australian accents, but all of this is just window dressing for the main game itself: a series of procedurally-generated stages where the courses, enemies, available weapons, race type and post-level rewards are all randomised every time you play. It’s nothing too drastic – routes are still made up of pre-designed sections so it never really gets too wild – but it keeps things from getting boring, nonetheless.
Stage types come in five flavours: your standard races where you have to finish in a certain position, Time Trials (where you have to reach the end within a set time), Takedowns (where you have to kill a set number of enemies before reaching the end of the course), Survival (in which you simply have to reach the end without dying) and boss battles. Failing some of these doesn’t necessarily mean Game Over, but your health will be cut and you’ll miss out on a hefty chunk of prize money which can be spent on upgrades to your health, attack power, nitro meter and the like.
If you’re a Road Rash fan and this is all starting to sound a bit overly complicated, fret not: there’s also a Quick Play mode consisting of standard races. By getting gold cups for coming in first, you’ll eventually unlock a total of 16 courses in this mode, encompassing all the environments you’d have encountered in the main campaign. There’s also technically online multiplayer in there too, but we could never find an opponent – though, charmingly, it still lets you race and win against nobody, and gives you experience points anyway – so you can pretty much write online off.
This generous helping of game modes is all well and good, but where Road Redemption (thankfully) shines is in how it plays. Its spiritual ancestor Road Rash may have mainly been about punching opponents with the ability to get a weapon if you were good enough, but Redemption is an altogether more violent game and it hands you a blunt object right from the beginning. You can then collect more weapons as you play through each stage, each falling under four categories: melee weapons, swords, guns and explosives.
Every weapon type is useful in the right situations. Melee attacks are handy for wearing down an opponent’s energy, while swords are guaranteed one-hit decapitations if their helmet is off. Guns do great damage but are difficult to aim (you need to use the right stick while still racing with the left), and explosives – particularly the C4 bombs which can be attached to vehicles and bikes – do enormous damage but are limited in supply, and need you to get out of the way quickly.
This all actually makes combat hugely entertaining, especially when you end up in a swarm of four or five other bikes all swinging away at each other. There’s a rudimentary blocking system, similar to the Batman Arkham games, which lets you parry enemy attacks and leave them open for your own – some of the stronger foes require you to do this before you can damage them – and there’s a critical meter you can build up to deliver super-powered attacks. It isn’t exactly Street Fighter levels of depth, but it’s much more absorbing than just hammering an attack button.
It’s also just as well that it isn’t more complex, because it does require a bit of an adjustment period as it is. It can be a lot to remember when you’re flipping between weapons with the D-Pad, aiming your gun with the right stick, parrying attacks with the B button and checking to see if someone’s helmet’s on so you can switch to your sword, all while still having to take sharp turns and avoid oncoming traffic at the same time. It’s very much the video game equivalent of patting your head and rubbing your belly, and it can be a little overwhelming at first. You do get the hang of it eventually, though, and when you do it’s enormous fun.
Replay value is provided with a permanent upgrade system, where the XP you earn during a run can then be spent on increasing your health, upgrading your different weapons from the start, unlocking new bikes and the like. The skill tree is enormous and it’ll probably take around 100 hours (a rough estimate) before you’ve earned enough XP to completely max it out. It can feel a bit too granular at times, though: increasing your attack damage by 2.5% makes little to no impact on your game, but you have to buy upgrades like that to access more important ones, like new bikes and weapon boosts.
Meeting certain objectives will also earn you new characters. There are 15 to unlock, ranging from straightforward biker types with slightly tweaked stats, to more unique riders with quirky gimmicks that affect how the game’s played. The Helloween rider (who has a flaming pumpkin for a head) loses health every time he uses his turbo boost, but you can gain it back by decapitating opponents with your sword. Santa Claus, meanwhile, is armed with a candy cane which can’t hurt anyone (except bosses), making you focus more on racing and evasion than combat. Then there’s the questionable Freddy One Arm, who can only attack to the right. And, of course, it wouldn’t be an indie game these days without Shovel Knight being in there, too.
There are times where things can get a little too much for the Switch. Performance is generally smooth, but some stages (like the otherwise fantastic rooftop level) and particularly action-packed moments can see hefty drops in frame rate. At one point we blew up a truck while surrounded by six or seven bikers and the explosion pretty much turned things into a slideshow. These moments are still rare enough to not be a major issue when considering whether to buy it, but they’re worth mentioning because they do take the gloss off somewhat. Loading times can be long, too. We've got our fingers crossed that the developer will find some way of remedying these issue with an update.
Inconvenient as these are, such issues aren’t enough to ruin what is very often a fantastically entertaining game. A word of warning, though: given its darker setting there’s a fair amount of bad language during campaign mode, with plenty of f-bombs and even the odd c-nuke dropped in there. Although the options let you mute the voice acting, character dialogue still appears in text boxes, so if you’ve got a young one nearby who can read you might want to stick to the Quick Play mode while they’re around, since that’s banter-free (assuming they’re okay with heads being lopped off, of course).
Conclusion
When it all comes together, Road Redemption can offer some of the most thoroughly entertaining and over-the-top racing action you’ll find on the Switch. It’s a little rough around the edges and the performance could have done with a little optimisation prior to launch, but when a game’s as downright fun to play as this is, that’ll always be the overriding factor. The wait’s over, Road Rash fans: this is the modern spiritual successor you've been waiting for all these years.
Comments 50
Hmm, loved the original on the Mega Drive, may have to get this once I get up to date with my backlog
C-nuke? Is that a certain female body part? Anyway, game sounds interesting. I don’t know how procedurally generated tracks will hold up in the long term though.
When the news of the release appeared there were so many bad comments... but now the review has turned out to be good. Interesting. Expensive too.
I loved Road Rash 2 in particular and it's one of my favourite games from the Megadrive, so I'm curious about this but it does look like they've gone a bit too far with the violence, also why is the HUD far less appealing than a game from 25 years ago?
To many dark and brown colors for my taste. To depressing to look at.
Glad this turned out well, another to add to my eShop wishlist.
@dres I agree. The lack of "Retro" is disturbing!
..
But I bought it on a whim. After Gold-Points deductions, it was only £5, so I thought I might as well give it a go.
Graphically, it's manageable.
Gameplay, though. OH the gameplay's PERFECT!
It's been a long long time since I sat in a room, alone, whooping and cheering as I smash into yet another car and get flinged into the open space!!
The "feel" is spot on, and if you grew up loving Road Rash, then this is really as good as it gets.
(Because, you know if EA attempted it, it'd be a mess of IAP's!)
Road Dead Redemption
Wow, reviewed better than I expected. Might get it now, might wait for a sale, haven’t decided yet. But it will likely find its way to my library eventually either way.
@klingki
Kinda my thoughts too.
At first I was all over it but, after some thought I may wait. Could get a physical release later (doubt it, but) and it would be nice to see if they patched the visuals a bit
I'm sure that, like you, I'll end up buying it eventually though
Wow, OK. If I can relive the halcyon days of me playing Road Rash on the 3D0 way past my bed time while listening to Cathy Dennis on my headphones I will be very very happy. Might give this a try.
So..turns into a slideshow at some points but still got an 8? hm.
Is that Red Dead Redemption 2 spin-off?
@Retron If an fps analysis I saw on YouTube is correct, it is unlocked in an attempt to reach 60fps, but never really gets above 40fps... If this if correct, the performance did not look good on Switch.
Push square only gave this a 6 I’m really sceptical cos if you watch videos it’s more than rough but then if you watch a pc version video it’s actually quite nice
@Retron Nope, nowhere near it
@BensonUii yeah ok but it looks beyond bad and I really wanted it to be great but reviews are opinions I suppose but giving a good review to something that’s clearly bad makes people question the integrity of the site
@EasyDaRon Yes, the graphics put me in mind of the bland look of some early Dreamcast games (in style at least). Road Rash was colourful and has personality on the Megadrive I also like the 3DO port I played on the Saturn, but this looks drab to me from what I've seen.
Loved this games inspiration way bk - But the graphics need an overhaul - so mundane
If you used to play road rash on the mega drive then crappy frame rates are just adding to the authenticity.
@pblive It turned into a slideshow at one point, in the 15-20 hours I put into it for the review. I'm not going to hammer it when it's as rare as that.
"EA’s classic 16-bit games have never been given the modern treatment: Desert Strike, Road Rash, FIFA… all remain trapped in the ‘90s, never to be resurrected"
How dare you mention FIFA and not General Chaos! Shame! Shame! Shame!
Well that is certainly unexpected, I was thinking this was going to be a 5 or 6. I suppose that means it goes on the wishlist for now instead of being ignored.
@scully1888 fair enough, just seemed odd
This looks awesome can’t wait to pick this up.
I would also give this an 8, I have really been enjoying this. My only complaint is that I think the XP earned can be too little compared to the cost of permanent upgrades, especially since there is no banking of leftover XP.
Love Road Rash, I may check this out soon too once it goes on sale.
I was excited when I saw this coming to Switch, since that's the easiest way for me to play multiplayer... and I was even more excited when I saw this positive review and the $20 price.
Then I watched some video of the Switch version... this game appears to be very amateurish with janky graphics and boring gameplay... after watching about 5 minutes, this is an unfortunate pass for me.
The release trailer for this game is still one of the best I've seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-ZYwbJtQ9g
The Switch version doesn't seem to look as good, of course (and the game isn't exactly gorgeous to begin with), and after watching more gameplay videos I'm not quite sold.
@Retron Yeah, inquiring minds want to know! I would assume they have a 30 fps target, but 60 would be awesome.
@Pablo17 does it target 30 fps? Or is it running at 60 fps like Mario kart 8?
C-nuke, that is the highlight of the review! Nice invention.
@Ristar24 that's a bummer. 40 fps is not good for a racer.
Wow I am impressed that the game got that rating.
The loading time is awful and the intro stutters.
Gameplay is ok but the game feels graphically outdated. Gameplay is good. When I play I have my smartphone at hand to read an article for the loading times.
Framerate is accurate to original Megadrive game.
@60frames-please Neither. It floats from 30 to about 44 max.
@YANDMAN Well I hope they add an option to cap it at 30 then. Regular and even frame pacing at 30 is the next best thing to 60 fps (unless you can get above 60 fps, which is out of reach for the vast majority of gamers due to high frame rate monitors being so rare in people's homes)
You do know, we all grew up playing video games, and now because we are older, we don't have to talk about frame rates, specs and sales to sound like it's a more adult past time lol. In case anyone in the comments missed the meeting As long as it's not broken...who cares.
@60frames-please Yes, 30fps cap would make sense in this case for a consistent experience, which would be fine, uncapped and occasionally reaching over 40fps is not pleasant to play, or look at...
Wow this was a very generous review considering what I saw when I watched some people streaming this game. Once again proving how the reviews here tend to be far too nice to indie games, especially ones that are very rough in all the wrong places like this one.
@dres To be honest the setting for this game is just very confusing. The surroundings go for this whole post apocalypse kinda Mad Max vibe, but then they got modern motorcycle cops showing up and all the traffic seems to consist of new luxury cars, SUV's, and taxis driving through endless stretches of desert, city ruins, and mountain areas.
Enjoyed the review and would be tempted to buy the game, but an inability to find anyone to play online with puts me off entirely.
@Painkiller_Mike someone needs to bring back General Chaos
@60frames-please If it's been programmed without a cap limit i don't think that can ever be altered. A wandering frameratre will always be exactly that.
"Inconvenient as these are, such issues aren’t enough to ruin what is very often a fantastically entertaining game."
And THAT is really all that matters, where this game is concerned.
What I see here in this comment section is FAR too many people slamming this game while never having played it for a single second.
I have, and if you like or love Road Rash, then this is simply a must-buy.
And I can't stress enough, AGAIN, that YouTube videos are, to this day, still considerably compressed, and not always as stable as actual gameplay footage on the device that the footage is taken from, so it's only ever a partial indication of what to expect, but only live gameplay, experienced by the player itself, can give you a full perspective of what's on offer here.
Yes, it's a little rough around the edges, and the graphics aren't in 4K Ultra-super-duper-HD, but who the fudge cares?
Only fools and horses that have an excessive, OCD need to be able to focus on and complain about a game's lesser features, regardless of the fact that the MAJOR features of the game are very much in tact, and worked out pretty damn good.
This game is more about the gameplay, not so much about the pretty looks, and in this case, it would serve no purpose, other than hampering the frame rate that all of you whiners are already complaining about...
This game is a lot of fun to play, and can be hilariously entertaining at times, and that's just the single player. Now imagine that with 4 player couch multiplayer, and beating up your friends. Instant glee...
Just like back in the good old days with Goldeneye on the N64.
Nothing more hilarious than beating your friend and then being able to actually see his disappointed face right next to you, instead of only hearing them on the other end of a head set...
Picked this up a few days ago. I'm slightly disappointed at the roguelite approach of the game (this just artificially inflates game duration without adding much content), but the game is truly fun to play. Don't go into this one expecting a AAA title. The graphics are bad, the music is amateur, and there are long load times everywhere. Despite all that, the actual gameplay is fun and satisfying. Worth the asking price just for the fun factor alone (which really... what else matters?).
Just completed all 16 tracks on quick/classic mode with gold cup.
I LOVE IT! Back in the day i loved Road Rash Jailbreak on the Ps1, now i'm back to punch some punks!
Anyone knows of this going to Physical?
@60frames-please @Pablo17 I loved road rash as a child I remember the green bike been really quick and was so cool. Is it worth getting and has it had any patches to erase issues?
@ryobi85 No, I tried playing this game again two years later and I still think it's terrible. If anything I think it's worse now because we have actually got some decent motorcycle games by now.
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