We tried Rollerdrome, Roll7’s inline shooter

Launched just over a month ago during State of Play in June 2022, Rollerdrome is initially ready to arrive in stores for PC and PlayStation. development studio roll7 and its publisher, Private Division, seems to be in a hurry to propose this interesting mix between a skate game and a third-person shooter, so much so that on August 16, if all goes as planned, we’ll be able to download it. Via Steam and PlayStation Store.

No more chatter, therefore, in ours Rolledrome tried We will briefly describe this unique experience to you.

a known mix

Roll7 became famous mainly thanks to OlliOlli and its evolution, OlliOlli World, but the London studio has a history of 14 years behind it, and there are productions such as Not a Hero and Laser League that diverge from skate, skate or the like. This is just to say that the Roll7 seems to be trying to incorporate and improve upon what it has learned in previous work.

In fact, the Rollerdrome might look like a kind of Laser League with a roller coaster and single-player story, or an OlliOlli World full of guns and futuristic arenas. In short, all or almost all of the elements that make up the Rollerdrome seem to come from the studio’s past. this mixture But what goes into form is definitely original and requires exploration.

all decorated by unique style The studio that can create quite evocative looks thanks to the architecture, flat design and clever use of colors that give the Rollerdrome a respectable look despite its small hardware requirements.

Actually, only one Intel Core i5-2125 or AMD A12-9800, 4GB RAM and GeForce GT 630 (2GB), Radeon HD 6770 (1GB) or Intel Iris Pro 580 to be able to play properly. Either a PlayStation 4 or a PS5 to decapitate the bull.

a dystopian future

In fact, one of the most characterizing elements is the existence of a story mode that talks about a story. dystopian future The mega-corporation known as the Matterhorn has taken control of the Rollerdrome, the world’s most followed sport, and uses it to distract the masses from their true and dark exploration. How? Making the sport even more violent, extreme and ultimately deadly. But the Matterhorn wasn’t interested in Kara Hassan, a new soldier who came into the professional circuit to follow in the footsteps of protagonist Morgan Fray. On his climb to success, Morgan will not only find himself “fighting” for his life, but will also have to face Casper Ix, who will be the biggest obstacle to conquering the top of the International Rollerdrome Federation’s House Players.

Shooter

What is all this premise for? Since we cannot break the plot, we can say that all this serves to act as a common line between one level and the next and justify the increasing difficulty and craziness of the different levels.

So what exactly is a Rolledrome? Roll7 says he invented a new species And maybe it didn’t stray too far from the truth. This is a kind of cross between Wet and Roller Champions where you have to get knocked down between jumps, crushes and grapples by crossing arenas filled with Opponents. In other words, it would be a pretty conventional arena shooter, even with controls where the protagonist wears skates that allow him to have unusual mobility. In fact, you can use different trampolines to jump very high, but even in flight it will also be important to avoid bullets.

this shoot with stylemoreover, this is not an end in itself: shells will be filled with evolutions, for example. Playing splendidly will also serve to maximize the score, which is a key element for success on the Rollerdrome track.

If basic weapons automatically frame opponents, special weapons should be aimed correctly at explosive objects and enemies. To do this, especially while airborne during a somersault, slow down timeto aim more calmly.

In other words, it’s apparently more of a mix of classic Roll7. easy to approach, especially when it comes to previous experience with third-person shooters, but really complex to excellent. This is also due to increasingly complex levels that require you to jump from one building to another while rolling through the air and shooting with full blast.

this satisfactions something you can get when you are familiar with it can be great. Inevitably given the not-so-distant review, the development team will need to keep interest in the game high, develop the story, but above all the proposed challenges with new events and variants. You should also understand what will happen when the credits are reached: what replay value or additional activities are envisaged?