I really enjoyed my first 8 hours of Road Redemption. It’s an early access game inspired by the Road Rash series of games which was one of my favorites on Sega Genesis. The Road Rash series continued for some time, and on many platforms. The PC version even featured Rusty Cage from Soundgarden. Now their music reminds me of these games and my racing days. Like most good games it died off too soon. While the theme is the same, the gameplay varies but never goes too far off the road from the originals.
Gameplay on the Road
The game is very similar to Road Rash. You can pick your style of play whether it’s fighting, racing or a mixture of both. You have to win while avoiding cars, rival gangs, cops and other hazards on the road. The graphics look great and they really captured the feeling of rolling hills. Aiming and shooing is tough, but not impossible. It’s something you get better with practice. I also like the two forms of experience points, one being for the current game and another for the overall campaign, which keeps me coming back to unlock a little more to make the game easier. I’m looking forward to more graphic option breakdowns in the future, but as it stands it runs fast on my GTX 970.
Bikes and Riders
Initially the game has your classic motorcycle types like sport bikes, choppers, café racers and a few different player models. The riders range from the serious sport bike rider, to the psycho punk, or even a flaming pumpkin or Shovel Knight. Complete with shovel! I’ve already seen other character models as rival gang riders so I’m sure we’ll see more characters available by final release.
Maps
The maps feel a lot like the original, with rolling hills across the desert and snow, along with a few other surprises. Racing on rooftops was fun and so was the rainbow road map, showing the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. The hallucinogenic chemical zone where cars fall all over the track demonstrates the strength of the engine in handling random car generation, not to mention how well I can avoid hitting those cars.
Weapons
The game brings back classic weapons along with other random melee weapons like shovels, cattle prods and axes. However the C4 is my favorite weapon. It’s quick, dirty and instantly kills the opponent. The grenade launcher is great at clearing a path rather than attacking an oncoming car. There are also a handful of other guns along the way. The weapons help once you get the hang of aiming while driving. I find it’s better to aim a little to the left so you can avoid the oncoming car lane.
Early Access
No early release is without flaws. There are a few noteworthy things, like accelerating full speed backwards as well as being able to fire weapons while airborne from flying off your bike. What I missed from Road Rash was running over riders who had fallen off their bikes and wheeling, which really needs to be in any game with 2 wheels. Falling off your bike and running back brought the risk of getting ran over, which is frustratingly accurate in a death race like this.
Overall
I’m glad I got the chance to play through the campaign mode. Overall it’s a pretty good game and I’m looking forward to playing through it again when the game is completed. Road Redemption is a great game for those looking for racing game nostalgia while enjoying a modern game engine with decent graphics.
What’s your favorite memory from classic racing games? What game would you like to see rebooted? Let us know in the comment below.
