Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
The Blood of Dawnwalker screenshot showing Coen in combat versus some armed guards
RPGs The Blood of Dawnwalker devs "were afraid that people wouldn't want to play as human Coen" so it set out to create "a combat system that can set a new standard for RPGs"
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando
FPS Games John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is the the Left 4 Dead-like horde shooter I've been waiting for since 2009
A crop of the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond key art showing Samus Aran - in her sci-fi style red and yellow power suit armor - on a purple background reaching out her hand to use purple psychic powers while statues of aliens loom in the background
Metroid Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"
Key art for Skate Story showing the glass skater boarding through a dark underworld filled with spikes towards a door of light
Action Games Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
best Xbox One games
Games The best Xbox One games of all time to play now
A distant flare illuminates the sky in Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders review: "The most memorable multiplayer experiences I've had all year – this shooter is tense but wonderfully approachable"
Key art for Routine showing an astronaut looking at a CAT scanner with a shadowy robot figure behind them, and the moon behind them both
Survival Horror Games Routine review: "This imperfect but wonderfully atmospheric moon-based horror leaves a strong impression"
Destroy All Humans!
Games "Instead of being 80% UFO and 20% on foot, we flipped it": How Destroy All Humans' sci-fi action oddity conquered all
Key art showing Romeo from Romeo is a Dead Man wearing a robotic helmet
Action Games Suda51 says "game development for us is almost like playing a jam session at a live concert", and the electric action of Romeo is a Dead Man has me ready to rock
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater screenshot showing Big Boss pointing a gun and GamesRadar+'s best of 2025 logo is in the top right-hand corner
Adventure Games From Metal Gear Solid Delta to Silksong, the best action-adventure games of 2025 are a rollicking good time
The Outer Worlds 2 screenshot showing companion Niles
RPGs The Outer Worlds 2 review: "The Fallout New Vegas creators have crafted a masterful space age RPG that's willing to play game master to my silliest decisions"
Key art for Marvel's Wolverine, with Logan on the right hand side - his claws are out against a yellow background, with a GamesRadar+ frame that says 'PS5: Five Year Anniversary'
Action Games All signs point to Marvel's Wolverine being the Logan simulator I've wanted for decades, and the next step toward PS5's superhero universe
GTA 6
Games Open world games are some of the most popular in 2025, but as GTA 6 looms, it's about to get competitive
A woman with swords walks through fire in Where Winds Meet
Open World Games Where Winds Meet review: "Sekiro-style combat meets seemingly every videogame idea ever in this bloated but fun open-world martial arts adventure"
Key art for Saros showing Soltari Enforcer Arjun Devraj holding a gun with is eye glowing, in front of a larger figure with many arms, with the GamesRadar+ frame for PS5: Five Year Anniversary
Roguelike Games Saros throws anything that slowed Returnal down out the door, meaning it'll be tough for other games to keep pace with my most anticipated PS5 game of 2026
Trending
  • New Games for 2026
  • CES 2026
  • 2026 Preview
  • The Forge codes
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Sunset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrive's urban jungle-gym is a blast (until you make a mistake)

News
By David Houghton published 12 August 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Don't mess up!

Don't mess up!

The fun you'll have--or not--with Sunset Overdrive all comes down to how well you use one single control input. X, you see, is fundamentally the game's Awesome-button. A carefully timed press of it activates all of its giddy, skiddy, jungle-gym traversal, from zipline slides, to rollercoaster grinds, to grabs and vaults. It's the core of how you get around in Insomniac's gleefully batshit, platform-shooter, and getting around is the core of the whole damn experience.

Because unless you are mantling, grinding, wall-jumping and trampolining your way around the city's skyline, the core shooting can feel a little pedestrian. Of course, it's blown up to ludicrous cartoon heights by a typically goofy Insomniac arsenal--comprising everything from propane-tank launchers, to incendiary shotguns, to weaponised vinyl records--but at ground level, the swarming, multiplying grunt AI tends to make for a rather impenetrable slog. Of course, it's designed that way to incentivise high-flying escapades, but the punishment for a slip or a mistimed rail surf remains a rather instant pull of the fun brakes. This is a game that excels when it feels like a low-gravity, Jet Set Radio with guns. When it feels like you're trying to punch your way out of a pit of angry pigs, less so.

But when it does work, when you're in the zone, spotting each new stepping stone and grinding route several moves in advance, and nailing your stabs of the awesome-button with perfect timing, it's rather a big old hoot. Imagine Crackdown's high-flying, platform carnage crossed with SSX's improvisational, environmental stunting. How much longevity Insomniac can squeeze out of those core mechanics is currently anybody's guess. Mission design and city architecture will have have to work hard to maximise the potential. But if they can, this Sunset Overdrive could be quite the rollercoaster.

Click through the following slides for additional Sunset Overdrive screenshots and information.

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
This is how it all started. Don't drink Fizzco's Overcharge Delerium XT or you'll end up like...

This is how it all started. Don't drink Fizzco's Overcharge Delerium XT or you'll end up like...

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
...this crazy monster with a leaf blower for an arm.

...this crazy monster with a leaf blower for an arm.

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Check out that flair. You can customize your avatar from hairstyles and accessories to body types and tattoos.

Check out that flair. You can customize your avatar from hairstyles and accessories to body types and tattoos.

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Find epic amps and unlock special attacks, like this lightning storm.

Find epic amps and unlock special attacks, like this lightning storm.

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Various mutants lurk through the city, they are called the OD'd

Various mutants lurk through the city, they are called the OD'd

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
CATEGORIES
Xbox One Platforms Xbox
David Houghton
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.
Share by:
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Read more
A screenshot of the upcoming Switch 2 game, Skate Story
I kickflipped so hard I destroyed a moon in the demonic Skate Story, which is already my favorite skater of 2025
 
 
Key art for Skate Story showing the glass skater boarding through a dark underworld filled with spikes towards a door of light
Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
 
 
Captain Wayne screenshot showing the titular character
This nautical take on the boomer shooter is filled with 90s cartoon absurdity, and it's already one of my favourite games of the year after only playing an hour
 
 
Motorslice screenshot of blue haired girl P
I endured physical pain to keep playing this Shadow of the Colossus meets Mirror's Edge action-platformer in Steam Next Fest, which is about the highest praise I can give
 
 
18 years after it owned the Xbox 360 era, Crackdown deserves so much better – and should have one more chance to prove itself
 
 
Ball x Pit
Ball x Pit review: "Vampire Survivors and Breakout collide in this brilliant roguelike ball basher that struggles with repetition"
 
 
Latest in Action
Best games like Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 developer never thought the newly uncovered mystery would be found, says it's "absolutely wild"
 
 
A player flying down a zipline to kill some enemy guards during Assassin's Creed Revelations.
Former Assassin's Creed director believes constraints are the "secret behind any good art" in game dev
 
 
Myles MacKenzie in Metroid Prime 4
Metroid Prime 4 devs wanted to "make sure" MacKenzie "wasn't annoying"
 
 
best zombie games
The Last of Us 2 multiplayer might still be possible thanks to modding efforts 2 years after the spin-off was canceled
 
 
Best Assassin's Creed protagonists: close-up of Arno Dorian during Assassin's Creed Unity.
Former Assassin's Creed director says AAA studios "mistakenly" throw people at development problems
 
 
GTA 6
GTA 6 reportedly might not be "content complete," but the November launch date still feels "more real" than before
 
 
Latest in News
Godzilla Minus One
Godzilla Minus Zero gets a U.S. release date
 
 
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes in Marvel's Thunderbolts
MCU’s Sebastian Stan confirmed to be joining The Batman Part II as Harvey Dent
 
 
Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis in WandaVision
MCU star Kat Dennings denies she's in Avengers: Doomsday, but jokes Marvel has scanned her, so "they could put [her] in anything they want"
 
 
Fallout
Fallout co-creator Tim Cain says "there's so much arguing" about games to the point some fans and devs are leaving altogether
 
 
Paul Giamatti in Black Mirror episode 'Eulogy'
Black Mirror creator confirms season 8 is officially in the works, "just in time for reality to catch up with it"
 
 
Key art for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, showing fighters including Mario, Link, Bowser, and Inkling.
Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai says "it can be really frustrating" working on massive games with hundreds of devs: "There is work that clearly shows your results and work that doesn't"
 
 
  1. Aaron Wei battles a bug monster in Trails Beyond the Horizon
    1
    Trails Beyond the Horizon review: "This JRPG's thrilling real-time and turn-based combat evolves Metaphor ReFantazio's hybrid battles, making up for a poorly paced adventure"
  2. 2
    This alt-history board game is still a gold standard for modern strategy
  3. 3
    Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
  4. 4
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  5. 5
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  1. Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
    1
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  2. 2
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  3. 3
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  4. 4
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  5. 5
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  1. Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things season 5 volume 2
    1
    Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
  2. 2
    Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”
  3. 3
    Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"
  4. 4
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  5. 5
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...