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
      • Big in 2026
      • 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
      • Big in 2026
      • 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
A young James Bond smirks in 007 First Light with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame
Action Games 007 First Light will do something no Bond game has done before – slow down: "Players might be surprised"
MIO: Memories in Orbit screenshot showing a little, nimble robot called Mio meeting a larger machine. The GamesRadar+ Indie Spotlight logo can be seen in the top right-hand corner of the image.
Action Games I was ready to take a break from Metroidvanias after Silksong, but this beautiful indie rekindled my obsession
Cairn
Survival Games Cairn review: "This climber has a grip on me – even when it loses its footing with awkward systems"
best Xbox One games
Games The best Xbox One games of all time
Forza Horizon 6 key and May 19 release date
Forza Horizon Forza Horizon 6 looks like the pinnacle of open-world racing games: "It really is just about driving wherever you want and exploring"
Clockwork Revolution
RPGs With Clockwork Revolution, inXile aims to "bring the level of reactivity from our isometric titles into something first-person"
Aaron Wei battles a bug monster in Trails Beyond the Horizon, cropped for a closer view of the action
JRPGs Trails Beyond the Horizon review: "This JRPG's thrilling real-time and turn-based hybrid combat is finely balanced"
Bradley the Badger screenshot of a badger holding a console controller with a gamesradar Big in 2026 overlay
Platforming Games This adorable upcoming platformer is a love letter to video games where the world is broken by design
Highguard screenshots
FPS Games I love Highguard's 2Fort-style sieges – when they actually happen
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"
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"
Avowed new screenshot xbox series x
Games Best Xbox Series X games: The 25 greatest Xbox games to play in 2026
Best action games - God of War screenshot of Kratos facing off with a giant white dragon, holding a human head in one hand
Action Games The 25 Best Action Games to Play in 2026
A close-up of Wolverine in his iconic yellow and black X-Men costume, grimacing as he raises his claws close to this chest - cropped from the game's key art with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 frame
Action Games With Wolverine set to elevate superhero gaming in 2026, here's the four features I want the most, and four I'm desperate to avoid
Best Xbox 360 games: a screenshot of an Xbox 360 console next to a controller and a collection of games.
Games 25 Best Xbox 360 games of all time
Trending
  • Fable 4 interview
  • New Games for 2026
  • Big in 2026
  • Arknights: Endfield 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
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Read more
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
 
 
18 years after it owned the Xbox 360 era, Crackdown deserves so much better – and should have one more chance to prove itself
 
 
The Outer Worlds 2
In a curious crossover of stuff I love, The Outer Worlds 2 improves one of Avowed's jankiest features – and the only game I can compare it to isn't even an RPG
 
 
Selene stands in front of lots of cracked space suit helmets much like her own in the key art for Returnal, with the PS5 5 year anniversary tag on the left
I'm still obsessed with one of the PS5's best-kept secrets: Returnal is a twitchy roguelike shooter in a sci-fi nightmare that won't get out of my head
 
 
A distant flare illuminates the sky in Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders review: "The most memorable multiplayer experiences I've had all year – this shooter is tense but wonderfully approachable"
 
 
Latest in Action
GTA San Andreas
After 21 years, GTA: San Andreas speedrunners discover a wild 31-step skip for the open-world game's original PC port
 
 
A screenshot shows Raiden space battle
Japanese shooter studio was skeptical of Sony's PS1, but not for the same reason as everybody else: "They've got beards"
 
 
Hollow Knight: Silksong cutscene screenshot showing Hornet lying on the ground in front of her nail
"I felt empty inside. I needed more Silksong": Hollow Knight Silksong player builds ultimate boss with Reddit-voted mods
 
 
Holding the Nintendo Switch 2
Metroid Prime 2 and Pikmin 2 aren't coming to Nintendo Switch 2 Online after all, if you believe Nintendo
 
 
Chales Vane lays on the ground, shouting, face spalttered with blood
Latest Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag remake leak prompts Ubisoft to directly respond with a classic GTA San Andreas meme – "Ah, s***, here we go again"
 
 
Grand Theft Auto 5
GTA 5 Online update fixes a million bugs, and now some players will no longer randomly spawn in the ocean
 
 
Latest in News
The President with a demon stood behind her in the Oval Office
Blumhouse developing adaptation of The Exorcism at 1600 Penn
 
 
Ian McKellen as Magneto in X-Men
Ian McKellen lets slip details on how much damage Magneto does in Avengers: Doomsday
 
 
Scooby-Doo the series/Scooby-Doo: The Movie
Scooby-Doo star Matthew Lillard chimes in with thoughts on Netflix’s live-action show
 
 
A screenshot of the upcoming RPG Escape From Ever After
This obviously Paper Mario-inspired RPG is finally out "after 5 long years" with near-perfect Steam reviews
 
 
Dispatch screenshots
Dispatch dev says it couldn't get away with a port like Cyberpunk 2077's, is working with Nintendo to address censorship
 
 
Spider-Man 3
Sam Raimi would be open to making a Spider-Man sequel, after all
 
 
  1. Veiled Fate box displaying the logo, a maze, and silhouettes heroes, sat on a wooden surface
    1
    This hidden role board game makes me feel like a puppet master, so Traitors fans should listen up
  2. 2
    Cairn review: "This climber has a grip on me – even when it loses its footing with awkward systems, the challenge remains surmountable"
  3. 3
    The Doom Arena Board Game is hell on Earth (in the best way) | Preview
  4. 4
    This award-winning board game is a five star must-have
  5. 5
    Code Vein 2 review: "This vampire take on Elden Ring almost works, but the dungeons themselves lack bite"
  1. Return to Silent Hill protagonist James Sunderland
    1
    Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
  2. 2
    28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
  3. 3
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  4. 4
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  5. 5
    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"
  1. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams in Wonder Man.
    1
    Wonder Man review: "A low-key gem that's up there with the MCU's best"
  2. 2
    Starfleet Academy review: "It may feel a little different to what we're used to, but this is Star Trek through and through"
  3. 3
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
  4. 4
    Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
  5. 5
    Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”

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...