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
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Anime 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
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Total Film
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
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
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Anime 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
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Total Film
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
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
Trending
  • Pokemon Legends Z-A
  • Golden Joystick Awards 2025
  • New Games for 2025
Don't miss these
Motorslice screenshot of blue haired girl P
Action Games 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
A screenshot of the upcoming Switch 2 game, Skate Story
Action Games I kickflipped so hard I destroyed a moon in the demonic Skate Story, which is already my favorite skater of 2025
Peak screenshot showing two climbers trying to ascend an icy rockface as another scout stands at the top waiting - the Indie Spotlight logo can be seen in the top right corner
Co-op Games Forget Elden Ring Nightreign or Expedition 33, the toughest boss fight I've faced this year is a slippery rock face on an empty stomach
Ball x Pit
Roguelike Games Ball x Pit review: "Vampire Survivors and Breakout collide in this brilliant roguelike ball basher that struggles with repetition"
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon promotional image
Far Cry The new Assassin's Creed Mirage DLC will have to wait, because I can finally play the Far Cry 3 expansion I missed out on 13 years ago
Key art for Absolum showing the main party members in action poses in front of an enemy
Roguelike Games Absolum review: "Classic beat 'em up systems pair beautifully with a run-based structure in this fleet-footed, wonderfully varied Hades-like"
Dying Light: The Beast screenshot of Kyle Crane punching a Biter using the knuckle dusters, with a GamesRadar On The Radar overlay
Survival Horror Games Dying Light: The Beast feels like Action Man: The Game, and I can't get enough of Kyle Crane's badass skull-smashing moves
Donkey Kong punching through rocks in Donkey Kong Bananza
Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza is the best Hulk game ever and makes me wish for the return of destruction-oriented sandboxes
Key art for Dying Light: The Beast showing Kyle Crane stunning an infected undead zombie in waist high water with a taser while raising a machete to finish the job - all while more infected hands reach out of the dense foliage towards him
Survival Horror Games Dying Light: The Beast review – "A playful sandbox of horror and mayhem with a surprising amount of depth"
Skate screenshot of a skater with knee high socks, shorts and a jumper doing an ollie
Sports Games Ignore the haters, Skate might have finally found the perfect formula for a skateboarding game in 2025
A visitor has an encounter with a baby triceratops in Jurassic World Evolution 3
Simulation Games Jurassic World Evolution 3 review: "Far from a fossil, this park builder is one you'll keep coming back to, despite its flaws"
Nate walks across stepping stones in Baby Steps
Open World Games Baby Steps review: "If you craved a tougher hiking challenge than Death Stranding, this is for you – though prepare to get dropped from many great heights"
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Action Games Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review: "So close to being to a pitch-perfect revival of a classic series, but just can't quite line up the killing blow"
Dying Light: The Beast screenshot of Kyle Crane standing atop an electrical tower with a GamesRadar On The Radar overlay
Survival Horror Games Dying Light: The Beast thrives in its smaller map by making every centimeter count, and that makes Castor Woods the best open world in series history
They key art for Kill the Brickman, showing a screaming red bullet blasting through a horde of brickmen and stone as they gasp
Roguelike Games This Balatro-like take on Breakout trades a paddle for a revolver, and I've had a lot of fun combo'ing bullet configurations even if I wish this was more on target
  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.
Read more
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
 
 
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
 
 
Peak screenshot showing two climbers trying to ascend an icy rockface as another scout stands at the top waiting - the Indie Spotlight logo can be seen in the top right corner
Forget Elden Ring Nightreign or Expedition 33, the toughest boss fight I've faced this year is a slippery rock face on an empty stomach
 
 
Ball x Pit
Ball x Pit review: "Vampire Survivors and Breakout collide in this brilliant roguelike ball basher that struggles with repetition"
 
 
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon promotional image
The new Assassin's Creed Mirage DLC will have to wait, because I can finally play the Far Cry 3 expansion I missed out on 13 years ago
 
 
Key art for Absolum showing the main party members in action poses in front of an enemy
Absolum review: "Classic beat 'em up systems pair beautifully with a run-based structure in this fleet-footed, wonderfully varied Hades-like"
 
 
Latest in Action
GTA 6
Rockstar accused of "ruthless" firing ahead of GTA 6, cutting over 30 employees tied to dev union: Take-Two claims "gross misconduct," labor group says "we won't back down"
 
 
Hollow Knight Silksong N64 demake screenshot
Silksong has been sent back in time to the N64 era with a fan-made demake, and I shudder to think of how hard it would be with 5th-gen controls
 
 
Hollow Knight Silksong screenshot of Hornet sitting shocked in a chair
Team Cherry are "healthy workaholics," Silksong voice actor says: "They were working a lot" but understand "people have lives and need to have a good quality of life"
 
 
Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot of Desmond hilding a circular Isu artifact
Assassin's Creed 3's controversial, hours-long opening was meant to solve a classic game narrative problem, but the team didn't realize it was "too long" until "the last two months" of development
 
 
birdcage screenshot showing a character portrait
My new Steam obsession is this love letter to Metal Gear Solid which nails the PS1 aesthetic in a shoot-'em-up inspired by '90s games and anime
 
 
Silksong
Silksong "was much harder when I did it," says Team Cherry tester who also voiced Trobbio: "It was almost entirely nerfs to bosses that I got put in"
 
 
Latest in News
Halo
GDQ's first ever Games Done Queer event already raises over $11,000 thanks to Donkey Kong and hot dog-making speedruns, with Halo CE and Deltarune still to come
 
 
Cyberpunk 2077
Keanu Reeves wants to find a way to play Cyberpunk 2077's Johnny Silverhand again, so series creator Mike Pondsmith quips "I have ways to do that, Keanu, contact me"
 
 
Saints Row 4
Saints Row devs had a debug NPC named Skinballs that helped the team light all skin tones correctly, but modders preferred to wear his literal skin as an outfit
 
 
Aerith from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth prays
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director "would love" to make a AA game with a similar scope to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that's "really focused on one area"
 
 
Woody Harrelson in True Detective
Woody Harrelson has some bad news for True Detective fans regarding his return to the groundbreaking TV show
 
 
Famke Janssen as Jean Grey in X2: X-Men United
Jean Grey actor says Marvel "never ever" asked her to return as her X-Men character after the Fox era
 
 
  1. Spooktacular box art featuring a movie theater suffused with eerie green light
    1
    This is the perfect family board game for Halloween
  2. 2
    It’s hard to imagine there are many gamers who won’t enjoy this quick but tactical board game for 2 players
  3. 3
    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"
  4. 4
    Once Upon a Katamari review: "Time traveling cowboy adventures, ninja thievery, pirate battles, and more make this the most inventive evolution of the series yet"
  5. 5
    Jurassic World Evolution 3 review: "Far from a fossil, this park builder is one you'll keep coming back to, despite its flaws"
  1. Chainsaw Man
    1
    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc review "Storytelling just as compelling as the chainsaws, devils, and visually excessive fight scenes"
  2. 2
    Tron: Ares review: "Misses out by swapping the Grid for the real world"
  3. 3
    One Battle After Another review: "One of the best studio movies in years and an instant classic"
  4. 4
    The Conjuring: Last Rites review: "Not bold or memorable enough for the Warrens' final chapter"
  5. 5
    Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle review: "Roars past Mugen Train as Demon Slayer's best adventure yet"
  1. Liam Hemsworth as Geralt in The Witcher season 4
    1
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  2. 2
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"
  3. 3
    Splinter Cell: Deathwatch review: "A pale imitation of the long-dormant stealth franchise"
  4. 4
    Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills"
  5. 5
    Gen V season 2 review: "As strong as the first season, if not stronger"

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...