Review: Rollerdrome – Skate For Survival

It’s about time to take part in peculiar ‘death games’ organized in a dystopian, futuristic reality. Skate for survival and enjoy this unique styled artwork and design, while gliding through intense rollerblading gameplay. Let yourself dive into Rollerdrome, a driving school with no handlebar!

The makers of OliOli are famous for creating randomized realities, characters and engaging gameplay. The latest project of theirs, Rollerdrome, is a mix of comic books from the 70s inspired by the Tony Hawk series. Moreover, the model of skating reminds me of the smash hit released years ago – Aggressive Inline. What is the main similarity? The rollerblades. However, there are no skateboards known from OliOli.

Kara Hassan, the protagonist of Rollerdrome, perfectly fits the art style of the latest Roll7’s game. She wears a red, tight costume, a white helmet, and holds two pieces in her hands. I found out that Rachel Cox, who was responsible for the character design, right before the premiere, pointed out she was looking for inspiration throughout the comic books. The players, who are not familiar with comic books, could interpret the character of Kara Hassan as Lara Croft – clear female features with two guns aimed at male opponents. The story of Kara takes us to the year of 2030, directly to the death games arena, which is the main attraction of this uncommon reality. Thanks to the mix of electronic music from the 70s with the modern skating tunes, the creators made a soundtrack that could easily stand up to artists such as DaftPunk, at least in my view.

In other words, the soundtrack is motivating, and zings up the rate of action, which is far more intensive than one could imagine. Why do I mention the soundtrack at the very beginning? If you have ever tried to master such games as the Tony Hawk series, or the aforementioned Aggressive Line, then you know what a vital role music and sound plays in video games. In Rollerdrome, sound does the job, despite its futuristic world presented in a rather raw graphic setting. The soundtrack perfectly fuses you into the gameplay, making you retry each of the arenas over and over again – and trust me, you’re going to retry many times. Rollerdrome is a TPP game. The goal is to roller skate, avoid the gunfire, and do the tricks. Yup, you’re going to do pirouettes in order to score points, regularly taking down the opponents appearing on the arenas. 

The difficulty level rises along with entering each phase of the death games – from the qualifications, through the quarterfinals, semifinals, and right to the ultimate showdown. As usual, you start with a quick tutorial, where you learn the very basics – simple tricks and fancy stunts. However, the variety of combinations is somehow limited because Rollerdrome is not all about tricks. Skating on vert ramps, rails and driveways to score points isn’t the only goal – you also have to take down your rivals to increase the multiplier. It differs from similar titles, where you have to create chains of tricks in a matter of seconds to multiply your score. Here, you need to get your hands dirty to get the best score, and, I must admit, it’s not going to be a piece of cake. Along with each phase, Rollerdrome gets more difficult. The style of skating differs depending on the tournament phase. It’s easy to get wiped out of an arena, however, the game does not severely punish you for that, it just takes a piece of life bar away. 

Rollerdrome is Addictive

This game focuses on the reaction time. However, the main character’s maneuverability is not as quick as one could expect. If you come across a run of good luck, your kill rate won’t stop. Nevertheless, not pushing the jump button on time can result in a failure. Rollerdrome is an exceptionally dynamic game, which requires remembering the given section. Moreover, the forthcoming opponents make it hot for you. Apart from the regular thugs, you come across armored units, striking with a series of rockets. Also, there are snipers and enemies equipped with shields. When there are 8 opponents at the arena, including three snipers, two armored units, and guys throwing mines all over the place, things get pretty nasty – in such moments Rollerdrome releases its full potential.

Mostly, the snipers take up space at the edges of the ramps, or higher viewpoints regardless of the given arena design. Our protagonist has the ability to duck, which executed in the right moment, gives you a decent bullet time – something known from the Max Payne series. Rollerdrome offers you the possibility of a quick shelling at breakneck speed, when using the Reflex mode – time slows down, while you shoot a salvo at your enemy. The arsenal consists of four types of arms, whereby each of them gets unlocked at a certain phase of the tournament. The pair of pistols, turn out to be the most practical choice. It’s worth switching weapons during firefights, because each enemy type has a different tactic. In Rollerdrome, it’s easy to drop dead, especially in the later phases of the tournament. So, probably you will need to retry particular levels many times.

All in all, I recommend this game to anyone, who enjoyed the Tony Hawk series and third person shooters – It’s a fusion of sports and shooting games with an outstanding artwork and engaging soundtrack.