Maybe I totally missed it, but before today’s developer demo for Sunset Overdrive at E3 2014, I had no idea you could create your own character from scratch. Sure, the game’s lanky, spike-haired mascot says as much in the trailer from Microsoft’s press conference (“not me, you!”), but I somehow hadn’t been made aware that this is a game that puts personalization of an avatar completely in the hands of the player. In fact, creative director Marcus Smith specifically noted how he doesn’t want to recreate the RPG dilemma of wanting to wear one stylish garment, but selecting an uglier one out of obligation “because it offers +2 dexterity.” This was when I knew Marcus speaks my language.
Sunset Overdrive’s world is incredibly vibrant, and today’s demo further gummed that trait to near everything is has to offer. The plot concerns a zombie apocalypse induced by a noxious energy drink known as Overcharge Delirium XT, and if the name doesn’t put you off, its effects will; any and all drinkers are instantly turned into writhing, Delirium-hungry zombies. Of course, this is Sunset Overdrive, so the zombies are orange, and herky-jerky, and ultimately quite hilarious. If this were any deeper in Insomniac’s wheelhouse, they’d burst.
The E3 demo was hosted by Marcus Smith and Drew Murray, and after a brief recap of how and why the game came to be (in the wake of Resistance 3’s gritty and somber terrene), they dove right into exactly why gamers ought to be excited. Sunset Overdrive contains a nice palette of enemies to dispense of, from the various types of OD’d mutants (Poppers, Herkers, and Blowers, to name a few), to the groups of human gangs who will confront you on your quest to expose the corrupted FizzCo corporation for their mutant-generating schemes. One thing I found impressive was not just the expansiveness of Sunset City, but the way that various missions and objectives are seamlessly integrated. A particular encounter required grinding roller coaster tracks while violently dispatch hordes of Poppers, and the whole thing began seamlessly as soon as the area was approached by the player. No transitions, no loading screen, no “entering the mission.” The chaos at hand is always happening — it’s just waiting to be dealt with.
Insomniac has an army of Ratchet and Clank titles under its belt, and as such they’ve become quite adept at conceiving not just interesting weapons, but scores and scores of updates and modifications that improve and alter the way said weapons operate. Sunset Overdrive takes full advantage of this inherent strength, and despite its slightly more realistic bent when compared to Ratchet, the weapons appear to be equally as wacky, if not – shockingly — even more so. A particular gun shown during the demo had the player launching literal vinyl records at foes, with upgrades called “amps” that can be slotted to drastically alter how a given gun works. Theoretically, you could slot an amp that imbues weapons with fire onto the vinyl gun, and launch spinning discs of fiery death straight into the faces of those pesky Herkers. Smith wouldn’t give me a number, but it’s easy to imagine the total combination count reaching well into the hundreds.
Another thing about amps, too; you can’t just load up on them and expect to freeload the benefits at no cost. Amps are powered by style points, and though it may sound like a drag to maintain a meter in order to use special abilities, traversal of Sunset Overdrive’s world is so incredibly fun that the result is actually the complete opposite. Once you find a rhythm of sliding, swinging, and grinding as you simultaneously fight enemies, it becomes second nature, and I think Drew Murray put it best when he noted that “if you play Sunset Overdrive on the ground, you will die.”
Insomniac touted some other unique features, like a show called Sunset TV that actually broadcasts from within the game, and even demoed team multiplayer, a mode that Marcus Smith told me omits free-for-all because it would be “complete and utter chaos.” That’s something I’d personally like to see, but regardless, I don’t doubt that Sunset Overdrive will deliver its own unique brand of chaos on Xbox One come its release this October. As long as I can supercharge ice beams and fuse them with deadly vinyl records in order to cause a Herker to impale itself using its own enormous digger arm (yes, that’s a thing you can do), then I’m at least willing to give it a try.
