Xbox Reviews

Review for Pressure Overdrive

 Pressure Overdrive

 

Combining the shmup genre with a top-view racing experience. I’m sure you can find others with a similar idea but this is the first time I played it, and… I absolutely love it! Please read on and see why you need to buy this game now! 

 

The one with the biggest canon doesn’t always win

THE GOOD

  • Right off the bat you know that you are going to play something special, the story just screams originality and (French) humour. In short, a villain steals all the water so he can start his exclusive public bath house…to ask large sums of money to whoever wants to use it. Told you it was something special, right?
  • The customization options is one of the reasons why you’ll love Pressure Overdrive so much. You can totally make your own play style and play how you want to play. Some weapons are much stronger than others but run out of ammo faster than Pokémon Go’s appeal. Anyway, it was a blast discovering every option and how it changed the gameplay, although I have to add that the progression for buying new things is disappointingly slow.
  • Pressure Overdrive is a wonderful single player experience but it shines even more when you play it with a local friend. At any moment a second player can jump right in, making things even more hectic and fun. Xbox One has a few local co-op gems and Pressure Overdrive is surely one of them now.
  • I have to be honest and say that I didn’t really do my research before playing this game, to my surprise I was really pleasantly shocked by the visuals. It looks colorful and bright, the overall presentation is top-notch too. With clear menu’s, a well working UI and a great level and enemy design.
  • The on the rails level progression might sound scary at first but don’t worry. You decide how to drive your car while shooting and dodging enemy fire. It’s a little awkward at first but you get used to the controls fairly quick. Anyway, the constant fight for pressure (ammo) to use your weapons and abilities keep the game very engaging and really fun to play.
  • I didn’t get bored playing the campaign but I had the most fun with the endless mode. The buggy from the campaign doesn’t follow you, at first I thought that was a bummer but I quickly fell in love with the random selectable upgrades that you get while progressing the mode. Each Endless play through starts from 0, so you could say this is a little rogue-like, this is the perfect mode to challenge your friends with high scores though!
Cars and fire.. not a good combination.

Mixed Feelings

  • Despite all the action, the different ways of playing and an overall great gameplay package, Pressure Overdrive might become a little repetitive for some players. Personally I never got bored but as a big Shmup fan I loved this different take on the genre.
Balloons, a red carpet.. I feel special!

THE BAD

  • All the chaotic action can give some issues in the later levels of Pressure Overdrive, the frame rate doesn’t stay smooth. Nothing game breaking but it’s worth writing down, it came as a surprise at first though because most of the times the game runs really well.

Pressure Overdrive is a surprisingly excellent game that could and hopefully will find a way to reach many gamers on Xbox One. The mix between the Shmup genre and racing is so much fun and well-balanced! I can recommend getting this game ASAP, especially if you play a lot of local co-op games.

 

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