Info about Rollerdrome:

Official game description:
  
Rollerdrome is a BAFTA award-winning third person action shooter that seamlessly blends high octane combat with fluid motion to create an action experience like no other. Dominate with style in cinematic, visceral combat where kills net you health and pulling off tricks and grinds provide you ammunition, in this adrenaline-pumping action shooter.  
The year is 2030. In a world where corporations rule and the lines between reality and performance are blurred, the public are kept distracted by the violence and excess of a brutal new blood sport — Rollerdrome. Will you have what it takes to become the Rollerdrome champion and unravel the mysteries behind the Matterhorn corporation’s true intentions?  
From Roll7, the minds that brought you the award winning and critically acclaimed OlliOlli series comes Rollerdrome, an intense shooter-skater hybrid set in an evocative retrofuture.  
**Key Features:**  
*   A third person action shooter like no other – an original hybrid shooter-skater that blends high octane, visceral combat with fluid movement and tricking mechanics into one complementary and challenging whole.  
*   A test of skill – Take on a unique challenge throughout the Rollerdrome tournament. Establish your dominance in the field with online leaderboards and push yourself to the limit with the unlockable "Out For Blood" mode for the most extreme test of skill and agility.  
*   An original identity – An all-new fully original soundtrack that merges iconic era sounds and tones with cutting edge production to provide a heart-thumping backdrop to the carnage, brought to life with a unique comic-book inspired art style.  
*   A dark conspiracy – Discover a mysterious, sinister plot in this distinct retrofuture universe.

Release date: 16 Aug, 2022

Categories: Third-Person Shooter, Action Sports Simulation, Skill-Based Mastery, High Score Chasing, Single-player Story, Movement-based Combat, Arcade


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Striking Audiovisual Style (weight 0.97): Reviewers highly commend the game's unique and gorgeous cel-shaded art style, often compared to 70s/80s sci-fi comics. This aesthetic is perfectly complemented by an excellent, pumping soundtrack and sound design that enhance the high-octane action.
- Uniquely Fun & Creative Experience (weight 0.87): The game is consistently praised for its innovative concept, creative execution, and overall fun factor, often described as a fresh and engaging indie title. Players find it incredibly entertaining and a 'blast' to play, representing good value for its price.
- Deep Skill Ceiling & Replayability (weight 0.85): The game offers a high skill ceiling, appealing to players who enjoy mastering mechanics and improving scores. This focus on skill, combined with challenging objectives and completionist content, provides significant replayability for dedicated players.
- Smooth, Fluid Gameplay & Controls (weight 0.68): The core gameplay loop, movement, and combat are consistently described as smooth, fluid, and dynamic. Controls are intuitive to learn, yet offer a satisfying mastery curve, allowing players to achieve a 'flow' state and pull off incredible maneuvers.
- Satisfying Trick & Combo System (weight 0.23): Performing tricks and building combos is a central and highly rewarding mechanic. Players appreciate the smooth execution of stunts and the intoxication of maintaining momentum and chaining actions for high scores and ammo.
- Varied Weapons & Strategic Fights (weight 0.13): The game features a good variety of weapons that interact strategically with diverse enemy types. Players enjoy switching weapons and utilizing them effectively to take down enemies, with boss battles adding further interest.
- Robust Accessibility Options (weight 0.12): The inclusion of rich assist options, such as invincibility and infinite ammo, makes the game enjoyable for a wide range of players regardless of skill level. This player-friendly design extends to how missions are saved.
- Thoughtful Level Design & Pacing (weight 0.09): Levels are praised for being well-designed, encouraging player improvement, and offering tasks that add to replayability. The brief story segments interspersed between levels are also noted as a nice touch that adds to the game's overall flow.

Common complaints:
- Tedious challenge-based progression (weight 0.62): The game's reliance on challenges for progression and content was frequently criticized, with many finding them difficult, repetitive, and a chore. Players felt forced to perform specific tricks or actions to unlock stages, which halted enjoyable progression and led to a grinding loop that detracted from the core gameplay experience.
- Lacks diverse content and length (weight 0.56): A major point of contention was the perceived lack of content for the asking price, with a short main campaign (around 3-5 hours for 100% completion) and limited replayability. Players noted repetitive environments, a lack of map variety, and few enemy types, with even the sole boss being recycled. The absence of additional game modes, a talent system, or roguelike elements further contributed to the feeling of superficial depth.
- Unfair difficulty spikes (weight 0.53): Many players found the game's difficulty to spike severely after initial levels, leading to frustrating 'bullet hell' scenarios with bullet-sponge enemies and constant retries for challenges. Specific combat mechanics like low weapon power, frequent ammo depletion, and regenerating shield enemies contributed to this feeling of imbalance, making progression unenjoyable for some. The 'perfect dodge' mechanic, while generous, can also be seen as an unintended exploit that breaks the difficulty curve, indicating a fundamental imbalance.
- Unintuitive controls and camera (weight 0.41): Many players struggled with the initial control scheme and camera, describing them as 'obnoxious', 'unusual', or having a 'steep learning curve'. Specific issues included trick input inaccuracy, RC car-like turning, and difficulty managing controls while simultaneously engaging in combat, which was not adequately addressed by the monotonous tutorial.
- Weak narrative and lore (weight 0.4): The game's story and world-building were consistently described as underdeveloped, lacking substance, and failing to deliver on initial intrigue. Players felt that the lore sections, resistance notes, and backstage intrigue ultimately led nowhere, serving more as disconnected filler rather than a compelling narrative that enhanced the gameplay experience.
- Lacks visual and technical polish (weight 0.12): Several technical and visual shortcomings were noted, including a lack of ultrawide monitor support, which caused stretching and limited future-proofing. Players also mentioned blurry graphics, severe jaggies at maximum resolution, and poor, 'frozen' animations for tricks, which detracted from the overall visual quality.

Gameplay feedback:
- Combo-Driven Scoring System (weight 0.27): The core scoring system heavily relies on maintaining continuous combos through enemy kills, tricks, and avoiding damage. Maximizing scores and achieving high ranks requires meticulous planning and flawless execution, emphasizing uninterrupted flow throughout levels.
- Essential Bullet Time Mechanic (weight 0.19): A crucial bullet time mechanic, activated by aiming or perfect dodges, allows players to slow down time for precise shooting and tactical positioning. This "reflex time" also grants increased damage, making its strategic use vital for success and achieving high scores.
- Diverse Enemy Types (weight 0.14): The game features a varied roster of enemies, including standard melee units, snipers, shielded foes, and mechs, each introduced progressively. Players must adapt their tactics and weapon choices to effectively counter different enemy behaviors and attack patterns.
- Tricks Replenish Ammo (weight 0.11): A unique and integral mechanic dictates that weapons can only be reloaded by performing roller skating tricks. This forces players into constant movement and environmental interaction, seamlessly integrating the skating aspect with combat resource management.
- Post-Campaign Challenge Mode (weight 0.1): After completing the main story, an "Out for Blood" mode unlocks, offering a significantly harder version of existing maps with increased enemy counts and damage. This provides substantial replay value and a heightened challenge for veteran players.
- Dystopian Retro Aesthetic (weight 0.1): The game features a distinct cel-shaded art style combined with an 80s dystopian visual and musical aesthetic, reminiscent of classic sci-fi media. While atmospheric, the narrative elements are secondary to the gameplay and explored through brief first-person intermissions.
- Strategic Dodge System (weight 0.07): Dodging is a vital movement mechanic for avoiding incoming attacks and repositioning. Executing a "perfect dodge" just before an enemy hit can trigger special effects, like activating enhanced slow motion or boosting damage, adding strategic depth to combat encounters.

Performance notes:
- Excellent PC & Steam Deck performance (weight 0.13): Players consistently report that the game runs exceptionally well on PC, even on lower-end systems, and performs flawlessly on the Steam Deck. It also benefits greatly from controller input and has low overall system requirements.
- Stable and bug-free gameplay (weight 0.02): The game is noted for its stability, with players reporting a complete lack of bugs or technical issues during their playtime. This indicates a polished user experience.
- Perfect ultra-wide resolution support (weight 0.02): Players specifically highlight that Rollerdrome offers perfect support for ultra-wide monitor resolutions, providing an immersive and visually optimized experience for users with such setups.
- Unobtrusive game presentation (weight 0.02): While vague, some feedback indicates that the game's overall presentation elements do not hinder or detract from the gameplay experience. This suggests a functional and well-integrated visual and auditory design.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended Experience (weight 0.47): Many players strongly recommend Rollerdrome, praising its unique gameplay and entertainment value. It's often rated highly and seen as a worthwhile purchase, especially for those seeking a fresh arcade experience or a challenging shooter.
- Unique Blend of Genres (weight 0.44): The game is frequently described as a blend of extreme sports games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or Jet Set Radio with fast-paced third-person shooters, often featuring bullet time and challenging combat similar to Doom or Devil May Cry. While some compare it to 'Tony Hawk with guns,' others note it's a more distinct experience.
- Recommend Buying on Sale (weight 0.43): A significant number of players recommend purchasing the game during a sale or through a key reseller, as the full price is often considered steep. Many feel it offers good value when discounted, making it a more accessible purchase.
- Controller Recommended/Required (weight 0.38): Reviewers emphasize that playing with a controller is either highly recommended or outright required due to the game's optimized button layout and precise controls, suggesting a suboptimal experience with keyboard and mouse.
- Strong Desire for Sequel (weight 0.14): Players express a strong interest in a sequel, hoping for further development of the game's unique concepts and mechanics. This indicates a positive reception and a wish for more content.
- Check for Controversy (weight 0.08): One reviewer specifically advised checking for 'rollerdrome controversy' before buying. While the nature of the controversy isn't detailed, it signals a potential external factor influencing player decisions and is based on limited feedback.
- Motion Sickness Caution (weight 0.02): Players susceptible to motion sickness should be aware, though adjusting the Field of View (FOV) to 90 degrees can reportedly help mitigate the issue. This is an important heads-up for a segment of potential players.
- Combat Focus vs. Free Play (weight 0.01): One player expressed a desire for a more straightforward 'eliminate all enemies to advance' structure, suggesting a slight misalignment with the game's emphasis on scoring and complex movement, or perhaps a preference for a less constrained combat experience. This highlights a specific gameplay expectation.

Other player notes:
- Uncertain Game Availability & Dev Fate (weight 0.2): The game has faced delisting from Steam, regional purchasing restrictions, and its future is uncertain due to corporate decisions by 2K Games, including the alleged layoff of the Roll7 development team and the liquidation of Private Division. This has created significant concern among players regarding the game's continued accessibility and potential for further development.
- Improve Controller UI/Bindings (weight 0.1): Although a controller is highly recommended, players provided specific suggestions for improving the control scheme and user interface. This includes requests for clearer on-screen prompts for grab sequences and weapon selection, specific keybinding suggestions (e.g., grind to B), and advice on optimizing controller configurations within Steam.
- Mixed Leaderboard Engagement (weight 0.05): Player sentiment regarding leaderboards is mixed; some see them as the only remaining content, while others are uninterested in competitive rankings or desire social competition with friends. This suggests leaderboards cater to a specific segment of the player base.
- Adequate Sound/Music (weight 0.01): The game's audio design, including its sound effects and music, is generally described as 'okay,' indicating it is neither particularly outstanding nor notably poor, based on limited feedback.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.2): Players feel satisfied by achieving mastery, understanding complex mechanics, and successfully completing challenges or the game itself. This is often enhanced by the game's smooth controls, excellent visuals, unique blend of skating and shooting, and rewarding progression system, which provides replayability and a strong sense of accomplishment.
- Excitement (weight 0.16): Players experience excitement from the game's fast-paced, high-octane, and stylish gameplay, which creates an adrenaline rush and a thrilling 'in the zone' flow state. This is often fueled by performing advanced maneuvers, the unique blend of genres, energetic music, and the overall 'cool' aesthetic and concept of the game.
- Disappointment (weight 0.12): Disappointment primarily stems from external factors like developer layoffs and the game's delisting, alongside internal issues such as the short game length, repetitive content, and lack of variety in levels, enemies, and bosses. Players also express disappointment when the game doesn't meet expectations regarding challenge, depth, or the balance between its core mechanics.
- Frustration (weight 0.09): Frustration is largely caused by the game's high and sometimes unfair difficulty, including a steep learning curve for controls and specific challenges. Players also get frustrated by design flaws such as repetitive environments, bullet-sponge enemies, poorly designed boss fights, and issues like camera problems or bugs that can prematurely end a run, especially when aiming for high scores.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Players find enjoyment in the game's fun, fast-paced, and fluid gameplay, often reaching a "flow state" that makes the experience engaging and rewarding. The unique blend of genres, excellent art style, and sound design further enhance this enjoyment, creating a challenging yet highly satisfying overall gaming experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.07): Players appreciate the game's creative and stylish blend of genres, along with its unique cel-shaded art style, excellent music, and intuitive controls. This appreciation also extends to the well-designed gameplay systems, overall technical quality, and the developer's clear focus on crafting a novel and well-executed experience.
- Joy (weight 0.06): Joy stems from the game's consistently fun, high-action, and addictive gameplay that often evokes a feeling of being cool and skillful. Players express joy from a smooth overall experience, particularly when playing well, and the satisfaction of loving the game from start to finish.
- Admiration (weight 0.05): Admiration is directed towards the game's exceptional overall quality, its ingenious design as a masterclass in combining genres, and its nearly perfect balance. Players specifically admire the unique, gorgeous art style, fantastic soundtrack, and the developers' successful execution of a vision focused on flow, style, and fun.
- Challenge (weight 0.05): The emotion of challenge arises from the game's inherent difficulty, a steep learning curve, and the demand to master all mechanics to succeed. Players find the game challenging due to its increasing difficulty, brutally tough gameplay, and the very high skill ceiling that requires significant focus and optimization for mastery.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Engagement comes from the game's addicting combo-building and the strategic balancing act required by its core gameplay mechanics, which lead to intense battles. Players also feel engaged by the game's challenge and fun factor, with some even becoming emotionally invested in the story.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret is expressed due to external circumstances affecting the game's developer, specifically the studio's closure and the perceived poor treatment of the developers by the publisher.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope is centered on the desire for the game to leave a lasting legacy and to inspire the creation of similar titles in the future. Players also express hope for a more ambitious sequel, building on the game's foundation.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm is primarily driven by players' strong positive feelings for the game, leading them to highly recommend it to others.
- Consideration (weight 0.01): Consideration for the game is tied to its perceived value relative to its price and the amount of content it offers. Players weigh whether the game's cost is justified by its gameplay and replayability.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises when players personally dislike the game or find it doesn't deliver the expected "badass" feeling, despite acknowledging its objective quality or positive aspects.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom sets in due to a repetitive gameplay loop, a perceived lack of story, and features like auto-aim or the inability to fail tricks, which can make the experience feel less engaging or like simply clearing levels rather than actively playing.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is caused by extreme frustration stemming from various bugs and flawed mechanics in the game, leading to irritation and a feeling of rage during gameplay.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise occurs when players find the game's actual feel and gameplay style to be significantly better than their initial expectations.
- Confidence (weight 0.01): Confidence is exhibited in a player's belief in their own ability within the game, as well as their strong conviction when recommending the game to others.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia is triggered by the game's ability to evoke a sense of the past, often through its retro aesthetic or vibes that remind players of older gaming experiences.}