Thoughts on Star Overdrive

TL;DR – Hoverboard good, grinding bad, 6/10

Just finished playing Star Overdrive, and I have a few thoughts.

• I'm a big fan of movement mechanics in open world games. I'm a firm believer that simply moving around and getting from A to B can be fun in and of itself (i.e. Spider-Man, Prototype, Just Cause, Gravity Rush). When I spotted Star Overdrive in the PSN store and saw the hoverboard gameplay, I was sold. It looked right up my alley. Fortunately, the hoverboard gameplay is the best part of the game by a country mile. It's fun, fast, and even challenging at times. I will say that the controls are a bit simplistic for my liking, but it's not bad at all. (I'm so used to driving in other games that not pressing L2 or R2 feels weird lol.) Also, I'm not a fan of not being able to turn the camera while riding, but at least the camera is good as is.
• On top of the general hoverboard gameplay, the racing and hunting ground missions were the most fun I've had in the game so far. (The hunting ground missions in particular reminded me of Dune.)
• The open world is huge and beautiful. Perfect for a game like this.
• The final boss was pretty challenging and fun as well. I really think the game is at its best when it focuses on the hoverboard mechanics.
• Now come the negatives. Despite the fun hoverboard gameplay, most of this game is long, tedious puzzle platforming that doesn't involve the hoverboard at all. The puzzles are pretty easy, but they're just very time-consuming. The platforming can be a pain in the ass because it requires a lot of backtracking if you mess up, and there are very few options to make it easier. (I'm mainly referring to the maze-like area. That area sucks.)
• The game has a crafting system to upgrade your hoverboard. Basically, you gather materials to create parts that will improve your board. This also allows you to create a build where you can improve certain features over others. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of gathering and crafting in video games, so this didn't really appeal to me. On top of that, once you've gathered the materials and chosen the ones you want to use, you then have to pay with currency – green crystal shards – to craft the item. It's an arbitrary and entirely unnecessary extra step. Lastly, the ability to ride on certain surfaces is tied to your crafted items, so if you want to ride on water, you have to craft an item with a material that will give it that ability and equip it to your board. Again, it just feels arbitrary and unnecessary.
  • I tried for a more well-rounded build, but ended up nearly maxing out the "Bond" feature. I don't think that was entirely my choice…
• Speaking of arbitrary and unnecessary, the skill tree is almost entirely useless. You can finish the whole game barely even touching it. I'd say the most useful ability is near the top, which is the ability to fast-travel between towers, and getting the skill points power nodes to upgrade your skills requires either completing races or going through the long, tedious puzzle platforming sections.
  • Also, is it just me, or does it feel like every game has a skill tree nowadays? There has to be more creative ways to improve your skills.
• There aren't a lot of combat sections in the game, and most of them – specifically the hunting ground missions and boss battles – are streamlined to the point where you're mostly just mashing one button. The sections where you can mix up your abilities and use them to fight enemies feel clunky and are often short and even entirely avoidable.
• The story itself is actually pretty short, and I predicted about halfway through how it was going to end. Considering how basic the story is, I'm almost certain the crafting and puzzle platforming sections were made to pad out the game.
• Overall, I'd still recommend the game just for the hoverboard gameplay, but the long and tedious grinding is definitely no good. If I had to give this a number score, I'd give it a 6 out of 10. (I'd be interested to see how this compares to the upcoming Sword of the Sea.)