Pressure Overdrive is a zany steampunk shooter filled with action, high speed chases, and an array of vehicle customization. Pressure Overdrive is the definitive version of Chasing Carrots’ first game released in 2013, Pressure. In this enhanced version, you revisit an action-packed world, filled with crazy characters and funky humor, this game breathes new life into the original with new weapons, endless mode, and couch multiplayer mode.
The game begins when Morgan awakens for his morning bath, only to land in the dust of the once full river outside of his house. It appears that tiny robots are collecting all the water and shipping it away! Angered, Morgan takes up arms and joins the resistance to get back his water from the evil Count Soap II. With the help of “La Resistance”, Morgan must fight his way to the bath house that the Count is constructing, a place charging exorbitant fees for baths. Morgan must face a variety of enemies and even a few boss battles that will have you at the edge of your seat.
I have not played a game like this for a long time, and i’m really loving it. A good top down shooter with racing elements like this has not been around for since, well, the original Pressure from 2013! The game provides shooting and driving mechanics that do not resemble that of many other shooters, therefore requiring time and effort to perfect. The game starts off teaching you the ropes with its new tutorial, and begins with easy slow-moving enemies which give you time to learn. In between each level, you are given a chance to upgrade your vehicle at the shop, and boy are there choices for you there. The game seems to promote a few different play styles, ranging from close range aggressive combat to resourceful long range setups, and even aerial attack items that allow to get more air time from jumps. After you progress a bit and build up your kit, you will notice that the enemies attack harder and drive faster, you must keep your pace and stick to your guns in exhilarating battles. If solo is a no go, this game features “couch”(local) multiplayer and encourages two-stick controller gaming. Both the endless and campaign modes support local two player, and you do not need to stick with a partner for your whole play though, a second player can always pick up and play before any mission. The updated two-stick controls worked very well for my Steam Controller, but I also played a majority of the game with my keyboard and mouse to similar results.
The game has a good amount of levels and things to do despite being fairly linear in game play. While the player is limited to the road, and often guided to the end of the level, there is still plenty of room to replay the game a few times. You may play through the game separate times, going for different items and builds, or you could replay every level until you get 5 stars on each score. The couch multiplayer means that you could play the same level by yourself and with a friend, and both times the level would feel different. There is just something about couch multiplayer that makes almost any game more enjoyable! Let us not forget the endless mode, the same mode that seems to be the basis of more and more games on the smartphone market, and definitely a style of play that you can pour a lot of your free time into (not to mention the high scores you can strive for).
This game features a soundtrack that can only be described as funky. The music does well in not feeling repetitive, and the explosion and gun noises are very well done. Nothing pops out or feels annoying as you play. Besides the soundtrack, there are also updated graphics as compare to the original Pressure. These graphics just feel right to me, the art style and attention to detail really catches the eye as you zoom by each level. Cut scenes keep things interesting, and help move the game move along while proving to be entertaining on their own.
I mentioned it before, and i’ll mention it again: they just don’t make games like Pressure Overdrive anymore. The arcade days of crazy back stories and racing shooters are all but over (feel free to reminisce over Spy Hunter from 1983 and Smash TV from 1990). This game is a much needed filler to bridge the gap between the arcade shooters of the past and the games that are coming out today.
All in all, Pressure Overdrive is proof that old habits die hard, and that early video game concepts can come back and perfectly execute what is expected in their genre. This game is a lot of fun, and is very hard to put down. Play it by yourself, play it with your friends, play it with your cat… just play it!
REVIEW CODE: A FREE Nintendo Switch code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.
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