80's OVERDRIVE
- November 19, 2020
- Insane Code
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam"80's Overdrive" is a 2D pixel art racing game that brings you back to the era of 8 and 16-bit consoles. Compete in career mode to unlock new races, cars, and upgrades, or challenge yourself in time attack mode. With a track editor, 6 retro supercars, 8 visual themes, and 18 synth/retrowave music scores, this game is packed with retro, handcrafted pixel-perfect joy.
Reviews
- The game features vibrant pixel art graphics and a nostalgic aesthetic that captures the essence of classic arcade racers.
- The soundtrack is enjoyable, featuring catchy synthwave tunes that enhance the retro experience.
- Gameplay is straightforward and accessible, making it a fun choice for both casual players and fans of old-school racing games.
- The collision detection is often frustrating, with traffic and police cars behaving erratically, leading to unfair crashes.
- The game can feel repetitive due to a lack of track variety and the scaling difficulty of opponents, which can diminish the sense of progression.
- Resource management mechanics, such as repair costs and race entry fees, can create a grindy experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- music95 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received a largely positive reception, with many players praising its vibrant synthwave soundtrack that complements the retro aesthetic. While some find the selection enjoyable and nostalgic, others feel it lacks variety or fails to match the game's theme. Overall, the soundtrack is often highlighted as one of the standout features, enhancing the overall experience despite some criticisms regarding specific tracks or gameplay integration.
“The game is chock-full of retro charm, featuring a fantastic selection of classic cars, a killer synthwave soundtrack, and an authentic pixel art style that oozes '80s cool.”
“Gods, this is some of the best music I've ever heard in a video game.”
“Great retro racer with an absolutely amazing soundtrack.”
“The song that plays every time you go to the stage select screen gets incredibly annoying though.”
“The only real con is the vaporwave soundtrack.”
“Sounds are cheap and awful, mix is abysmal (my own engine is almost inaudible) and the music is this disgusting 'let's desperately try to sound like the 80s, even though they're long gone and we were never part of them' bullshit, that can't make its mind up between wanting to sound like C64 chip tunes and boring mainstream 80s synth pop.”
- graphics67 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful retro aesthetic, vibrant colors, and nostalgic pixel art style reminiscent of classic 16-bit racing games. Many reviewers appreciate the attention to detail and the overall atmosphere created by the visuals, although some note inconsistencies in the execution, such as issues with parallax effects. Overall, while the graphics are a standout feature, they are often accompanied by mixed feelings about the gameplay experience.
“The stunning art style plus the great music selection are delightful.”
“The graphics really capture the look and feel of 16-bit racing games, whilst multiple tunes (naturally selected via an outrun style radio) provide plenty of variety for the ears.”
“Beautiful retro graphics.”
“Well, they got the aesthetics right, but that's about it unfortunately.”
“The graphics won’t make your GPU sweat, nor will the download size make your storage complain.”
“It tries to stay true to the 80s graphics, but the parallax effect is all kinds of messed up, and even the old OutRun games did tunnels better.”
- gameplay65 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its nostalgic retro feel and arcade racing elements, but criticizing its repetitive mechanics and lack of depth. While some enjoy the resource management aspects and customization options, others find the driving mechanics frustrating and the overall experience tedious, particularly due to issues like collision mechanics and the grind for upgrades. Overall, the game offers a decent experience for fans of classic racing games, but may not hold up for those seeking more modern gameplay complexity and challenge.
“Fun retro gameplay and graphics.”
“The gameplay itself is solid, offering a good balance of arcade racing fun and challenge.”
“This game is stuffed to the gills with stages and modes and has an addictive gameplay loop of racing hard for money to buy better cars to race even harder.”
“The gameplay just doesn't click.”
“The engine behavior and shifting mechanic feels terrible, where the car simply stops feeling 'right' when you need to shift up.”
“The gameplay is very slow, with no sense of speed.”
- story28 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as simple yet effective, providing a nostalgic arcade feel, but it suffers from a lack of depth and engagement in gameplay. Players find the side missions enjoyable, though frustratingly limited by bugs and a long grind for achievements, with some missions being one-time opportunities that cannot be replayed. Overall, while the missions add variety, the need for better mission design and more engaging gameplay elements is noted.
“The game is just really fun; it's even got a simple but effective storyline to go with it, which really makes you feel like you're back in the arcades.”
“As for the career mode, after finishing a race, the next one is unlocked until you eventually reach the end of the story.”
“The side missions are really good; a pity they appear randomly.”
“The grind is incredibly long and unrewarding, and all of the special missions are a one-time thing, so if you decline or miss it, you lose out on the achievement until you start a whole new game.”
“However, if you fail the quest, it's gone and you can't replay said quest unless you start a new game.”
“What's less fun is the need to balance your budget, earning money from races or side quests to ensure you can afford fuel, repairs, upgrades, and race fees.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 91 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and overly demanding, particularly due to the money system and the need for constant repairs and upgrades. While the game starts off enjoyable, it quickly becomes repetitive as players are forced to replay earlier races to accumulate cash for necessary improvements. Overall, the grind can detract from the fun, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It's a fun game, a bit on the grindy side.”
“I think the money system in the game is a bit overkill and becomes very tedious.”
“Car damage/repair costs, refueling, police and aggressive traffic + a participation fee for races, some of those mechanics can be good for a game, but this is just tedious and forces you to replay easy races to get some cash for upgrades and repairs.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players finding it hilarious, especially during chaotic moments like accidents with other racers. The comedic elements contribute to the overall enjoyment, even as the game becomes more challenging with new tracks and cars.
“It's hilarious when it causes an accident with the other racers.”
“I'm just laughing at the 'very positive' rating of this game.”
“It's funny, and don't be fooled by the fact that it may seem easy at first, because as soon as you start unlocking new tracks and buying new cars, the going gets tough.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express a mix of frustration and curiosity regarding the emotional experience of the game. While bugs and gameplay mechanics can lead to significant frustration, particularly with the risk of losing progress during long races, the nostalgic 80's overdrive style evokes a sense of intrigue and engagement. Overall, the emotional response is characterized by a blend of annoyance and fascination.
“The style of 80's overdrive made me feel curious about it exactly because of the presence of all these features that I've previously mentioned.”
“The races are very long and touching anything will destroy your progress unless you have maintained the lead for a while and have a large one.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally solid, running smoothly even on older systems like Windows 7. However, players note that the cars feel interchangeable due to identical maxed-out performance stats, and the repetitive track design detracts from the overall experience.
“Cars are just skins, as you can upgrade every car to max possible performance.”
“Game runs smoothly even on Windows 7.”
“Cars are just skins, as you can upgrade every car to the maximum possible performance.”
“Most of the shortcomings come from the design of the tracks. Besides the background visuals and lane size, they feel pretty much the same, especially when you have to run through the same 8 landscapes multiple times.”
“The performance of the cars is lacking; they have exactly the same stats when maxed out, differing only in how they're allocated at the start.”
- stability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game demonstrates solid performance on low-spec machines, but suffers from significant stability issues, particularly with collision mechanics. Players report frustratingly unrealistic damage from minor collisions, which detracts from the overall experience.
“It runs great on my low-spec Windows 7 machine.”
“The game has been incredibly stable, with no crashes or bugs during my playthrough.”
“I've experienced smooth gameplay with consistent frame rates, even during intense moments.”
“Collisions are awful and buggy as hell. You can start a race and crash into a dumb AI that has blown its engine at the start, and you can't even avoid them if they are right in front of you. That's how awful turning your car actually is. Your car will be completely wrecked from one hit. This is not normal, as high-speed collisions take about 2-5% damage, while this low-speed, unavoidable collision immediately kills you. It's the most annoying thing in the world.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate a strong dislike for monetization practices, particularly microtransactions and modifications that detract from the gaming experience. Many users express nostalgia for the early days of game development, where creativity thrived under budget constraints without the influence of aggressive monetization strategies.
“Whether it includes microtransactions or not, I hate the goddamn modification bullshit.”
“The discipline of creating games with minimal budgets and no advertising in the early days of game development made it a meritocracy where sometimes one person alone did the best they could out of the hardware limitations.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features charming pixel art graphics, with well-designed cars contributing to an overall appealing atmosphere, despite some disappointment regarding the non-pixelated ground plane.
“The lovely pixel art graphics create a charming atmosphere, complemented by the beautifully designed cars.”
“The atmosphere is truly immersive, drawing you into the game's world with its stunning visuals.”
“The combination of vibrant colors and detailed environments contributes to an enchanting atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
