Rollerdrome

93%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,201 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • music
Rollerdrome Game Cover
The Roll7 team have achieved an original greatness with Rollerdrome across the board: original concept, 80s nostalgia music and art—augmented with super fluid mechanics and gameplay.
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Buy Rollerdrome on PlayStation Store. Get your adrenaline pumping as you shoot and skate your way through Rollerdrome.

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Reviews

93%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,201 reviews
gameplay135 positive mentions
grinding26 negative mentions
  • Incredibly fun and dynamic gameplay that combines skating and shooting mechanics seamlessly.
  • Stunning art direction and a catchy soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • Challenging yet rewarding, with a steep learning curve that encourages mastery of the game's mechanics.
  • Progression is locked behind completing specific challenges, which can feel tedious and frustrating.
  • The difficulty spikes significantly in later levels, potentially overwhelming players.
  • Limited content with only a few maps and enemy types, which may lead to repetitiveness.
  • gameplay322 mentions

    The gameplay of Rollerdrome is widely praised for its smooth mechanics and engaging blend of skating and shooting, reminiscent of classic titles like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Max Payne. Players appreciate the depth and challenge of the gameplay loop, which encourages mastery of tricks and combat strategies, although some find the difficulty curve steep and the reliance on challenges can detract from the overall experience. The game's vibrant art style and intuitive controls further enhance the enjoyment, making it a standout title for fans of fast-paced, skill-based action.

    • “Rollerdrome is a fantastic example of a game that has a clear direction and excels in its primary gameplay without trying to fill space.”
    • “The gameplay is very intuitive - I’m surprised how quickly I picked it up - while still offering a solid level of challenge and comfortable chaos that makes for some very exciting and replayable levels.”
    • “The mechanics enter your head and you go into a 'flow state' of skating and shooting, but the slow-down mechanic gives you enough room to also constantly make meaningful strategic decisions.”
    • “The game presents Kara Hassan like she's a character, but she has no personality in gameplay.”
    • “A lot of the challenges provided by enemies and game mechanics are just annoying and not fun to play around.”
    • “The gameplay, for me, just ended up being about dodging constantly and it completely took me out of doing tricks.”
  • graphics169 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their vibrant cel-shaded art style, which effectively combines retro aesthetics with modern design elements, creating a visually striking experience. Players appreciate the fluid animations and clear visual cues that enhance gameplay, although some have noted performance issues and a lack of variety in environments. Overall, the unique artistic direction and cohesive aesthetic contribute significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout in its genre.

    • “Incredible fluid animation, love the art style.”
    • “The visuals pop, enemies are easy to spot and track, and watching Kara shoot while spinning in slow motion never gets old.”
    • “The art style is amazing and a very bold choice, as it may seem 'primitive' to the untrained eye.”
    • “Why minimalist art style but bad performance?”
    • “There is a lack of variety in terms of visuals, not enemy types.”
    • “When I saw the graphics, I was afraid it would run as poorly as Sable.”
  • music130 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread praise for its energetic and fitting soundtrack, often described as a blend of synthwave and retro-inspired tracks that enhance the gameplay experience. Many players appreciate how the music complements the fast-paced action and unique visual style, creating an engaging atmosphere. However, some reviews note that while the soundtrack is enjoyable, it could benefit from more dynamic elements to elevate the overall experience further.

    • “If you're a fan of high octane combo driven skating games, a whole lotta bullet time, sick cel shaded art style and pleasant soundtrack, then this is for you.”
    • “The soundtrack is perfect for this game, as it is much like the futuristic tech slammer music that the 80's inspired.”
    • “The fast-paced combat, beautiful cel-shaded graphics, and dark retro-futuristic synthwave soundtrack were all big magnets for me and I can see how other gamers will be drawn to these things as well.”
    • “The music is too weak; the 'bullet time' feels clumsy rather than empowering, the tricks feel too disconnected from the shooting, and shooting doesn't feel punchy enough.”
    • “The OST is very middling, and I think it's the biggest thing holding this game back from being absolutely stellar.”
    • “The only real letdown is that the soundtrack is only okay; when a stellar soundtrack would have put this game over the top.”
  • story122 mentions

    The story in "Rollerdrome" is described as minimalistic and often secondary to the gameplay, with players noting that it is primarily conveyed through environmental storytelling and scattered dialogue rather than a cohesive narrative. While some appreciate the intriguing dystopian themes and the subtle world-building, many feel that the story lacks depth and is not compelling enough to stand on its own, often feeling derivative of other narratives. Overall, the game offers a fun experience with a light story that serves more as a backdrop to the action than a driving force.

    • “With smooth gameplay and excellent environmental storytelling, Rollerdrome delivers a memorable experience.”
    • “The story makes you feel like you're going up against impossible odds and makes each win all the sweeter.”
    • “The game sprinkles just enough story here and there so that you'll understand the setting, the backstory and personality of the main character, the stakes, and why she's participating in a blood sport.”
    • “Telling your whole story through small descriptions isn't compelling when they're so few and far between.”
    • “Unfortunately, this never happens, and the story has no actual payoff.”
    • “The story is mostly an afterthought.”
  • replayability37 mentions

    Overall, the game boasts high replayability due to its intuitive gameplay, challenging levels, and a variety of objectives and challenges that encourage players to return. While the main campaign is relatively short, many players find themselves drawn back in to improve scores, complete challenges, and master the mechanics, making it an addictive experience. The combination of fast-paced action and score-based gameplay further enhances its replay value, appealing especially to completionists and high-score chasers.

    • “Incredible game with gorgeous presentation and fantastic gameplay, absolutely dripping with style in every corner. The matches are just the right amount of challenging to remain interesting, and the list of challenges makes it easily replayable just to try and improve. Exactly the kind of game we should all be celebrating.”
    • “The challenges also add a lot to the replayability, too, because if you like to chase down the challenges, you'll be replaying these levels a few times to knock them all out.”
    • “While the main campaign might be short, it has tons of replayability with S-ranking and objectives.”
    • “It is also on the shorter side and doesn't feel that replayable to me.”
    • “Second, while the replayability is there from a combat and combo perspective, I do wish there were more maps to play around in.”
    • “The game itself is short, but quite replayable.”
  • grinding26 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it tedious due to the necessity of replaying levels to complete challenges and progress. While some appreciate the blend of trick-based gameplay and combat, others feel that the lack of variety and the game's heavy focus on difficulty can make the experience feel like a slog, especially in later levels. However, some players enjoy the satisfaction of mastering the grinding mechanics and completing challenges, suggesting that the grind can be rewarding despite its repetitiveness.

    • “If I have to come up with cons, the only one probably would be that progressing in this game can be a tedious task.”
    • “Unfortunately, the designers decided to lean in *hard* on difficulty over pretty much anything else, and the result is that most levels beyond the first two or three are a tedious slog.”
    • “I understand the appeal of the gameplay loop is switching between tricks and combat, but there's not enough variety or character progression to keep things from getting tedious.”
  • optimization14 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is highly praised, with users noting flawless performance, especially on the Steam Deck, and a well-executed minimalist art style that enhances gameplay. The controls are described as tight and responsive, contributing to a smooth experience without performance or stability issues. Despite some minor flaws, the game delivers excellent performance across various aspects, making it a standout in terms of optimization.

    • “Extremely optimized and performs flawlessly.”
    • “Controls super tight, presentation appealing and easily 'readable' gameplay wise, competently optimized and so far is running without any performance or stability issues.”
    • “The cell shaded aesthetic enables awesome performance eclipsing your maximum refresh rate with adequate hardware.”
    • “Why minimalist art style but bad performance?”
    • “The game values memorization, optimization, and execution much more than it does creativity and improvisation.”
    • “Performance with this minimalistic style is - as you should hope - perfect.”
  • stability7 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is generally positive, with most players reporting minimal glitches and smooth performance, particularly on the Steam Deck. However, some users have noted specific issues, such as buggy grinding mechanics that detract from the experience, suggesting that while the game is well-constructed, it still has areas needing improvement.

    • “Runs great on Steam Deck.”
    • “Runs great on Steam Deck.”
    • “The game offers some nice graphics and a nice aesthetic, although there are some ugly glitches here and there.”
    • “Grinding feels extremely buggy; if you jump out of a grind and grind again, you magically snap to the rail. It feels very, very alpha-state.”
    • “Is it buggy?”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The atmosphere in Rollerdrome is highly praised for its engaging blend of calm anticipation and chaotic action, enhanced by a striking art style and an excellent soundtrack. While some players may find the oppressive atmosphere challenging without prior experience with similar games, the overall ambiance contributes significantly to the enjoyment and excitement of the gameplay.

    • “Wonderful art style, amazing atmosphere, and a great soundtrack so far, not to mention it's pretty damn fun.”
    • “If you've not played the prerequisite inspirations that are being built upon here then that oppressive atmosphere could feel suffocating, especially with a rather monotonous tutorial.”
    • “Rollerdrome is loaded with atmosphere; I'm particularly fond of the short 'run up' to an arena - a much-needed moment of calm and anticipation in contrast to the violence and chaos of the match itself.”
    • “Tony Hawk's on roller skates with guns... death combos, bullet time, cel-shaded beauty, all in a rollerball atmosphere.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of darkly comedic backstory elements and the player's own experiences, such as the contrast between initial struggles and eventual mastery of the gameplay. The relaxed exploration segments add a humorous layer to the dystopian setting, while the gameplay itself evokes a nostalgic, fun vibe reminiscent of classic titles like Tony Hawk's Underground 2.

    • “I also appreciate the more relaxed, first-person exploration in between matches, which gives the player some often darkly humorous backstory about the dystopian world of 2030 and the international Rollerdrome Federation.”
    • “It's funny because I completed these last levels pretty smoothly after being stuck and thinking I needed it to be easier.”
    • “At the beginning I did not understand the game, but after 45 minutes I became a killing machine. The game is great and has that Tony Hawk Underground 2 vibe; completing the levels is funny.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game includes options to slow down gameplay and provide unlimited bullets, which can be accessed through ads, making it more accessible for newcomers to the genre.

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Critic Reviews

80% average critic score

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Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
5-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs

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