Star Overdrive

While it could’ve been a bit more fleshed out, Star Overdrive is a genuinely fun version of: “What if Breath of the Wild was Tony Hawk?”

85%Game Brain Score

gameplay, story

grinding

91% User Score Based on 69 reviews

Critic Score 76%Based on 7 reviews

Platforms

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About

Race across an alien planet on your Hoverboard in this high-speed action-adventure. Master tricks, solve puzzles, battle enemies, and shape your destiny!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The hoverboard mechanics are incredibly fun and provide a unique sense of speed and freedom while exploring the vibrant open world.
The game features charming visuals and a catchy retro soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
Puzzles and environmental challenges are engaging, offering a satisfying mix of exploration and problem-solving.

Combat feels clunky and unsatisfying, with enemies often being repetitive and lacking depth in mechanics.
The crafting system is confusing and lacks clarity, making it difficult to understand how to effectively upgrade equipment.
The open world can feel sparse and repetitive, with limited visual variety across different regions.

gameplay
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
57%
9%
The gameplay is characterized by a unique and engaging hoverboard mechanic that enhances movement and traversal, providing a thrilling sense of speed and fluidity. While the core gameplay loop, including puzzles and combat, is generally enjoyable, some mechanics, such as crafting and skill progression, feel underdeveloped and can lead to confusion. Overall, the game offers a fresh take on open-world design, combining familiar elements with innovative mechanics that promise potential for future expansions.
- “The core gameplay loop kept me entertained, with puzzles sprinkled throughout caves offering just enough challenge to keep things fresh.”
- “The gameplay is really fun; riding the hoverboard through the desert feels amazing and by itself is a good reason to give this game a try.”
- “The hoverboard is a new and very interesting mechanic, worth the experience for everyone; no other game gives you this sensation of coolness while traveling.”
- “However, certain mechanics like hoverboard mod crafting and the skill tree felt undercooked.”
- “After 8 hours of gameplay, I'm still not sure what the rules actually are as to when you get boost and when you don't and when you should hold the jump button and when you shouldn't.”
- “The crafting mechanic is also a bit strange in that you throw a bunch of random crafting materials into a bucket and it kind of gives you some idea what effect it will have, but it's mostly just guesswork.”
story
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
59%
11%
The story is generally considered decent, with some emotional moments and a satisfying conclusion, but it lacks the depth to fully engage players. While it provides a backdrop for the gameplay, including hoverboarding mechanics and character progression, many reviewers feel it doesn't serve as a primary reason to play the game. Side quests and collectibles add to the experience, but the lack of tracking for quest points can lead to frustration.
- “The story was an interesting touch, and it did help keep me going throughout the time I did play, especially to find out what happened to the protagonist's girlfriend.”
- “The story is great, nothing too much present but when it is needed, it is there and the quality of writing is very high.”
- “The story is really touching, the end was not completely unexpected but has a strong emotional moment.”
- “The story, while decent and neatly wrapped up by the end, wasn’t strong enough to pull me in deeply or make me desperate for lore.”
- “That would fit the story they're telling, but I wish there were little towns or side quests or something to break up the monotony.”
- “As for the story, it emotionally hinges on you being on board with Bios wanting to rescue his long lost love.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
53%
12%
The music in the game is widely praised for its vibrant and engaging soundtrack, featuring a mix of original tracks and nostalgic rock songs that enhance the overall experience. While players enjoy the ability to discover and play music tapes throughout the world, some express a desire for more consistent background music during exploration to avoid moments of dullness. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's fun and immersive atmosphere.
- “Colorful cartoony graphics and beautiful landscapes, all set to an enjoyable Van Halen pastiche - the entire game is infused with a love for music and it's an utter delight.”
- “The music tapes you find around the map are a nice addition to the soundtrack, initially I felt that the choice of a subtle ambience soundtrack during exploration like in Zelda was a little too much, but the rock songs you can play at any time pump you up at will.”
- “Put on your headphones and let the original soundtrack pull you in.”
- “I do like the presentation of the game, though I wish there were background music when exploring the world.”
- “My biggest complaint so far is the playback of cassette tracks you find - you manually go into a menu to play them, which is fine, but then basically anything interrupts them - little puzzle cut scenes, changing your ability (that just pauses it but still you do that a lot), falling down a pit (which you will probably also do a lot, let's be honest), etc. Just let the music play!”
- “My only two complaints are lack of music while exploring makes the game feel dull at times.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
11%
17%
The game's graphics are characterized by a vibrant, cartoonish style that enhances its musical theme and creates a visually engaging experience. Players appreciate the beautiful landscapes and unique character designs, although some have noted issues with blurriness, particularly on the Switch port. Overall, the visuals are praised for their creativity and ability to evoke a sense of exploration, making the game visually appealing despite some technical shortcomings.
- “Colorful cartoony graphics and beautiful landscapes, all set to an enjoyable Van Halen pastiche - the entire game is infused with a love for music and it's an utter delight.”
- “Visually, the game popped with a bold, cartoonish style that gave each area personality, while the characters leaned into a cool rocker aesthetic that perfectly matched the game’s upbeat tone.”
- “Graphics are very beautiful; there are views of the planet in this game that made me stand still and stare for minutes. The hoverboard is something completely new and alone deserves a positive review, since it’s becoming increasingly rare to see bold gameplay in larger open-world games, especially from an indie team.”
- “Games is good but why does it look so blurry? I expected better from the Switch port, but the requirements and the graphics don't match.”
- “Graphics is overall very clean, but if you disable FSR, it creates a blurry mess (not only in this game, unfortunately).”
- “- graphics”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience, often feeling tedious due to slow-moving enemies and finicky physics puzzles that require precision and backtracking. While the game is accessible and offers enjoyable exploration and puzzle-solving, the grinding can detract from the overall experience, especially when it feels out of place in a non-MMO context.
- “It is also a very accessible game in the sense that there aren't tedious mechanics or deep lore to keep up with; you just hop on your board, zoom through some epic landscapes, solve some awesome puzzles, beat some aliens, and collect some rocks.”
- “Either really slow and tedious with moving platforms or slow-moving enemies you have to charm, or really finicky physics puzzles involving objects on platforms that suck so hard.”
- “They can be fun or they can be tedious and take forever because they require backtracking and a type of precision that the physics of the game does not have, so you end up spending way too much time on them.”
- “If this was a grindy MMO with a long end-game and I was spending what are essentially unlimitedly farmable resources to roll for gear, I wouldn't mind so much, but I don't see how this kind of random experimentation belongs in a game like this.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates excellent stability, consistently running at 60fps on the Steam Deck, with users reporting a smooth experience during gameplay.
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck (60fps)”
- “I mostly played on the Steam Deck and the game runs great.”
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is centered around a touching narrative that revolves around the protagonist's quest to rescue his long-lost love, culminating in a strong emotional climax. While the story is brief, it effectively delivers impactful moments that resonate with players, leaving them eager to explore further.
- “The story is really touching; the end was not completely unexpected but has a strong emotional moment.”
- “The story has its emotional moments; it is short, but I'm far from completing the map, so there's a lot to do.”
- “As for the story, it emotionally hinges on you being on board with Bios wanting to rescue his long-lost love.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is highly praised, with users noting its vibrant and engaging qualities, reminiscent of Sonic but presented in a board game format. Overall, it creates an incredible and immersive experience.
- “Great atmosphere, like Sonic but on a board.”
- “The atmosphere is incredible.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the humor in the game's "game over" screen, noting its dramatic flair juxtaposed with the often absurd situation of respawning in the same spot with enemies still injured. This blend of humor and frequent checkpoints adds a lighthearted touch to the challenging platforming experience.
- “The 'game over' screen is retroactively funny because you sometimes respawn in the exact same spot, with enemies still hurt. It's a bit overly dramatic, but I appreciate how frequent the checkpoints are, especially with the physics-based platforming.”
- “The humor in the dialogue is spot on, making even the most mundane tasks feel entertaining and engaging.”
- “I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously; the quirky character interactions and silly scenarios always bring a smile to my face.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users have noted that the game's optimization is commendable, with particularly impressive performance even on lower-end hardware.
- “Even the performance on deck is very impressive!”
- “The game runs smoothly on various hardware configurations, showcasing excellent optimization.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the settings for a seamless experience.”