Rollerdrome Review – A Future Bloodsport

You may have read our hands-on preview where we took you behind the scenes of the hottest game show on TV, Rollerdrome. Now, join us ringside for a front-row seat and witness the action as it all goes down on August 16th, 2030.

Will Morgan Fray hold onto his title as the returning champion, or will a new player usurp the title from his cold dead hands!? You’ll have to watch to find out. This ad is sponsored by Roll7, Private Division, and of course, our grand daddy corporate overlords in this dystopian future where contestants do tricks while wearing roller skates and shoot each other to death for a cash money grand prize, Matterhooooorn!

Developer: Roll7
Publisher: Private Division
Platforms: PC (reviewed), PS4, PS5
Release Date: August 16th, 2022

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In the year 2030, gladiatorial-based bloodsports have made their comeback. However, unlike in 404 BC, where Gladiators relied on fighting with swords and shields in purpose-built arenas, the landscape has changed since then. However, it’s the future, dammit, and in 2030 AD, combatants have access to more…. sophisticated weaponry like dual pistols and grenade launchers. The X-Games are also incredibly popular in this proposed timeline as well. That means they’ll use ramps, walls, and rails to bust out dope tricks as they glide around on roller skates, competing for the top spot on TV’s hottest game show, Rollerdrome!

Rollerdrome is a ruthless, savage display of violence packed into a fast-paced game show that’s designed to entertain the masses. Combatants who compete on the show, like Kara Hassan, the game’s silent protagonist, must overcome a wide variety of dangerous “House Players.” These players come armed with baseball bats, riot shields, rocket launchers, and full-blown mechs. Now, it might sound like the guys with baseball bats, and riot shields may be the least of your problems, but in all honesty, they’re just as deadly as the others.

Disappointingly, however, there’s not much of a narrative in the game. There are moments in between the show where players get to explore the tiny (and I stress TINY) backstage areas to learn some of the lore involving Matterhorn or get a glimpse of the brutality inflicted on the other contestants, but that’s about it. Kara’s silence doesn’t help with that either because she’s playing an incredibly dangerous game where her life is on the line. You would expect some reaction from the person involved in the match, aside from you and your own sighs of relief.

Press Kickflip to Reload:

Kara has access to four different weapons in Rollerdrome. Dual Pistols, a shotgun, grenade launcher, and an energy rifle that works a bit like a sniper rifle.  The pistols, for instance, have the most ammo but pack the weaker punch, while the shotgun can fire out buckshot or a slug. Each weapon has its own unique traits, and it’s up to you as the player to decide which weapon you’ll use. I fancied the energy rifle by the end of the game and almost exclusively relied on it. It takes a bit of a second to charge up, yet when fully charged, it delivers a devastating shot to anyone unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of the barrel.

As far as being an extreme sport is considered, the controls are tight, and doing tricks is both fun and necessary to your survival in the arena. While ammo is infinite, your guns can only be reloaded by doing tricks, dodging, and performing grinds. While in the air, Kara can also slow down time by aiming at enemies, giving her another tactical advantage. Kara also can’t fall down or wipe out. Like a cat, she always lands on her feet, and honestly? There isn’t anything quite as satisfying as doing a flip and, halfway through the trick, gunning down that sniper who’s been taking pot shots at you from across the map.

When it comes to the enemies, things can get chaotic fast. There’s a decent variety, and they all bring something different to the table. When things got really crazy, it was easy to forget the smaller guys were there. Riot Shield enemies launch mines at you, so they’re harder to lose in a crowd full of explosive chaos, but I digress. In the middle of the game’s many chaotic situations, I was often hesitant to approach even the smallest of enemies. So instead, I’d pick off who I could from a distance, waiting for my chances to swoop in. Collecting any health they dropped as Kara lived her life in a perpetual dodge animation.

One mistimed dodge meant I could take damage and lose my combo streak, which could also mean that there was a much larger chance I would fail one of the stage’s ten challenges. With the exception of baseball bats, everything else offers players a much clearer indication of an impending attack. Snipers take aim at you with a red laser, mines have markers to indicate their proximity, rockets are noisy, and an arrow will give away their position, etc.

Keeping a watchful eye out and avoiding these will earn you points, give you a bullet or two and slow down your combo meter’s degradation. by performing a perfect dodge when the indicators turn white, you’ll go into “perfect reflex mode.” Perfect Reflex works a lot like aiming in mid-air does in that aiming immediately after dodging at the right moments slows down, allowing Kara to do a bit more damage in the short amount of time it’s active. Yep, it’s bullet time, but in the air.

I think my biggest gripe about Rollerdrome, however, is the camera. It’s controlled by moving Kara and is always positioned as if it is “behind her” so that you’re always going forward. If Kara landed backward, it would occasionally throw off her movement though she does try to automatically right herself pretty quickly. Another issue I had was that the camera would often crash into objects behind it. Getting too close to a ramp, for instance, will cause the camera to jerk up and over Kara, and it makes encounters more complicated than they should be.

Behind the Scenes of Rollerdrome:

I wish there were more to talk about, but Rollerdrome doesn’t offer players a lot visually. While I absolutely love the art style, which reminds me of the game Sable. There are only a handful of arenas for players to compete in. This wouldn’t normally be an issue, but in Rollerdrome’s case, arenas are the only thing you spend your time in, shooting at enemies that all look similar to one another.

While the thought of skating around a shopping mall and blasting at guys in jetpacks for a cash money prize is fun, it’s not that interesting after you go there for the third time. Other areas include a roller derby arena, an abandoned ski lodge, and some kind of installation in a bland-looking canyon. I simply wish there was more than there is because the developers could have injected more imagination into them. It feels like the only thing the producers of the show put any thought into was the quantity of the enemies in one space and less on how they could use said space against the competitors.

Thankfully, combined with its fantastic art style, the soundtrack is great, and the pair create a wonderful eighties, dystopian, sci-fi action film vibe. Aside from the chaos of each level, the music really is that thing in the passenger seat that’s driving you forward. The synth beats pumping as you soar through the skies or avoid being burnt to a crisp by a mech’s flamethrowers. It really does feel like something I would have watched on TV as a kid or had on a VHS tape. However, I do think that Rollerdrome needed to include some mind of ringside commentary. This is supposed to be the most popular bloodsport on TV. Not having a commentator or pair of feels like a missed opportunity.

Is Rollerdrome Worth Watching?

I played Rollerdrome on PC, and it ran very well. I did encounter any bugs, but that may be because the initial campaign is incredibly short. It took me about two and half hours to clear the campaign, only having done about half the campaign’s challenges. Another thing worth mentioning is that there are only two bosses in the campaign and both encounters feature the same boss.

After beating the campaign, however, I did unlock the “Out For Blood” mode, where players get to continue Kara’s reign as champion of Rollerdrome. It’s a much more challenging mode where you’ll face every enemy in all arenas because the gloves are off now. Oh, and Kara gets a new outfit too. The outfit of champions!

For completionists and achievement/trophy hunters, Rollerdrome is going to provide you with hours of fun. Even in the standard campaign, it’s more than likely going to challenge you. If you’re just buying the game and looking for something to play, I’d suggest waiting for it to be a bit cheaper.

Review Disclosure Statement: Rollerdrome was provided to us by Roll7 and Private Division for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info. 

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