ONRUSH Xbox One Review

It may look like one, and is from a team of racing game specialists that worked on the likes of Motorstorm and Driveclub, but ONRUSH is not a racing game. Well, it certainly isn’t a traditional racing game, in any case. Yes, this slick and stunning game is something entirely different, and it’s actually the type of experimental game that you would expect to be released by an indie developer as opposed to a company the size of Codemasters. Still, all respect to them for taking a risk with such a refreshing action and racer hybrid that very much goes against the grain.

If ONRUSH isn’t a racing game, then what exactly is it? Well, forget about your position when out on the track as this really doesn’t matter at all; ONRUSH is all about driving with style and aggression. The game has four very different gameplay modes to its name, but none of them have you hoping to cross the finishing line in first place, or crossing any form of finishing line at all.

First up we have the Overdrive mode. This mode is all about boosting as well as using your vehicle’s all important Rush ability, which thrusts you forward in a flurry of speed, and both of these things earn you points towards your team’s overall score. Countdown mode meanwhile has you driving through gates in order to keep your team’s personal time topped up, with any wreckages obviously leading to lost time during the moments when you are forced to wait for a respawn. The Switch mode has everyone starting out on motorcycles, and every time you or anyone else are taken out by an opponent or some messy driving, you are forced to switch vehicle, with said vehicle being stronger than your starting vehicle, although you lose a life. You only get three lives in the mode, but in a nice touch if you do happen to run out of them, you are still able to respawn and hunt down any opponents whom still have any lives left. Finally, we have the Lockdown mode, which is a struggle to dominate a moving zone, leading to lots of speeding vehicles as well as plenty of aggression.

As you might imagine then, and with such a focus on speed and aggression, whatever mode you might play ONRUSH is definitely what could be called a very chaotic game, particularly with up to twelve opponents on the track as well as fodder vehicles, which are nothing more than quickly dispatched vehicles to crash into in order to keep your boost topped up. Speaking of the all important boost, you’ll get the opportunity to do this a lot in the game, as many things actually help you to earn it. With that said, it’s definitely a game that is structured around speed.

Adding in a fair amount of depth, ONRUSH also has eight different vehicle classes, which all perform differently, but are all easy control thanks to their arcade-style handling. One of the vehicles Rush ability’s only charges up when driving close to teammates for example, whilst said Rush ability also gives any teammates travelling in close proximity a speed boost of their own once activated. Another vehicle has the Rush filling up when taking out opponents, and when activated a trail of blockades are left behind, slowing any opponents down whom come in to contact with them. This vehicle can also give nearby teammates a handy shield. These are just a few examples, and if you are playing the game more seriously as part of a team, then ONRUSH has a fair amount of tactical depth to help get you and your team a win.

The game has a single player Superstar mode, which certainly gives you an idea as to what is going on in the game if nothing else, which is definitely helpful given that those used to traditional racing games will very likely be rather confused at first. The superstar mode has a traditional set-up with you just basically going against AI opponents in single races or in tournaments across the game’s four modes, but there is plenty of challenges for you to complete as well. Then of course there’s the multiplayer mode, and this is where the true competitive spirit of the game comes alive, knowing that you are going against living and breathing opponents.

The 12 tracks are certainly a likeable bunch, with some feeling wide open with plenty of potential for finding different paths, while others have you in a tight squeeze against opponents, which is exciting considering that one of the game’s focal points is on wheel-to-wheel action, and there’s also plenty of jumps to be found. Each track can also be played at night as well as across different seasons, which adds to the variation even though 12 tracks doesn’t really seem all that much. Let’s hope that we will see more tracks and modes in the near future, which will help assure the game’s longer term appeal.

ONRUSH is a hugely successful twist on the arcade racer that I can guarantee is like nothing you have ever played before. It’s an exhilarating and splendid looking game that always has you close to the action, and it feels truly refreshing in its genre. Hopefully the game will be just as successful as it deserves to be, and we’ll see a long and bright future for this exciting and aggressive racing game.