Scrap Riders Review – Cyberpunk Beat ‘Em Up

Developed by Games For Tutti, Scrap Riders is one of the earliest indie releases of 2023, and that too with a unique cyberpunk setting mixed in with pixelated graphics. The game tries to blend up two different genres and actually succeeds for the most part, as we noticed while preparing this Scrap Riders Review.

However, everything is not perfect, but the highs definitely outweigh the lows, and we will discuss more about the game below.

Story And Setting

The game begins when you wake up as Rast in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk setting. He has just woken up from a hangover and starts up his console to play a game to clear his mind. That videogame will act as a tutorial level for the player and will teach you the basic controls of the game.

From there onwards, the story of the game slowly unfolds, as Rast is basically a smuggler, and transports goods in order to make ends meet. Giant evil corporations are supposedly in charge of everything that goes around, and our protagonist has to work as a member of an outlaw biker gang tp survive.

The story isn’t something that will intrigue you much, and it is the gameplay that is the key highlight here. However, the setting is still going to play a major role in keeping your attention throughout your playthrough, because this pixelated take on a cyberpunk dystopia is probably one of the most charming interpretations that I have seen in a game in a long. And the levels themselves are additionally detailed.

Gameplay

The gameplay is the best part of Scrap Riders. It is an adventure at its core, but there’s a catch. There are beat ’em-up elements mixed into the whole thing, but exploration is mostly done via a point-and-click system. You’ll be going through various levels and talking with multiple NPCs, all the while waiting for the action to break out, at which point things get way more complex during combat like in an arcade fighting game.

You can use your punches and kicks to chain combos during combat, and environmental objects can also be interacted with and thrown at your opponents. Rast can even use his gun and fire bullets at his enemies, but this of course is limited by your ammo count. There is a lot of variety here, and you can play around with multiple additional elements.

Now that was the combat, but the second half of the gameplay revolves around exploration, which itself is pretty simple and easy to do. During these sections, you’ll talk to people, interact with the world, and basically do anything you might expect from a point-and-click title. There are even some puzzles that add variety and help to break up the monotony, but most of these are either really straightforward or just not fun to do.

Basically, you’ll either be exploring the beautiful levels or fighting your way through waves of enemies. A lot of this can get repetitive really fast, but thankfully the music that plays during exploration and combat is also excellent and the soundtrack really fits the whole vibe of the game. 

Visuals And Performance

As we’ve already mentioned before, the pixelated visuals in this game make for some of the most charming locations we have seen in a sci-fi indie game. A lot of smaller games like this usually nail the art direction in their visuals, and Scrap Riders is no exception. It even goes above and beyond in many respects, especially when it comes to adding it’s own unique twists.

As for the performance, the game runs smoothly on most PCs, and it even has a stable Nintendo Switch Port. You will definitely not run into any frame rate drops as this game has pixel graphics and is 2D additionally. Most low-end PCs will be easily able to run the game as well. 

However, there are some bugs in the game currently, and we hope that the developers will fix them soon enough. These won’t have a huge effect on your overall experience, because aside from small inconveniences, the game will run perfectly well on any supported platform.

Verdict

Scrap Riders is a fantastic addition to 2023’s indie games scene. It has many great things to offer, including exploration and combat, and what it lacks in story, it makes up for with fun combat. The design of some puzzles is also not up to the mark, but most players are going to focus on the fighting more anyway.

If you’re the type of player who prioritizes gameplay more than the story, then Scrap Riders should be a must-play for you. Aside from that, the art direction and unique visuals are just the cherry on top that further enhance your experience with the experience. 

This has been our Scrap Riders Review. While you’re here, consider checking out some of our other articles.

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