Playing Sunset Overdrive this past week I’ve been surprised by how much more there is to the title than I’ve seen in pre-release coverage. This isn’t just a game where you grind around shooting enemies, it’s a well thought out package that offers a variety of content and options to keep things interesting.
The depth of Sunset Overdrive comes as no surprise to anyone who’s familiar with its developer, Insomniac Games. This is a prestigious studio that crafted not only Spyro the Dragon, but Ratchet & Clank. It’s applied what it’s learned over the past 18 years to making its first current-generation game, and it shows.
Also See: Xbox One Sunset Overdrive Bundle Giveaway
There are a few things I’ve learned during my stay so far, so I’ve decided to compile a list of notable facts about Sunset Overdrive that may help give you a better idea of what it’s all about. Check out the gallery below to find out some details about the game that you might not already know.
10 Things You Might Not Know About Sunset Overdrive
-
You Can Edit Your Gender and Looks At Any Time
At the beginning of your adventure you'll be asked to design a character. You can choose between male and female, both of which have two body types. There are tons of hair styles and options for personalizing your character.
However, you aren't stuck with what you choose at the beginning. Early on you'll unlock the ability to go into a menu and completely change your character. Given that there are two voice actors, one for male and one for female, it's worth switching things up from time-to-time.
-
Sunset City is Large, Colorful Place
Sunset City is where you'll spend all of your time in Sunset Overdrive. It's broken into four main districts, each with a distinct theme that adheres to the futuristic style that the game aims for. This relatively large map is your playground to grind around in. You aren't prevented from going where you want to even early on in the adventure. What you see is what you can explore.
-
All Cutscenes Are in Real-Time
Sunset Overdrive has a tale to tell, ripe with humor. There's a story to follow, and characters to meet. You'll interact with them often through a variety of gorgeous cutscenes. These cutscenes are in real-time, meaning that your exact character will be portrayed during the cutscene. You may want to put together a silly outfit just to see how funny it looks during the next interaction.
-
Several Collectible Currencies
Instead of just having cash in the game, Sunset Overdrive has a variety of currencies. You can collect Fizzco Balloons that are floating around the map, Overdrive Signs on walls, shoes hanging from rails, as well as Overdrive cans. Each of these are used to purchase something different. The more collection-oriented items are used to purchase AMPs (which customize your character's powers and weapon enhancements), cash allows you to buy new clothing, and cans are very important because they're used to buy weapons. You'll definitely want to keep an eye out for these collectibles as you parkour around Sunset City.
-
More Customization Than You Can Shake a Stick At
If you're worried about not having many options for customizing your character and loadout, you shouldn't be. There are a ton of options available from the get-go, and many more you'll earn from challenges or purchase from the store. It's unlikely that you'll ever meet another character online that looks the same as you.
-
Lock-on Helps with Quick Target Sighting
If you're playing Sunset Overdrive the way it's meant to be played, you'll be grinding around performing acrobatics all over the game world. Given it's a third-person shooter by nature, this agility-based defense may appear to make killing enemies difficult early on. However, there's a lock-on that helps you sight enemies (shown as a red circle around the enemy), allowing you to pull off amazing shots on the run without having to aim precisely. It gives you a little bit of wiggle room, still requiring accuracy, but not so much that it's frustrating.
-
There's Much More to Traversal than Just Grinding
If you've seen Sunset Overdrive footage you might be under the false impression that it's all about grinding everywhere as if you're playing Jet Set Radio. That's simply not true. Your can run on walls, and carry momentum around corners. You can air dash to close a gap quickly mid-air. You can dodge attacks and then follow them up with a jump. Many objects in the game world serve as a trampoline of sorts, allowing you to gain height by jumping onto them. Heck, you can even ski across the water for a few dozen feet. Sunset Overdrive combines all of these options to make navigating Sunset City an absolute blast.
-
You Won't Die if You Touch Water
Sunset City is surrounded by water, but thankfully water isn't your kryptonite. You can swim if you just want to go out to sea for a relaxing moment, and if you have enough momentum when you jump in you can ski across the top of the water.
-
There's Profanity and Blood, But You Can Disable Both
One thing that might catch you surprise given Sunset Overdrive's colorful tone is its prevalent use of profanity. The characters emphasize their jokes by cursing often, and blood pours by the gallon.
Thankfully, there are options in the menu to disable each of these. It's up to you whether or not your game experience is mature.
-
Weapons, Traps, and More
Sunset Overdrive is made by Insomniac Games, which means that each of its over a dozen weapons are wacky and intended to be fun to use. You'll be able to select eight weapons to equip at any given time, and you can even equip AMPs to them to enhance their attacks with additional properties, such as turning killed enemies into a TNTeddy explosive.
Also, there are traps you'll learn for setting up defenses, different melee weapons to equip to change how you look when in fisticuffs, and more.
