Microsoft has done a good job on delivering solid console exclusives for the Xbox One so far this year. However, Sunset Overdrive was a huge question mark because Insomniac had a lot to prove with the game. Their last big retail release, Fuse, was about as generic as they come and while Sunset Overdrive certainly looked the part, confidence wasn’t exactly high that they could pull off what they were promising. Thankfully they did, delivering on the colorful promise of its trailers, as well as a whole lot more.
It is undeniably a bright, loud, open-world shooter like its trailers proclaimed it to be. But its handling of traversal, through speed and momentum, and its heavy dose of customizable charm are what makes the game stand tall. It is Dead Rising mixed with Tony Hawk and turned to 11. Everything about Sunset Overdrive is absurd. From grinding on rails while shooting dynamite strapped to teddy bears, to wading in decorative pools to gather leaches for a sick LARPing king, to rescuing a quadriplegic scout master from the back of a garbage truck, everything in Sunset Overdrive is insane. But somehow Insomniac ties it all together and makes a cohesive world that you feel a part of and want to explore and have fun in. It is hands down the best thing Insomniac has done outside of the Ratchet & Clank series, and one of the highlights for the Xbox One to this point.
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