Onrush breaks tradition with the arcade racing genre by introducing objective-based modes and team play for a chaotic good time.
Onrush
Developer: Codemasters Evo
Price: $59.99
Platforms: PlayStation 4 [reviewed], Xbox One
MonsterVine was provided with a PlayStation 4 code for review.
I’ll cut to the chase on this one: Onrush is a rad game. It could’ve easily been developed as a traditional arcade racing game, but Codemasters Evo (the team behind Motorstorm and Driveclub, before joining Codemasters) took a different approach. Onrush, instead, is a chaotic mix of objective-based modes and team play akin to first-person-shooters like Battlefield or Overwatch. All eight vehicles in the game come equipped with abilities that offer depth not typically seen in racing games. In fact, Onrush is more of a car combat game than it is a racing title, and it works. But outside of the action, the game can stand to be more fleshed out, making the launch of Onrush feel more like a platform that Codemasters Evo will build upon.
In order to understand Onrush, let me take you through a match of Overdrive, one of the four objective-based modes in the game. In Overdrive, two teams of six players (all of the modes are six-on-six) earn points by using boost, and a winner is determined after whichever team wins three rounds first. Before the match starts, the player will choose one of eight vehicles, all of which have their own unique abilities.
The abilities feel more in line with class-based first-person-shooters like Overwatch or Battlefield. For example, the Dynamo is like a mix of a healer and support class as it allows the driver to provide boost for their team. In a mode like Overdrive, the Dynamo is extremely effective in helping the team rack up a ton of points.
The class-based approach is a fresh and exciting addition for a racing game. It provides a depth to Onrush I rarely see in other arcade racers. The more I played, the more I noticed how each vehicle requires a different approach to any given mode, like Lockdown, where players must control a moving zone in a King of the Hill style fight. A team with at least one aggressive vehicle, like the Enforcer, can help knock opponents out of the zone.
Once a match of Overdrive starts, players will quickly learn there isn’t a starting grid or finish line. Instead players are thrown right into the action, which Codemasters Evo calls the “stampede.” When playing online this term carries more weight because it means you can drop in mid-match, similar to something like Call of Duty’s multiplayer. It makes Onrush feel more like a pick-up and play game.
As the match gets going, players will quickly notice A.I. controlled vehicles flooding the map. These are the fodder vehicles, which when taken down, give players boost. Taking down an opposing competitor will also provide boost, but the fodder allows drivers of any skill level to stay on an even playing field. I really appreciate that Codemasters Evo designed the game to feel balanced for people that may struggle against more skillful players. It made playing online more approachable, which is not something I can easily say for a lot of multiplayer games.
A single match of Overdrive is fast, chaotic and destructive. As cars are tossed around from colliding with each other, the actions seems to ramp up. I found it easy to be swept away in the madness. The game helps by spawning players back into the middle of the action if they fall behind. If you happen to be one of the players on the receiving end of a takedown, you can watch a replay of the wreck. Then, after basking in your humiliation, you get a chance to switch your vehicle. The game lets you know which of the eight classes are currently in use on your team.
The tracks in Onrush are designed to allow players to go fast. Most of the turns and straightaways are wide and offer a lot of verticality. Despite how large and wide the tracks feel, the action always manages to nudge the competitors back together. Choke points are scattered across the maps as well, and there are plenty of crashes in those sections.
My only issue with these maps are the settings. The design of the tracks work just fine, but it was tiresome seeing the same off-road style backgrounds that you would find in some of Codemasters’ other games like Dirt (important note: the team behind Onrush is not the same team behind Dirt). I wish the game took a bigger risk when it came to different environments.
Once the chaos ends, players can earn loot crates for unlocking items. So far, there are no micro transactions, but to me, it seems like Onrush’s loot crates can be monetized in the future. There are a lot of items to unlock in Onrush and I appreciate the no-pay system it has going on right now.
I really enjoy unlocking cosmetic items in Onrush because I’m totally into personalizing my look in games. Even though I may not get a chance to gawk over my vehicle as an opponent is destroying it, I like knowing that said vehicle has a sweet design of a cat holding a fish plastered on it.
The game offers a sort of career mode to give players a good sense of some of the tactics that will be useful online. However, I wish the single player mode were more fleshed out. It’s totally serviceable, especially for helping me learn its concepts. But given its length, which is a bit long, I had hoped that there was more to it than just bouncing from race to race. Outside of the career mode, and custom game mode for offline, there’s not much else to do. Online seems to be the main hook for players to come back to. But as of the writing of this review, even multiplayer is sparse without the inclusion of a ranked mode, which is coming down the line.
The Final Word
I really dig what Onrush is doing with its approach to the arcade-racing genre. The game is chaotic, an element I always find appealing in games. I do wish Onrush offered more outside of the action, but it seems like Codemasters Evo’s approach is to build upon what is already there. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain this game with content worth diving back into, but for now I enjoy what’s already there.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
