Like A Record Baby.
Prepare to take one of the wildest rides of your life… Roundabout is one crazy freakin’ experience, but is that a good thing? I can sum it up in one word… actually, no I can’t.
If you go into Roundabout expecting a complex story, or any story at all for that matter, then you’ll be sorely disappointed. But, if you watch any of the games trailers, you’d be foolish to expect anything more than an honest-to-god good time from Roundabout. Instead, you get a; 70’s inspired, insanity driven, driving experience from the team at No Goblin, and that is not a bad thing at all.
Set in the ‘open-world’ playground of Roundabout City, you take the role of Georgio Manos, the worlds first (perhaps last), revolving limousine driver. The premise of Roundabout is extremely simple. You drive around, doing transport jobs for people, and buying hats for your one-of-a-kind limo (yep, seriously), whilst also destroying half the town and (accidentally) mowing down most of it’s inhabitants.
From a gameplay perspective, Roundabout is rather simplistic… if a tad infuriating at times. The main aspect of the game would be the ever-present fact that your wonderful limo is constantly spinning. This, is the game’s ‘gimmick’, it’s Unique Selling Point, it’s jena-se-quois… so to speak. It honestly makes the game, absolutely insane. As you can tell, it makes movement… rather difficult. Trying to time your movements perfectly is a refined ‘art’, and the overwhelming sense of pride when you successfully pull it off is something quite remarkable. However, understandably, it can get rather ‘tedious’, and from time-to-time, I experienced a bug locking me in a constant death cycle.
“But aren’t all the deaths and often ‘agitating’ nature of the game the real reason we chose to play it?”, why yes… yes they are. I can see how some people will find the game pointless, and I can see how some people will find it charming and quirky. But from a perspective of a cynical git like me, I seriously don’t know what to say about this game. At times, I was playing for a good few hours, and at other times, I was only playing for a few minutes. Roundabout is a mixed experience, and it often seems designed to appease people in certain moods. The competitive challenges and leaderboards also help make it quite addictive to play, and they definitely give the game replay-value once you’ve completed the ‘story’. But the question is, how long will it last? To which I respond, it depends what kind of games you enjoy.
I cannot deny the charm of the 70’s inspired cutscenes and design. I cannot deny the ludicrosity of the game’s mechanics. Yet I also can’t help myself see how Roundabout is a one-trick pony. After the novelty has worn off, how often are you going to play this game? That really depends on what you think of it. If you’re on the one side of the spectrum which adores the look of the game and thinks it would be a BLAST to play, then you’re going to enjoy it. But if you’re on the other side, which isn’t impressed and thinks it looks ‘irritating’ and ‘repetitive’, you’re going to hate it.
Roundabout is definitely a matter of perspective. If you like a, simple, fast-paced experience which doesn’t take itself all too seriously, I think you’ll love Roundabout… for a while. But if you’re more into a complex, deep game, with a lengthy progression system… I can’t see you enjoying it.
Roundabout is the definition of casual game. It’s a game you can play for a few minutes, or a few hours, depending on your state of mind. I enjoyed the time I spent with Roundabout. Yes, it has it’s flaws… sometimes it’s too simplistic, and sometimes it’s just too repetitive. But it also has it’s charm, quirkiness and fun gameplay. Roundabout may be absolutely ridiculous, but I bloody loved it.
7.5/10
Disclaimer: A copy of this game was provided to me for review by the publisher.
You can purchase Roundabout on Steam: HEREYou can also follow the dev’s on Twitter: HERE
The Freelance Critic 