Carmageddon: Rogue Shift Review

Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is set in 2050 where the world has become a post‑apocalyptic wasteland and is invaded by hordes of nightmare creatures called the Wasted. Every night, the streets are overrun, forcing everyone to barricade themselves in their skyscraper-homes for survival. Your goal? Survive every race in order to escape this hellish nightmare.

Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a car combat game and is the latest entry in the Carmageddon franchise whcih was last seen in 2014 with Carmageddon: Reincarnation. The premise is pretty straight forward; race around tracks and survive. Pick up ammo to damage the opposition and rack up some Credits to upgrade and solidify your murder weapon.

When jumping into the game, you’ll thrown into a world map where you’ll follow various paths to events. Some areas will be more linear, others, you’ll be able to choose between 2 and 3 events. Once you select an event, the other paths are locked out. Additionally, some dots on the maps will be shops and garages where you can either upgrade your ride or fix the damage to your vehicle respectively with Credit; the in-game currency. Not only will other racers try to get you, but you’ll also have giant green blobs walking around, police cars and the Wasted walking around.

Events vary from typical races where you need to finish in the top 3 in order to progress, survival races where you need to survive for a set amount of laps within the alloted time as police cars, a.k.a. enforcers, attempt to take you out. You’ll also have Elite events; these are more intense races that require you to finish first, otherwise it’s game over. And then there’s also boss battle; either you have to destroy specific boss vehicle(s) while other drivers impede your assault. Or you race 1v1 against a boss racer and if you fail to win the race, it’s (again) game over. There’s also scavenger hunts where you’ll open cargo to earn new perks and weapons.

Each race also has secondary optional objectives; you’ll either be asked to kill a set amount of zombie, wreck X amount of racers, drift for X meters; just to name a few. And when you die, it’s game over and you’re back at the start of everything. However, in order to let players feel like they progress, by winning races, you’ll earn beatcoins that can be used in the Black Market you’ll find after pressing Start Game.

The game does offers a decent variety of weapons; machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers, lasers. In the Black Market, you’ll be able to unlock new cars and they come with their own weapon and does have slightly different handling. As you race and drift, you’ll also accumulate boost which is crucial especially with racers on your heels. While short lasting at first, you can upgrade it. If you’re out of ammo, you can sidebash your enemies with LB or RB. If you’re in a jam, holding down on the d-pad will reset your position. And in order to stand a chance, you’ll need to pick up Wrenches for instant repairs on your ride.

The game does look great. It’s dark, gritty, bloody and chaotic. Although some race tracks might be too dark at times making you run into immovable objects; especially if you play during the day and there’s much light in the room. The track are generally well thought-out and designed, offering various challenges and obstacles. The soundtrack is enjoyable, albeit quite forgettable and drowned out by the vehicular chaos. It’s a stock generic hard rock borderline metal score. I can’t help but feel that a licensed soundtrack with the likes of Killswitch Engage, Slipknot, or hell even Maximum The Hormone would’ve made this better.

The game does have a few nuisances. First off is the rubberbanding. If you’re in first place, expect the following three vehicles to pass you at high speed; making keeping first place a real struggle. Also, as long as you don’t upgrade your ride with permanent perks from the black market, ammo pick ups give you little to no ammo; for example with the rocket launcher, you get a single rocket until the next pick up. The other negative aspect is the roguelite feature because when you die, you’re back at the start of the game and lose everything you’ve purchased through your attempt. Also for some reason, when other drives explode, they respawn. If you explode, it’s game over (unless you purchase a golden ticket).

Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is hands down my first personal choice for GOTY contender. It’s big dumb fun; pedal to metal, bash everything is sight, run over zombies; it’s quite addictive. This shows that games shouldn’t be overly complicated to be enjoyable. Despite the annoyances mentioned above such as rubberbanding and few quirks that comes with being underpowered, it doesn’t deter the overall experience and you’ll always tell yourself one more race. If you’re looking for a way to unwhine after a hard day, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a great option. Highly recommended.