Hijack’in
The beat’em up genre has seen a major resurgence over the years with various dips into the nostalgic well with several popular IPs. However, the amount of beat’em ups built with roguelike mechanics in mind, let alone being able to embody your very opposition could be counted on a single finger. OverRider, developed by Tension Meow is a wildly addictive brawler draped in a gorgeous cyberpunk aesthetic that even in Early Access, is impressive, if just a bit rough around the narrative edges.
It's not often I start a review talking about the name of the game itself. OverRider is not to be confused with the hoverboard game of the same name, and not Override: Mech City Brawl either. It's not even meant to be confused with Overrider, a Marvel Comics villain that has sometimes fought both Captain America and Wolverine. Trying to find anything out about this game can be quite the task, one that makes me wish OverRider either had a different name to break free of its SEO shackles or a subtitle to help it stand out. As it stands, word of mouth is likely the only way this title is going to find an audience, and even then, trying to find more than two or three videos on YouTube even talking about this game was quite the chore. In fact, I only found one single result.
However, what helps the game stand out is its premise and design. As Mayoi, you'll beat down endless cyberpunk baddies as you hack into them during combat, taking them for a spin as you add to your arsenal of moves, abilities, and drone skills. Being a Roguelike, each outing can be a different beast should you sample the variety in front of you. It also helps that OverRider is gorgeous, featuring a ton of hand-drawn characters that fit in well within its cyberpunk setting of neon lights and futuristic aesthetic.
As you progress, new areas open up, new enemies start to appear, and more bosses become the brief roadblock in front of you. While you can fight as Mayoi on her own, you'll want to discover which of the enemies you can hack into will help you in certain circumstances. The Shinobi, for example, fires off a projectile, making them great for range and perfect for clearing bosses without getting touched. Apprentice is a close-range ninja that can bring the hurt. Mechanic is a bit harder to control due to them being an aerial threat, but can attack from range and be quite useful once you've mastered them. Each will also have special attacks, such as Shinobi’s cluster of grenades.
Due to its smaller scope, the story itself is handled through a visual novel-like approach of character portraits with the game’s incredible artwork. Every single character is extremely well crafted and the illustrations are solid enough to where I wanted to focus on the story as much as I could. With a rather poor translation; however, it can be difficult to follow and some dialogue doesn’t quite land. Tension Meow, if you read this, I’d love to re-write all the dialogue as it really needs it. Regardless, the story itself is fine for what it is, but I don’t know if the audience is going to be too focused on it as Beat’um up’s are not usually known for their narrative.
You play as Mayoi, a young woman who has woken up to find the world a bit different than when she last left it, some two hundred years later. Mayoi is quite interesting as while she has the body of a young woman originally named Chiyo Akutsu, her conscience is actually that of her twin brother, Ryuji, a young man originally meant to be the chosen one, an individual who was to be given to MOEREA, a mysterious program. However, Chiyo had other plans and constructed a lab that would result in her and her brother’s resurrection, using a technology called ELPIS. However, due to a mishap, Ryiju is within the shell of his twin sister and is set on discovering the truth behind it all.
Early on, you’ll meet Lancet, a technician who brings you out of this cybernetic sleep and relays all this information to you. At first, Ryuji is unsure of this partnership, but then starts to see the benefit of working with him. Lancet also runs a clinic, and this establishment serves as the homebase during the journey. Between each run, you’ll use the clinic to upgrade your stats, enhance certain mods, level up the shells you’ll hack into, including Mayoi’s body as well. You’ll install implants to clients who will pay you, and you can use that money to increase your stats or upgrade the business, resulting in earning more money down the road. You’ll also be able to craft the materials needed to perform these procedures as well as earning them during your runs.
Each run will have a boss at the end that results in the story moving forward. Several characters come into play that revolve around the Children of Tyche, a group of people who are tied to the greater threads this story is weaved from. From the city streets to warehouses and hideouts, you will visit these locations quite often as you look to build up Mayoi to be a much stronger fighter. The loop of retreading these locations endlessly is softened by being able to hack into any body you see, with some exceptions, at least early on. Some of the harder foes cannot be initially hacked, so you’ll rely on the common opponents to serve as your own personal weapons. There are a dozen to play around with, with 3-4 in the game’s opening level alone.
Each location will have challenges to complete that result in better loot. From choosing between materials for the implants to just recovering health, you’ll also have an attack drone that can fire missiles, slash a blade, or throw grenades. You’ll constantly earn pickups to craft a fairly simple build as you also have the benefit of that shell’s own abilities. Each opponent has their own punches, kicks, and core abilities, allowing each run to be fairly unique, especially once you start to level them up and unlock new abilities. You’ll also have a store mid-way through each run to recover health and more.
I’ve mentioned before that OverRider is visually impressive with its character art, but the environments are also great, especially for a Beat’em up. The dystopian future cyberpunk aesthetic has certainly been done to death lately, but OverRider still manages to be as visually interesting as its premise. With slick menus, wonderful character art, and a solid soundtrack, there is a lot to like here.
Even in early access, OverRider is an incredibly fun title with the odd rough edge. Bosses and most enemies can fall a bit too easy with ranged characters, but the other variety of enemies to use and experiment with certainly brings a lot of replay to the table. With gorgeous visuals and an interesting take on the roguelike, OverRider is certainly a title to watch out for.
Developer - Tension Meow.
Publisher - Tension Meow. Released - November 28th, 2024. Available On - Steam/PC. Rated - (N/A) - ESRB Not Available. Platform Reviewed - PC - Steam Deck. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.