‘Obliteracers’ Review

Platforms PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Developer  Space Dust Studios Publisher Deck13 Interactive

Genre Party Racer Platform Played PlayStation 4

When we talk about multiplayer racing games, Mario Kart has held its “King Of The Hill” status for as long as I have held a controller. While Obliteracers may not be strong enough to kill the king, it stands as one of the better party racing games available on the market.

Concentration is key in a game that allows for up to 16 players at the same time on the same race track. Grab your smartphone. Grab your laptop. Fire up your gaming console, and join your friends in what is sure to be a night of screaming and smack talk. Obliteracers is chaotic, frustrating, and gratifying all at the same time. The varied characters and modifications make it easy to draw you in.

A good game is determined by asking one simple question; Is it fun? Hell yes, this game is fun. And it’s challenging. Obliteracers is not a split screen, stay-in-your-lane game. Obliteracers is an orgy of sound, color, and chaos. Just because you’re a good driver, doesn’t mean an oil slick won’t send you right off the cliff. Having a machine gun turret on the top of your vehicle won’t save you from having a guided missile shoved right up your tail pipe. In a world of competitive first person shooters, it’s a breath of fresh air to have a fun and lighthearted game.

I won! How is that even possible?!

With several tracks in “career” mode to choose fun, the biggest surprise for me was that when you die in a race, you’re not necessarily finished. A set of cross hairs pop up on the screen for you to cover any racer you’re not particularly fond of. This could just be a fun gimmick, but it also gives you total control on the outcome. Various game modes will have a point leading scale, and you’ll race multiple times before it’s over. So if you notice another racer is climbing a little to high on the point scale, and the guy/girl next to them is in last place, you aim you blow the person in 2nd the hell back to 5th place where they belong. It opens up a new strategic way to race, and sometimes makes losing on purpose fun. Turning your racer game into a shooter.

The chaos can also be a little frustrating. It can get exhausting to have a game where you have no leeway at all. There’s just so much going on at the screen at one time it’s easy to lose your character in the fold. More than a few times I had trouble really tracking down my race car after re-spawning and ended up driving off the road because I didn’t know where I was. But really that’s my main complaint. Every game could stand to have more racers and tracks, but the modifications and lighthearted tone more than made up for it.

Finding great couch co-op and party games are hard to do these days. We have been  groomed to go online and play in massive online arenas. Thankfully, there still exist games that are trying to get back to light and fun gaming, without sacrificing excellent control and gameplay. Obliteracers is absolutely a game you should try out with your friends and family.

The Good

  • Excellent Party Game
  • Tight coding
  • Tone is lighthearted
  • Modifiers and co-op modes keep you on your toes.
  • Multiple platforms can play together
  • Death is just the beginning

The Bad

  • Chaos can be too much at times
  • Could benefit from more customization of characters
  • Somewhat restricted tracks
  • Online Multiplayer can be wonky

The Score: 8.0