ONRUSH Review

Onrush is one of the best surprises I’ve had all year, and I can’t get enough of it.

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The suite of game modes – from moving King of the Hill zone captures to the simple yet adrenaline fuelled ‘Boost’ mode which just tasks you with stringing moves together to keep boosting – always keep things interesting and fresh, and the games, maps and modes all rotate between each round to make sure you’re never bored (and get you wanting ‘just one more’).

Onrush doles out rewards in the form of loot crates, much like any multiplayer focused video game at the moment – and whilst they dropped thick and fast, and I dug seeing what was in each box of goodies, the results rarely wowed me. This is in no small part to the aesthetic rewards being tied to a cast of characters that simply aren’t particularly well designed. It’s one of Onrush’s few weak points, and man is it weak. For what is essentially a character-driven MMO the cast here are utterly forgettable – a bunch of generic guys and girls, some with scarves, some with sunglasses, others with hot pants. Aside from these little differences they all looked fairly similar, and customizing my outfit and taunts (which you’ll only see if you place in the top 5, showing off to the rest of the group with emotes and skins) just wasn’t a big enough pull. Luckily the game is fun enough without needing an extra motive.

Presentation:

This generic style extends to a lot of Onrush’s presentation, but luckily it doesn’t fall as flat elsewhere. The music is pretty good at getting the pulse racing, and graphics are serviceable (most notably in service of a smooth frame rate and slick action) and the menus and design is…. Good. It’s a generic sort of good, though, like if you asked an AI program to design you a colourful game with punky vibes.

 

Conclusion:

Despite a bit of a lacklustre presentation, I couldn’t tear myself away from Onrush. On my first ever session I climbed to level 16 in a non-stop rush of games, and when I came away from the console I couldn’t calm down or go to sleep for hours afterwards. I was constantly thinking about the next fender bender, the next epic takedown, the next time I could boost off a jump and crush a car to pieces beneath my wheels as I landed on them. In that one session there were a hundred incredible moments, and there are still so many more to come. I really hope Codemasters – and the Onrush community – support the game going forwards.

It’s an absolute knock out.

Good

  • Adrenaline fuelled, grin-inducing gameplay
  • Fantastic online experience

Bad

  • Characters and visuals feel generic
  • Didn’t care about upgrades and unlocks
8.6

Great

Graphics - 8
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 9
Multiplayer - 9
Value - 9
Reviewer - GamerKnights

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