Reviewed on Xbox One. Also available on PC.

This is the craziest, most head hurting game I think I’ve ever played. Want to know more? Sure you do! Read on.

Gameplay

Overdriven reloaded is an insane, fast paced, arcade – like shooter that really doesn’t make it easy for you. It’s a game that looks and feels like a 80’s/90’s arcade game but instead of using a stick you look down and you’re using an Xbox One controller. It’s simple yet difficult gameplay mechanics take you straight back to those days and it’s great. However, there’s so much going on on the screen at one time that it will make your head and your eyes hurt. Bullets flying past you at every angle, and I must point out, it is impossible to dodge them all! Therefore, that nostalgic feeling comes at a price.

The mechanics are simple, shoot everything and anything on the screen to earn points, or in this case, stars to earn points. The more things you shoot the better chance at more points you will get. Every level has a boss as the end of it which will be insanely difficult to defeat (I had to put my difficulty down to easy and still had a tough time) but it is incredibly rewarding when you finally beat it. Collecting many, many points along the way. Then onto the next level to do it all again, but come up against a much tougher boss at the end.

With only 10 main ‘story’ missions you may think Overdriven Reloaded is short (I use the word story very lightly because there isn’t really one) but you would be wrong. There are many more modes to play including; Arcade, Manic and Minigames which include various challenges to overcome. Enough to keep you occupied for hours if you so wish. I only wish that the game would give you a quick insight of what to expect in the game mode you choose instead of having to figure it out for yourself, but that’s just me.

Graphics and Sound

Unfortunately you’re not able to really appreciate the look of this game due to the sheer amount going on, on screen at one time. At most times you aren’t able to see anything other than bullets flying everywhere. I couldn’t play this game for longer than an hour without getting a headache or needing to pause to allow my eyes to adjust. It’s crazy.

From what I have seen Overdriven Reloaded has a fairly tedious, basic level design that is masked by projectiles. I guess you can’t really expect too much from this in the way of graphics as it has a complete retro feel to it, and that includes the look too.

The soundtrack is pretty cool, I feel it is perfect for this type of game. I mean, there isn’t much to it but the rhythm seems to fit right in with the gameplay. It also doesn’t just seem like looped sounds which is a bonus. Each level has a different track to the next, making each level feel unique.

Summary

Overdriven Reloaded has a lot to offer for such a small price. Although the effects seem extremely distracting to me it was incredibly fun to play when I had eventually changed the difficulty level. It offers a nostalgic experience to those that grew up with games of the same genre but if you are of a younger generation I would probably give this one a miss as you most likely won’t appreciate the retro feel of it and will most likely give up after 30 minutes of playing.