I typically must play a sport for a number of hours earlier than I really feel assured in saying I favored it or didn’t prefer it. Earlier than I can say that is good or that is dangerous. Generally you play a sport that, inside 20 minutes or much less, makes it clear that it ain’t superb. Sadly, Useless Static Drive was a type of video games.
Useless Static Drive has been in some type of improvement for almost a decade and has repeatedly gone viral on-line because of its eye-catching artwork type. And now the isometric survival horror sport is out on Xbox, PC, and Recreation Cross. Usually marketed as “Grand Theft Cthulu,” Useless Static Drive has you stealing automobiles, finishing missions, and exploring a monster-infested world that gives loads of freedom to go the place you wish to go whereas attempting to collect the provides that you must keep alive. It’s a cool concept, for positive, but it surely by no means comes collectively. Most of this sport doesn’t actually work, and except Useless Static Drive‘s fantastic low-poly artwork type, there’s little about this sport that I loved.
The most important difficulty I encountered is how horrible it feels to drive automobiles within the newly launched sport. In one thing describing itself as Grand Theft Chthulu, I anticipated the automobiles to deal with properly and really feel enjoyable to drive round desolate cities and highways. Nope! It doesn’t matter what digicam or controller settings I modified, driving in Useless Static Drive is a large number. I by no means felt in command of any car I entered, and getting round corners with out crashing proved to be the largest problem. I’m additionally baffled by the choice to not embrace any engine noises. The primary time I bought right into a automobile and drove off, I assumed the sport had bugged out and the automobile must be making noise. Restarted, tried a distinct automobile, and nope. Nothing. Silence. I checked out different folks’s gameplay and it seems that this isn’t a bug, however a design alternative. And it’s odd! This robs the totally different automobiles you encounter of loads of the persona and makes the sport really feel unfinished.
A number of this sport feels unfinished, although, in order that’s in all probability why I assumed the lacking audio was a bug at first. Fight is a slog, animations are clunky, quests break on a regular basis, and NPCs get caught on geometry. The stock display screen appears half-finished, lacking options like “Fast Transfer” which makes managing all of the gubbins you discover annoying as heck on a controller. Characters additionally don’t have voice traces, which might have been nice, however in a sport the place automobiles make no noise past tire squeals and the world round you is empty, it simply results in Useless Static Drive being a boring expertise.
After about three hours of enjoying Useless Static Drive, I pulled over and bought out. It’s a disgrace as a result of the world seems wonderful, and I just like the premise loads, however what’s right here simply isn’t value any extra time.
