Mayday, Mayday…Rock needs help in this music revolution…
Embark on a music-based action-adventure as indie rock band members Mayday & Zuke and lead a musical revolution against EDM empire No Straight Roads. After being unfairly rejected in their audition to join No Straight Roads, Mayday & Zuke uncover the evil intentions behind the NSR empire. It’s now down to them to save their city from corruption. Enjoy fast & frenetic combat with a musical twist as these two aspiring rock artists fight back with the power of music!
No Straight Roads is a strange game that begins with an audition process that looks like something from American Idol or AGT, but then the game begins to show that you can play as either Mayday or Zuke who have different move sets and you can switch between the two as you try and avoid attacks, launch counterattacks against the beat off the track. You do need to stay in tune with the rhythm or you’ll be facing a world of hurt from your foes, so think of it as a cross between Guitar Hero and a brawling action game.
It will take some getting used to and it definitely won’t be for everyone, but I personally loved the gameplay which flowed incredibly well with the rock and roll theme that NSR is going for. The world itself is devoid of rock but has cyberpunk vibes while Mayday and Zuke try and restore rock to the city.
The animation itself is superb and looks like it could be its own cartoon series. The characters are full of energy and memorable, Mayday reminds me of the Kaley Cuoco version of Harley Quinn with her attitude and that’s a great thing. Visually, the game looks great and I didn’t see any framerate issues. The script is well written and the dialogue is great, while the soundtrack is nothing short of brilliant.
The Verdict
No Straight Roads is a great game with a solid idea, fighting bosses to a rocking soundtrack with characters that have tons of attitude and personality. This is amazing when you consider that this is developer Metronomik’s first game, I only see great things from them after this. But seriously, can we please get a TV show of NSR on something like Netflix?