Review: Onrush – Codemasters is known as a developer for their various racing games. That is why it was decided a couple of years ago that from then on they would only occupy themselves with that genre, because their other titles were not always strong. To date, this seems to have been a good choice, as players and journalists show nothing but enthusiasm for the DiRT, GRID and F1 series. But Codemasters also wants to be able to serve the real casual audience and they try that with their upcoming game Onrush. We have just dived into the beta before we can get to work with the full game in about two weeks.
Onrush – Part of the pack
A unique aspect of Onrush is that the game is fully focused on the multiplayer . You could describe Onrush as the love baby of MotorStorm, Burnout and … Overwatch. You race in teams of six against each other and that in various modes. The assignments vary between checkpoints to stop the countdown, score as many points as possible by making jumps at maximum speed and a number of other options. In this beta we were able to get started with two different modes.
In the Countdown mode, you and your team have to drive through green gates to ensure that time stands still for your team. Both teams start with a minute of time and the team that is the first to lose without time. The good thing about this mode is that a game of Countdown can take a long time. When someone from your team drives through a gate, someone else can still do this just as well. The steering skills of each player are put to the test here, as you are forced not to miss any gates.
In Overdrive you have to get as many points as possible by making speed and getting as many stunts as possible. Jumping over a mountain with a big boost, pounding your opponents off the road or pounding away one of the twelve computer-controlled cars is enough to score points. In every game of racing in Onrush are some, very weak, computer-controlled opponents that actually serve as power-ups. Bunching them off the road will give you an extra boost to get to your ‘Rush’ faster.
Onrush – Hasty speed is rarely good
Using boost also makes you Rush is building up. Rush is actually a kind of an individual ultimate power. When you rush, you do not only go very fast, you also become stronger, making your opponents even easier to hit the road. It also provides another bonus and that depends on which vehicle you have chosen. For example, the Titan leaves all sorts of big blocks that will slow down your opponents. You also have the choice of cars and motorbikes, but our preference is still for cars as motorbikes seem a lot weaker and easier to be dented from the road. They do not seem to bring any other advantage.
Graphically Onrush is not wrong, but anything but a pearl. The cars look pretty, but seem to have a kind of cartoon-like look with them. The environments on the other hand have not gotten anything from this look. Also, certain effects that we have seen in other racers have not yet been worked out very well. Think of splashing mud, realistic water and other scenarios in off-road racing. DiRT, also from Codemasters, has been doing very well for years, so we were a little surprised not to see this (yet) in Onrush. It was also decided to let the player choose between eye candy or a stable frame rate. In our opinion this is a welcome addition, given that both preferences can be served.
Provisional conclusion
The beta of Onrush has made a solid impression on us. Onrush seems to be a very entertaining game, but so far we have not been impressed enough to say that this title can take on all Triple-A violence. Onrush is in fact a title that is simply put in shops for the full price. Many parts in this beta were not to play or try, as there will also be character and vehicle customization in the full game. The two modes we could play were certainly very nice and we hope that the fun factor in the entire game is at least as high.
