Steel Rats Review

By Kevin Mitchell  |  Posted: November 13, 2018

An intriguing blend of ideas, Steel Rats combines ripping motorbike combat and side-scrolling platforming set in an alternate 1940s America. As a member of the biker gang Steel Rats, it's your sworn duty to protect the city from an invading robotic alien race known as Junkbots. Standard motorcycles won't cut it, so you'll need to upgrade your specialized bikes with enough firepower to cut through hordes of enemies across 28 levels spread across five city districts.

The Steel Rats comprise four different bikers, whom you'll unlock by progressing through the game. While not immediately apparent, each member is highly unique, not in how they maneuver, but in their primary weapon loadout, charged attack, and awe-inspiring ultimate abilities. Once unlocked, you don't have to worry about selecting a character for each mission; instead, you can alternate between Lisa, James, Randy, and Toshi on-the-fly with the press of a button (the right analog stick). Based on the situation, you may find one group member better suited than another, such as Lisa's ability to wipe out all foes around her by leaving a fiery trail behind her, or James's mid-air hammer drop that decimates enemies directly in front of him.

Each level hides a secret collectible that serves as backstory about the characters or various locales through audio logs and imagery. By collecting enough junk, you'll unlock new perks and upgrades spread across each team member. Junk can be obtained not only by taking out enemies but also by destroying objects in the environment. See an abandoned car in your way? Turn on the chainsaw (wheelsaw) on your front wheel and cut it in half. The upgrades expand upon your basic attacks and help flesh out the combat portion of the game. For example, you can upgrade Randy's harpoon or Toshi's "junkpet" by extending their range and boosting damage. Perks are generally stat-boosting, such as adding additional health sections, energy cells (for abilities), or improving defensive capabilities. Once you reach the set score on each level, there are also additional objectives to complete that can boost your total, though you'll need to spend junk points to unlock them.

Although the game can be described as a side-scrolling action platformer, there is some dimensionality to the movement system. You aren't limited to strict side-to-side motions, as you can move back and forth along roads, platforms, rooftops, and more. The game uses this added freedom in the level design in fantastic ways. At one point, you must outrun (or in this case, outride) a collapsing wooden structure, requiring you to leap off broken edges, make hairpin U-turns into the foreground, and leap down again and again. Though the controls are a bit clunky at first, once mastered, you can easily navigate around with speed and precision. The movement isn't precisely free-flowing, as there are invisible lanes that you'll adhere to when moving closer to or further from the camera. One of the cooler mechanics involves clinging to metallic pipes when using the wheelsaw, allowing you to ride directly up walls and even upside down. These moments are some of the best in the game, especially when mixed with death-defying leaps and maneuvering around environmental obstructions.

Checkpoints are quite generous, and if you miss a jump and fall to your doom from a great height, you'll respawn with only a portion of your health missing. Lose all your health on a character, and you'll simply need to pick someone else and continue along your way. I can't recall ever failing enough to warrant a game over, especially when taking time to understand what you need to accomplish to move forward, instead of merely holding down the accelerate button and speeding through each level. Not that I haven't been guilty of doing this, but not all levels focus on completion time, and it's more rewarding to destroy most, if not all, enemies and objects in the environment. You'll find collectibles off the beaten path as well, and if you're speeding through like a bat out of hell, you may miss them.

Simply Put

Steel Rats may be the surprise I've been looking for as we enter the busy (and crowded) holiday season. It combines a robust motorcycle combat system with a slick movement system, and the developers even threw in massive boss encounters that utilize all of your abilities. While it wasn't immediately apparent that you can freely switch between bikers, once discovered, you can tackle any situation with ease. Each biker has their own set of skills, but regardless of whom you choose, the game is simply fun and engaging. There are also unlockable bike and character skins for each of the four characters. Playing on a PlayStation 4 Pro, however, textures seem to take forever to pop in, which is disappointing as the rest of the game is mostly impressive visually.