Onrush is an arcade racing game which features fast-paced action and a lot of car combat. While there aren’t any guns or other destructive devices, you do have special abilities that wreak havoc on your foes. The game is made by the team formally known as Evolution Studios. You may recognize the name from Sony’s…
Onrush is an arcade racing game which features fast-paced action and a lot of car combat. While there aren’t any guns or other destructive devices, you do have special abilities that wreak havoc on your foes. The game is made by the team formally known as Evolution Studios. You may recognize the name from Sony’s Driveclub. Driveclub wasn’t the success the publisher hoped for and ended up closing Evolution’s doors. Luckily, Codemasters saw the developer’s potential and quickly scooped it up. Onrush is the first game from those creators and a return to form for the team.
Driveclub was known for its gorgeous visuals but not so much for its handling. The game was unforgiving and, frankly speaking, not a lot of fun. The fact that it ran at 30 FPS didn’t help either. Luckily, Onrush is a major improvement over that experience. Not only does it embrace its visual heritage, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, so you end up wanting to keep on playing. The fact that each race revolves around cars and motorcycles gives it added flair that many other titles lack. Have you ever played the opening of any Forza game? That sense of drama permeates each race in Onrush.
The title runs at 4K 60 FPS on Xbox One X and looks spectacular. The texture quality, lighting, and performance are all spot on. During our playthrough, we didn’t encounter any major drops in the frame rate as the game maintained its buttery-smooth presentation hours on end. Unlike the PlayStation 4 Pro version, the Xbox One X didn’t overheat or experience any other problems.
Onrush adds more depth to its standard racing gameplay because it features a class system. You can choose different types of vehicles which give you an advantage – or disadvantage – depending on the race. Players must choose wisely depending on the environment and how close they’ll be driving to other people. This is by far the most important mechanic in the game.
Onrush’s multiplayer offering is also solid and the game is even better with friends. While the title doesn’t feature machine-learning competitors like Forza Motorsport 7, it still results in a lot of hijinks with other players. It’s quite hilarious at times. However, even if you’re playing alone, Onrush is an absolute blast. The majority of our time with the game was spent in single-player.
Overall, Onrush is a great game which maybe could be better had the tracks been more varied and the handling a little more refined. The Forza series still has an advantage in that department. At the end of the day though, it’s an arcade racing experience and a great one at that. You can sit here and complain about some of the mechanics but it all comes together in the end. Codemasters may soon be in a position to really give Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games a run for their money. Onrush is just a lot of fun to play and that’s what matters. That’s the most important quality a game should have.
