Within the ’90s and ’00s, vehicular fight video games have been commonplace. Franchises like Twisted Steel, Burnout, and Carmageddon have been instrumental in establishing the model of high-octane, aggressive driving that’s a lot rarer in 2026. Although Twisted Steel and Burnout have been dormant for years, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift introduces a roguelite proper flip to the style, proving that whereas the vehicular fight style typically looks like a relic from a bygone period, it nonetheless has some gasoline left within the tank.
Rogue Shift is a post-apocalyptic, single-player racing recreation that takes the age-old components of competing in crash-filled occasions and applies the roguelite components to largely robust outcomes. Every time you hearth up a brand new run, you choose a car from an ever-growing storage; I respect how each not solely controls in a different way, however options distinct weaponry and perks. I liked utilizing the beefier car I unlocked early on, which not solely gave me extra battering harm however extra well being, sturdiness, and a particular perk that elevated my harm each time I improved my protection. This tank-like car let me keep alive longer than the quicker, sportier choices as I gained my bearings in Carmageddon: Rogue Shift. Nonetheless, as I unlocked extra autos and improved my expertise, I began shifting in the direction of these sooner, much less sturdy automobiles.
As soon as in a run, you navigate a menu-based map as you choose the route to every section’s boss encounter. I like the chance/reward components at play in selecting which technique to go at each fork; do I need to head in the direction of the weapons store the place I can improve my shotgun, regardless that there is a tougher Elite occasion proper after it, or do I need to keep away from the chance and simply go on to the following customary occasion? When any failure, whether or not you miss the desired placement for the occasion or your car is demolished, ends in a recreation over and the top of your run, these choices carry nice weight. On a number of events, I fist-pumped as my danger paid off, however extra typically, I fell sufferer to my very own hubris, and I watched helplessly as my car exploded and my aspirations went up in smoke.
On the highway, Carmageddon is an often-glorious symphony of explosions and pace. Most occasions are lap-based races, the place you compete towards a discipline of fellow armed-to-the-teeth racers as you jockey for place and intention for the checkered flag. Dashing by means of zombie-infested streets as you blast, smash, and bash your competitors creates white-knuckled affairs the place I discovered myself holding my breath till I crossed the end line. Choosing up ammo, locking onto your opponent, and blasting them sky excessive with no matter weapon you’ve got outfitted is a thrill solely rivaled by the sensation of shoving your foe right into a barricade and watching them explode like a firework to mark your triumph.
Each automobile controls in a different way, which is exacerbated by the disparate highway surfaces and climate circumstances, creating conditions the place one unhealthy roll of the weather can deliver your run to a screeching and demoralizing halt. That is notably true as a result of the controls do not permit for quick restoration for those who get circled or caught on a jagged environmental factor; with the sport’s total premise being based mostly on autos wiping out, it takes completely too lengthy to course-correct for those who get nudged astray. And since there is not any retry button outdoors of particular objects that grant you an additional life, frustration mounts whenever you spin out close to the top of a race.
For the reason that controls are a bit extra slippery than I want in my arcade racers, each time I had an occasion with rain on a mud highway, I knew I needed to focus additional onerous to make sure I did not spin out on each high-speed flip. And since zombies stroll throughout each racetrack, you additionally have to be careful for particular variants that explode whenever you go close to them. I take pleasure in smashing by means of the hordes of undead to earn bonus credit, however the post-apocalyptic setting is probably the least memorable a part of the general bundle; I might have had simply as a lot enjoyable collaborating in these high-speed destruction derbies with out zombies spilling into the streets.
Taking part in into the roguelite components, you accumulate two sorts of currencies throughout your run: credit, which can be utilized at numerous retailers inside your run, and beatcoins, that are used on the Black Market supplier firstly of every run. The retailers scattered all through the map supply new perks, like boosts to your weapon harm, repairs to your car, or one which converts the credit you earn into HP.
At first, constructing my most well-liked killing/racing machine typically got here right down to the luck of the draw, as every store is randomized, however by means of a everlasting perk unlocked on the Black Market supplier, I may reroll every in-run store as soon as without spending a dime. The Black Market supplier, which you entry firstly of each run, is the place extra significant upgrades that carry from run to run happen. Right here, you may unlock everlasting upgrades, like one which provides an additional merchandise on the market in each store, in addition to new perks and weapons that cycle by means of the retailers, plus new autos. These upgrades assist preserve the expertise of racing the identical handful of tracks time and again feeling contemporary.
Although survival is on the forefront of each race, and I at all times constructed to outlive the following escalation of opponent, the boss battles have been at all times on the forefront of my thoughts when figuring out my loadout. Although the pool of bosses is shallow, I at all times regarded ahead to taking up these decked-out adversaries. Whether or not you are speaking a bulldozing tank that blasts hearth in all instructions, a duo of bosses that blast projectiles at you till you destroy them, or a speedster that’s almost indestructible, these section finales successfully shake up the pacing of your run, providing you with a definite expertise from the extra customary race occasions.
Even probably the most seemingly simple occasions have the potential to devolve right into a chaotic pileup, which could be a blessing and a curse; it enhances the joy, however I generally frustratingly obtained caught sideways as opponents pushed me right into a wall. You may drive a respawn, however typically by the point I did that, my possibilities for prevailing have been lengthy gone, even with some noticeable rubber-band AI; a number of occasions, I went into the ultimate flip in first place, solely to get spun out by an excessively reckless AI opponent who sabotaged their very own placement simply to spoil my race. If you add to that the poor AI of the cop-like Enforcers, who most of the time steer into the partitions, and a few occasions when the boss battles ended as a result of the boss simply determined to cease driving, it is clear that these post-apocalyptic racers are missing within the smarts division.
The AI can be an issue in a multiplayer recreation, however in a single-player title like Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, it is a way more impactful challenge. And actually, the underwhelming enemy AI considerably typified my expertise with Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, as a persistent lack of polish permeates the expertise. Muddy textures that pop in whilst you’re enjoying is probably not the top of the world, however on a few events, my controls outright froze, disabling my skill to steer, resulting in an unceremonious finish to my run. It wasn’t a standard drawback, nevertheless it was irritating sufficient to stay with me lengthy after I ended enjoying.
Even with a few of these runs feeling like they got here to an finish because of little fault of my very own, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift had me eagerly saying “another run” time after time. This novel twist on vehicular fight is probably not the complete revival longtime style followers have been craving, nevertheless it delivers a style mashup I by no means knew I wanted whereas concurrently offering a enjoyable callback to racing’s most explosive eras.
