No Straight Roads

No Straight Roads is an action game with elements characteristic for rhythm games and which is described by its authors as a tribute to music and musicians. The production can boast a few original ideas in the gameplay mechanics and an attractive audiovisual setting. For its creation is responsible Malaysian development studio Metronomik, appointed by the main producer of Final Fantasy XV - Wan Hazmer, and Daim Dziauddin (responsible for graphic design in the brawler Street Fighter V).

Storyline

The main protagonists of No Straight Roads are Mayday and Zeke, members of the underground rock band Bunk Bed Junction, who challenge the titular, evil music label and its minions, i.e. various musicians (including pianists and DJs) who have signed contracts with it.

Mechanics

No Straight Roads is an action game in which the player observes the world from a third-person perspective (the so-called TPP camera). The game involves wandering through diverse locations (they are designed to correspond with the artist, who is the main opponent of the level) and fighting subsequent enemies - the system responsible for this aspect of the game resembles such productions as Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts or Nier: Automata). In each location we also have a unique clash with a powerful boss requiring appropriate tactics.

Music plays a very important role in No Straight Roads - sounds change on the fly, falling into different genres when we strike or avoid enemy attacks. In many cases, a sense of rhythm will allow us to predict enemy behavior (for example, bombs are dropped or detonated at specific, music-driven moments). Additionally, the characters we control can use their own creativity to influence the environment - for example, thanks to the music we can change some objects into improvised weapons.

Between subsequent stages we go to our base (located in the sewers), where we get the opportunity to develop our characters' skills and customize the equipment they carry. While in the headquarters of the team we also see the counter showing the number of Bunk Bed Junction fans - the value changes depending on our actions.

Game modes

In No Straight Roads we can play alone or in local co-op mode.

Technical issues

No Straight Roads uses the popular Unreal Engine and has a very attractive, three-dimensional graphic design. Both the boards and character models are very colorful, full of detail and nicely animated. The artistic style of this production is reminiscent of animations and network comics, among others. Also noteworthy is the rich soundtrack, in the creation of which numerous composers were involved - including the authors of music for games from the Final Fantasy series, platformers from the Sonic series, and titles such as Cytus or Spark the Electric Jester.