Is Frontier Development's Xbox-exclusive amusement ride builder worth a play? That depends—how strong is your stomach?
I played some Screamride live over the weekend, and I was impressed with two out of three of the game's career tracks. I'm not much of a builder, so finishing up pre-built coasters in the Engineer mode wasn't my thing. Here's me trying.
It's not a bad mode, I just lack the patience for putting things together that aren't LEGO or LEGO related. Most of my Engineer levels wind up like this:
The Screamrider mode, on the other hand, is exactly my thing.
Screamrider is where you take control of a coaster car packed with volunteers that look like they were ripped out of Frontier's Xbox One launch title Zoo Tycoon and try not to get them killed. This is done by controlling the acceleration of the car, leaning around obstacles, gathering and deploying turbo and otherwise holding on for dear life.
Check out the video below for a taste of Screamrider mode. If you can stomach it and have the capability, watch it at 1080p, 60 frames per second.
It's pretty sick, and that's not a phrase I generally use unless I am physically ill. The best part? This is a user-created level. Someone took the game's building tools and made this.
While the six multi-leveled stages encompassing each of the game's three modes are entertaining on their own, now that the players have gotten their hands on Screamride's sandbox mode, all bets are off. There are some sadistic bastards in the audience.
Here's another custom coaster. This one incorporates interior elements as well as single-track segments, requiring the rider to lean to avoid a crash. Again, go full 60FPS if you can.
What about Screamride's third mode? It's called Demolition Expert, and it's the best. It's where you load riders up in a coaster car or a containment capsule and fling them at buildings to make them explode. It is an amazing source of joy.
Here's a pretty basic Demolition Expert level a user created in order to be cheeky about this Xbox 360 and Xbox One exclusive. The goal is to destroy a large facsimile of a PlayStation 4.
That's just a basic example of a Demolition Expert level. When the mode really gets going you've got capsules with aftertouch rockets, cabins that split into three parts in mid-air, trampolines, tons of explosives—all the instruments of destruction a budding lord of destruction could ask for.
Here's another custom level. This time the creator set up explosive canisters like bowling pins in front of each building. Apologies for my poor aim.
With the tools Frontier Developments has put at more productive players' disposal, the potential for custom coasters and crash sites is nigh-endless. Screamride is a game with the potential to continue producing gut-wrenching, building-collapsing experiences for years to come.
For a more thourough look at the game in action, here's the full YouTube video of my stream from this weekend, complete with me talking to people you cannot see or hear. It gives the illusion of madness, which fits just perfectly with Screamride.