Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is the next title to come from Team Reptile, the group of savvy individuals who dared to combine the sport of squash with Super Smash Bros and released Lethal League many moons ago. I loved Lethal League. It is difficult for me to get the time to play it now however, time with friends in the same room is limited, and playing online with strangers just doesn’t have the same chaotic, cuss-inducing fun that I love the game for providing.
The team then, almost acknowledging my woes, have released this gem of a title, a solely single player experience. I have to respect that the team isn’t willing to rest on the laurels of their established IP, whilst the universe seems to be consistent with Lethal League, the way it plays could not be further apart.
This new game from the team invokes nostalgia for 1999 onwards, specifically in those people who owned a Dreamcast. Now, I never did, but I had a friend who had one, and I would be around at his house all the time. The closest analogue to BRCF is clearly Jet Set Radio (or Jet Grind Radio if you live in Europe) and its sequel on the Xbox a couple of years later. Both of these are titles which emphasise one thing – style. Team Reptile’s latest is no exception, this game is cool as all hell.
Nobody has truly made a game quite like this since the early 2000s, why is that? Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is here to set that straight, and I really hope that this begins to revive a sub-genre which has remained dormant for far too long. The closest you can get to this in recent memory would probably be Olliolli World, which, surprise surprise, I also loved.
Story beats
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk revolves around a character simply called ‘Red’. After being broken out of prison by a stranger with a BMX, you are swiftly decapitated by DJ Cyber. DJ Cyber then steals the newly liberated cranium, leaving the body discarded. Your new friend is kind enough to turn Red into a ‘cyberhead’, giving Red a dashing new look and returning him to the world of the living. What follows is a quest to take down DJ Cyber, and retrieve Red’s human head. This is going to be accomplished by challenging Cyber’s crew, Futurism, to a battle. The only way to get the attention of such a highly reputable crew is to become ‘all city’, essentially controlling and having graffiti up in every district of New Amsterdam.
The narrative goes to some pretty whacky places, posing questions about one’s identity, whether this changes based on the circumstances of your birth, is it shaped by your experiences alone, or is it somewhere in the middle? There is also an authoritarian police force to contend with who also factors into the story, all drenched in BRCF’s signature style. It’s surprisingly compelling, and I would love to see an expansion of this universe in either a sequel or different medium entirely, such as a comic or TV series. I don’t want to spoil where it goes, but whilst all the plot points weren’t surprising, it did draw me in far more than I expected heading in.
The story is far better than I would’ve imagined, or it has any right to be – unfortunately though, the delivery of said story tends to bog down the pace. With no voice acting to speak of and incredibly stiff animations within the cutscenes, BRCF does not do itself any favours, especially being quite story-focused out of the gate. I’m sure that if the developers had a larger budget, they would’ve upped the production value in this department. It is far more important for Team Reptile to get the other aspects right, the traversal, the platforming, the vibe, and that’s exactly what they accomplished.
… and I hope you like jammin’ too
The game visually looks fantastic. It is bright, colourful, and uncompromising in the dedication it has to recreating and modernising the Dreamcast era of video games. This is right down to some weird clipping of characters through their own outfits – perhaps unintentional, but I found it more charming than distracting.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the music on offer here, this is the real stand out when it comes to identity and presentation. Now, I’m no dance music aficionado, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a trance, a techno or a drum with bass. What I do know however, is that this soundtrack slaps. It slaps so hard in fact, that it has got me, someone who typically only listens to punk and hardcore (with the exception of Lana Del Rey) to start seeking out entirely new genres to find what I can get down with.
Like I say, I can’t speak to the specifics, but it rules. Whether you’re into heavy-hitting dance tracks, or more of a hip-hop and low-fi fan, there is something here for you to like. If you want some of my favourites, I especially like the tracks by ‘GRRL’, and industry veteran Hideki Naganuma, who returns after composing wicked tracks for Lethal League and the original Jet Set Radio games.
Beat to beat
The structure of BRCF is pretty straightforward as you endeavour to become ‘All City’. Each new district you enter allows you to explore, tag graffiti spots and hunt down collectibles. Once you earn enough rep, you can begin to challenge some of the rival gang members, completing their challenges which showcase new techniques or combo routes unique to their area. More exploration ensues, allowing you to build enough reputation that you’re able to challenge them to a ‘crew battle’. This is essentially a final test to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are funky, groovy and slick enough to beat them on their own turf.
This formula works. I love the escalation, and the way in which it introduces you to each new environment, gently nudging you with new ways to extend your combos and expand your repertoire of tricks.
There are several psychedelic levels too which come about when Red goes into his psyche, or programming or whatever. These are abstract platforming challenges, playing more like a modern Sonic the Hedgehog title than anything resembling Jet Set Radio. Interestingly, these are both Sega franchises. These sections helped bring a level of spectacle and were something to break up the rigid structure of the otherwise brisk campaign. I really enjoyed them, even if some of the platforming sections didn’t feel quite right, requiring some precise timing and a slight misorientation on your approach to a rail can swiftly send you plummeting into the abyss below.
Jump up, jump up, get down
The most clear comparison one can make with Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is with the cult classic Jet Set Radio. For those uninitiated however, despite looking like a Tony Hawk-style game, the similarities really end with both titles containing quarter pipes and more handrails than even the most enthusiastic health and safety officer would recommend.
In reality, BRCF largely lies somewhere between a collectathon platformer and an arcade score attack game. It provides an addictive gameplay loop, as you go from chasing high scores in crew battles, to reaching hidden areas through a platforming challenge. It is far more relaxed than something like Tony Hawk, despite looking similar from the outside.
The skill of achieving a high score doesn’t come from intuiting when to “cash out” your combo score like Pro Skater, with the exclusion of a balance meter, it is theoretically possible to combo forever. There is also no penalty for falling into the various hazards, like canals, from rooftops, or into the path of an oncoming bus. If you suffer any of these fates, your combo cashes out, and your score is banked. The jetpack you have access to allows you to redirect yourself once in the air which can make for some wicked sharp combo lines. Combine this with the generous magnetism Red has to nearby rails and it allows for a much more lenient approach to score-building. This means you can focus less on hitting rails and avoiding hazards, making it much less about precise inputs, and more about enjoying the ride.
The specific tricks you choose to do don’t matter all that much. Each of the face buttons will perform a different trick, with the exception of ‘X’ which is reserved for the jetpack. These tricks can either be done in the air or on rails, but you won’t find yourself calculating which trick would be best for a given scenario, it simply moves too quickly – this is with the exception of the jetpack assisted tricks which give you a large speed boost and accompanying “oooooh yeah” from your skater. The tricks are also risk free, with no penalty for performing a trick too late and eating concrete. Red will simply recover and your content can continue. I love this approach since it shaves off any ounces of frustration which the Pro Skater series can be prone to, contributing to the presumed mission statement of “create unmatched vibes” in a laid back environment.
This might sound easy, but the prospect of an infinite combo means that grinding on a circular rail would cause the increase in score would take far too long to be compelling or rewarding in any way. Instead, your score relies on building your multiplier, which is done through a few key actions, these are ties to platforming, rather than specific tricks. To increment your multiplier you must either wallride, or lean into a turn on a rail. It’s a lot of fun to build a multiplier and optimise a route around each of the areas. Each turn or wall-ridden can only increment your multiplier once per combo, encouraging you to both explore new routes and keep stylish whilst you do so.
Needless to say, this system feels really great to master and I’ll often boot this up just to jam to the music and kill 15 minutes skating around the different districts of New Amsterdam.
Paint the town red
So, I mentioned that this was more of a collectathon game, how can that be?
Each of the 5 districts of New Amsterdam contain a smattering of collectable items which are can be deviously hidden, but oftentimes placed in an obvious place indicating that there is a combo line which passes through specific points. It is a clever way to draw your eye to key points of interest and gets you thinking: “yeah, I’m going to get up there”.
These collectables would be nothing if you weren’t actually rewarded for seeking them out though, and thankfully BRCF excels in this department. Everything you pick up is something valuable, there are no duds, so to speak. New music tracks? Amazing. New costumes? Great, I want to be stylish as heck. New graffiti art? Let me find my favourite and learn the pattern. As the game progresses, you can express yourself more and more. Despite there not being any stat increases for your character, the ‘levelling up’ comes from your skills becoming slicker and slicker, it’s really rad.
Collecting and tagging each of these graffiti spots for complete turf dominance is great fun. It allows you to explore new lines, and in the post-game there is a map available highlighting all spots you’ve missed when you pull out your phone. This doesn’t trivialise the collection of these spots however, as there’ll often be a complex platforming challenge to finally reach the rival tag that your seek to override. When you finally get to tag these spots, that is when one of my favourite features comes out. The act of tagging itself.
Depending on the size of the canvas you have to work with, you’ll have a number of nodes available. You then have the choice of which node to start on, and from there drawing a unique pattern, once every node has been hit, the tag sill splatter onto the surface. Every tag has a unique pattern, meaning that there is a skill to memorising your favourites, and it always feels good to nail it as quick as possible. This is one of those additions which feels small and inconsequential, however, similar to ‘active reload’ in the Gears of War series, it has left such an impression on me and I wouldn’t be surprised if other games begin to take inspiration from this too.
Ridin’ dirty
In terms of customisation, there are a few ways to express yourself in BRCF. The first of which is the graffiti you’ll be spraying over every exposed wall you can find. Being able to equip every ‘tag’ at once means that you can learn your favourite patterns and execute them which feels awesome. Upon revisiting locations you can look back and see which your favourites are, if your tastes have changed, get up there and throw up a different piece instead. I had a few favourites, usually involving anime-style characters and death metal fonts.
You can also change your preferred character to any of the Bomb Rush Crew, and customise them further with different colour schemes as you unlock them. On top of this, you can also choose your preferred mode of transport. Whether you would prefer to be a wood-pushing skateboarder, a tail-whipping-BMXer or a curb-carving inline skater, the choice is yours. I chose to go with a pair of trusty inline skates, despite being a skateboarder in my youth, I prefer the vibe of the inlines in the setting of New Amsterdam. It is probably the Jet Set Radio influence that does it for me. There are no gameplay implications of this, aside from having access to a different library of tricks, it is just a nice way to customise and show your personality a bit more.
Fight the power
If there is one place that BRCF really loses its groove however, it is within the combat. Upon gaining the attention of the local authorities, you can choose to engage them should you wish, although sometimes participating in combat is mandatory. What ensues is some extremely stiff light attack/heavy attack shenanigans whereby all previously accrued coolness goes right out the window.
Fighting authority is certainly a theme in BRCF, but it sadly feels horribly out of place. Any time that the walls of “the man” would be erected around me, I sighed. Trapped with a bunch of nameless goons with no means of escape, the only option available is to repeatedly slap the triangle button with all the grace and eloquence of a whole salmon on the Morissons fish counter.
Thematically, it would’ve made sense to forgo engaging in fisticuffs at all, spread love, not war. Or maybe just spray painting these foes would be enough, send them to the nearest launderette instead of the hospital.
There is however, a nice escalation to the threats which are introduced, starting out with a handful of community support officers, then increasing to attack helicopters and bipedal tanks. This escalation can also be seen with a few boss battles which are introduced. Again, these are not great. The ones which work best though focus on BRCF’s strengths though, involving a chase sequence and copious amounts of grinding.
Can’t get enough
Your mileage with a game like this will vary. For those completionists out there who revel in hunting down every last trinket in your video games, this has plenty for you to enjoy. There are some hidden characters and fun events to experience after the credits roll too, so definitely revisit your favourite areas when the main campaign is over with.
There are also more difficult high score challenges to beat in each of the districts, upon beating these remaining hard-to-impress artists, they’ll join your crew allowing you to skate as them. It’s neat. I love passing this final exam for each district to prove that I have truly mastered the area, being able to earn myself a six figure score within just a few minutes.
There’s also the longevity which comes from pure fun-factor. Something which is increasingly rare in modern gaming, with so much to play, and so little time to actually do it in. Rest assured, I’ll be dipping into this long after I post this review just to chill out and enjoy the vibes of busting out a combo in New Amsterdam.
Final thoughts
Overall, I loved my time with BRCF, even if I do continue to get the name muddled up. Sure, the price tag may seem a little steep, but it is totally unique, and you can’t put a price on that. In my experience, this is totally worth it. I’d pick a shorter, more interesting game over the usual modern dross which gets blasted out onto digital storefronts day-in-day-out.
I don’t feel short-changed by paying full price for it, but if you can grab it on sale, do it. I’m sure you’ll have a wicked time spraying paint all over New Amsterdam and busting some rad tricks out.
Congratulations to Team Reptile, and I eagerly await their next title.
Lap Full of Crumbs 