Indie studio Dreamteck has just launched a campaign on Kickstarter for an ambitious hoverboard adventure called Overrider (I’m sorry, I can’t bring myself to go full caps-lock every time I write it). It’s already looking good, too.
You don’t need to take my word for it either, because there’s a chunky demo version of the game out now right here on Steam. If you like the elevator pitch, I suggest you get downloading.
What is Overrider all about, then?
Dreamteck is building a bright and bold sci-fi roguelike adventure about zooming around on a hoverboard and donking robots on the head at high speed. Overrider puts you in the shoes of Vihra, an energetic young woman out to battle the AI-directed robotic enemies that threaten her village.
Vihra does this via the sharp edge of her hoverboard, and the game is all about building up momentum and then unleashing that on your enemies, and doing so with as much style as you can muster.
The standout feature is the sense of speed and the way that is integrated into the action. The developer cites SSX, Sonic, and Risk of Rain as key influences, and the imprint of all three franchises can be felt throughout Overrider.
Vihra looks like she was plucked out of Jet Set Radio, and the environmental design is also bright and breezy. Yes there are dangerous robots scampering about the place, but there are also rails to grind and ramps to hit at top speed.
This isn’t just a game about slapping robots with a hoverboard; players are also invited to pull tricks and platform at speed in order to access hard-to-reach places. There are also upgrade stations all over the place, so you can improve your chances of survival with passive upgrades and the like.
The roguelike elements are a means to an end here, rather than the star of the show. I’ve played for about an hour, so the full extent of the metaprogresison isn’t really clear just yet, however I was mostly focused on the gameplay, and that is already in a good place.
Overrider’s Kickstarter campaign
Of course, the big question on Dreamteck’s mind is: are you going to back the game on Kickstarter? I can’t answer that question for you, because it’s your money and not mine.
What I will say is that the developer has put a significant amount of work into the structure of the campaign. There are stretch goals to aim at should the campaign get funded, and the devs have shared a bunch of interesting lore – it looks like a well-developed setting.
The campaign is aiming to get an achievable £27,439 and the game is about 20% of the way there at the time of writing. You can head to Overrider’s Kickstarter campaign page to find out more and pledge if you feel so inclined. You’ve got until May 2nd.
One final note…
Informed readers will be all too aware of the current state of the games industry. 2024 has seen greedy shareholders and complicit CEOs squeezing as much profit as they can from the current cycle, nearly always at the detriment of developers and creativity.
As a result of this we’re going to see more indie studios striking out on their own, but with limited access to funding, I think we’re going to see a resurgence of developers bringing projects to crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
