Sunset Overdrive Reviews

Sunset Overdrive is ranked in the 91st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10
Oct 26, 2014

If you wanted to be uncharitable, you could voice the suspicion that a great many baseball caps were turned backwards in the echoing board room where this project was greenlit, but with the campaign done and the city freshly filled with challenges, I don't really feel like being uncharitable. Beneath the glorious tech, and once the writing relaxes a little, Sunset Overdrive's wonderfully lurid and heartfelt - a bit like playing an old 4AD album sleeve. If you get that reference, you'll probably get this, too.

Read full review

IGN
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Oct 26, 2014

Sunset Overdrive provides some of the most fun, frantic, and fantastic gaming I've had on the Xbox One.

Read full review

Oct 26, 2014

You've never explored an open world quite like this. Sunset Overdrive's iffy gunplay and inconsistent missions are redeemed by absolutely amazing mobility and an infectious enthusiasm for mayhem.

Read full review

7 / 10
Oct 26, 2014

Shallow, simplistic, and never quite as funny as it thinks it is, but there's still more energy and imagination at work here than most other new next gen franchises.

Read full review

9.3 / 10.0
Oct 27, 2014

Mission variety is lacking, but it didn't stop me from enjoying almost every second of play for 20-plus hours

Read full review

GameSpot
Top Critic
8 / 10
Oct 26, 2014

Sunset Overdrive doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's bursting at the seams with colorful action and creativity.

Read full review

Polygon
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Oct 26, 2014

Sunset Overdrive is contagiously enthusiastic

Read full review

Oct 30, 2014

Insomniac gets back to what it does best with this smirking, fast-moving romp through a gleefully silly open world.

Read full review

Yes
Oct 26, 2014

An interesting combo of shooting and skateboarding that's sadly buried beneat a grating tone and gross aesthetic.

Read full review

Oct 27, 2014

Sunset Overdrive is a welcome change of pace from the dour, serious AAA games we've been playing all year. Insomniac asks "who do you want to be?" with tons of customization options, some great weapons, and a very physical way to get around the city. The game feels a bit light in the content department, but it's undeniably fun.

Read full review

Oct 23, 2014

If I couldn't recommend the game to you based on its intense sense of motion or wild enemy and environment design, then I'd say the third-person shooter combat and unique upgrades will do the trick.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Oct 26, 2014

Sunset Overdrive may have a few flaws inherent to many open-world games and lacks an engaging narrative, but it's an incredibly fun, vibrant game that's a nice break from the overly gritty tone we see far too often in today's market. After Fuse, this is exactly what Insomniac Games needed.

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Oct 26, 2014

There's a lot of greatness within Sunset Overdrive, but it's obfuscated by a lack of difficulty and an aggravating tone. Ultimately, it's worth dealing with the game's worst moments to enjoy the many things it does get right. When you're darting around the world like a ninja in a denim jacket, there's nothing quite like it. If there is a next time for Sunset City, and hopefully there is, maybe things will come together more smoothly than they have here.

Read full review

Paul Tassi
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Oct 27, 2014

[I]t's been a long time since I've had a game feel relatively off-putting at the start, and then slowly reel me in until I couldn't help but love it by the end. I went to the party, got hammered, made out with a lampshade and went home, full of warm, fuzzy memories. It was an absolutely ridiculous experience that I would heartily recommend to anyone.

Read full review

8 / 10
Oct 26, 2014

It's the rebellious teenager of the Insomniac library. It doesn't always work the way you want it to, and sometimes it's trying entirely too hard, but Sunset Overdrive is ultimately a good kid when you meet it on its own terms.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Oct 26, 2014

A game that puts player fun ahead of everything else, and is bursting with colour and character.

Read full review

Oct 27, 2014

Microsoft Studios tapped on one of the best developers in the business for this Xbox One exclusive, and Sunset Overdrive is a triumphant next-gen coming out party for Insomniac.

Read full review

6 / 10
Oct 26, 2014

Sunset Overdrive has some excellent ideas, but its triumphs are sadly suffocated beneath ultra-repetitive mission design and unsatisfying enemy encounters.

Read full review

GamesBeat
Top Critic
85 / 100
Oct 26, 2014

Sunset Overdrive is a really good time. If you also regularly run with an online crew that enjoys a good "us versus waves of baddies" modes, you will likely get even more mileage out of it.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Oct 27, 2014

Sunset Overdrive is like chugging a litre of Sunny-D and then puking it out all over everything. But, you know, in a good way

Read full review