Let me start off with saying – this game sets very high standards for Xbox One games. A game developed by Insomniac Games (makers of the Playstation exclusive franchise Ratchet and Clank) and published by Microsoft Studios, Sunset Overdrive is a extremely fun open world game which I’ve spent 50 hours and counting in.

The game puts you into the role of a character (with no name) who you create yourself using the character creation system – allowing you to change a variety of features – your gender, facial hair – features you’d expect in a character creation system. However, for some reason, I felt myself pulled into the system and probably spent more time creating my character in Sunset Overdrive than I did in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Insomniac have created a world, full of things to do – collecting humourous collectibles such as toilet paper, or even collecting the Smartphones which let you view some humorous text messages written by Brandon Winfrey – which also leads to the “Sunset TV” available to view in game or on YouTube, an update on the latest Sunset Overdrive news for the week. Although Sunset TV isn’t in very high quality in game (which is understandable) it’s still a very cool feature and one of many which makes Sunset Overdrive my Game of the Year of 2014.

Although the game only runs at 900p & 30fps, the game looks aesthetically beautiful – the graphics hold up well for a game which at it’s core is explosions everywhere – and Sunset Overdrive, even with it’s crazy mechanics and explosions, never seems to drop frames. The audio in the game is fantastic, with hilarious remarks, amazing music and a generally great atmosphere. Sunset’s storyline is a fun 15 hours worth of gameplay full of hilarious remarks and great characters – and the writing is absolutely fantastic. The story is based on a drink called Overcharge that turns everyone into mutants, and a crazy mascot called Fizzie. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with Sunset Overdrive’s story and am looking forward to playing the new DLC when I get the chance.

Sunset’s map is extensive and full of insane things to do – and it’s the first game I’ve played in a while where I enjoy doing the optional challenges. Most are not too hard, but are still a huge amount of fun. The 8 player co-op mode, Chaos Squad, is ran on a basis of three challenges, with the amount of “chaos” (essentially points) you get based on the difficulty of the mission. At the end of the three maps, you will have to defend Overcharge vats from incoming waves of mutants. In 2015, we will be doing a gamenight on this mode, so make sure you join if you have the game!

All in all, Sunset Overdrive is my favourite game of this year. It’s a mix of amazing gameplay with a extensive open world – and I can’t seem to find any faults. I absolutely loved my experience with Sunset Overdrive, and I hope there will be a sequel. I’m honoured to give the game a 10/10. Next up, the Mystery of Mooli Rig Story DLC!

(Fizzie, fizzie, fizzie)

10/10