License to drive?
I had never heard of Drive Girls before, and had no clue what kind of game it was. So I got the review copy and started to research it and I’ll admit, it looked a bit interesting. Taking a “warriors” style hack and slash and adding some driving mechanics, it seemed it might be an interesting take on the genre. Sadly, I have to report it’s not.
Shift into gear?
Taking place in a world where people can transform into cars and gigantic mechanical bugs are the enemy sounds ripe for a story only a video game can tell. Playing as Lancier and an assortment of other girls, it’s up to them to join forces through various story missions and take down the threat. Its sounds better on paper than it is in execution. I feel the story elements and way the game could play out was better imagined in my head than the game itself.
MSRP: $39.99
Price I’d Pay: $5.00
Multiplayer: n/a
How long to beat: 5-7 hours
Playing the game really boils down to some of the most basic of combos being strung together, moving from group to group. Moving from enemy to enemy and attacking over, over, and over again. I have enjoyed Warrior style games plenty of times depending on what game is offering. Maybe some zany story, an element of combat, or even just a fun loop of combos. Here I’m getting none of those feelings at all. It’s just a dreadful experience to me every time I pick it up and play. Characters themselves look good in motion, but just about everything else seems mediocre or repetitive. Gameplay, maps, and the visuals are just all ad nauseam. The story is told in mostly long dialog drawn out more in visual novel style.
Driving sequences are about the best moments, if I can even label them that. Even those are extremely limited. Changing into a car to ram or flip around to damage enemies is also interesting, but severely underutilized that it’s almost not worth even changing unless forcing it forces the player to. Voice acting sounds decent enough and the soundtrack accompanying the brawling moments of gameplay is fun, but nothing that truly stands out for me personally. I couldn’t even try out the multiplayer as it would never load for me, which is a shame since perhaps there could be some redeeming factors in there? Maybe?
Crash course
Aside from a few very rare moments of fun, that’s ultimately the problem with Drive Girls. It has a unique premise but nothing else stands out, and what is left is a game that is neither very fun, very memorable, nor even interesting. It’s a game that I could only recommend to the utmost hardcore fans of niche games, and that’s knowing all the caveats. It’s just a title I couldn’t get into, I couldn’t enjoy, and ultimately felt like barely any effort was put into to make it engaging or stand out. The premise alone sounds so interesting, so its makes the final results hurt even more. This is one flat tire.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
