Rooftop Renegade (Switch) Review

At PAX Aus in 2022, I spent three days checking out the many games that were either already out or on the way. One game that stood out was the up-and-coming Rooftop Renegade, which came away with an Indie Showcase and People’s choice award. It turns out Melonhead Games, a small indie studio hailing from my hometown in South Australia, is behind this interesting platformer which looks like it will keep speedrunners on their toes. It is due out any minute now; if you want to see what it’s all about, keep reading.

In the neon-filled future, Svetlana is a renegade on the run from Globacorp across cyber cities, a resort amongst the clouds and lunar mines. You’ll grind rails, dash and duck around obstacles and navigate platforms with Globacorp’s hover car in pursuit. The CPU is constantly trying to slow you down by destroying platforms and rails or activating obstacles to add time you don’t have before they catch up with you and end your run. It’s not just about finishing the level with the best time you can; you’ll want to be grabbing crystals for improving your end score, going towards the rank awarded for that run.

Once you start the game, you immediately have Arcade Mode, Generator Mode and Party Mode on offer. Arcade Mode is where you’ll initially spend some time, and there are 20+ levels to speedrun through. These levels are designed to get you used to the different abilities and obstacles and will take you across the game’s different themes; you’ll need to work on your overall rank to unlock new levels and hover blades. The levels are wisely gated to help introduce you to the new abilities that come with your newly unlocked blades as the chaos increases.

I found it was easy to get caught up in ‘just one more go’ after navigating everything the level could throw at me. Even when you get a good run time, you remember you got caught up on an electric gate or had the platform destroyed just as you were about to land, which slowed you down just a few seconds. Because of the unpredictability of every level, you’ll always feel you might be able to nab a slightly better time. Even when I didn’t get a level’s S ranking, I was still pretty chuffed when I was about to move fluidly through one of the much busier levels.

Once you clear the Arcade levels, the good news is that the fun doesn’t have to end there with Generator Mode! Here you can either type in your own combination of words or hit the randomise button and receive a seed-based generated level. While the scenery might be familiar, every hit of the randomise button is a whole new level you’ve never run before. Not only does it keep the runs fresh for as long as you want to keep running from the evil corporation, but your level ranking still gives you points to your overall rank if you still have gear to unlock.

When you’re done with being a lone renegade in a dangerous world, grab some friends and jump into Party Mode. This mode is an offline 1V3 multiplayer affair – one player as the runner, and up to three other players are Globacorp flunkies firing on the level to hinder Svetlana until she is captured.

In the Arcade Mode, you’ll not only be looking to get the best time but also the highest rank, ever reaching for S rank. With Generator Mode, you can aim to get the best rank or taking note of seeds for challenging again and again. Even if you aren’t one for multiplayer, you’ll have hours of speedrunning regardless. With all the chaos on the screen as the level is constantly changing around you it doesn’t feel like there is a perfect run as such, but being able to react to the changes and get the best rank feels just as vindicating once you’ve run a level multiple times. It, of course, helps to have your previous ghost show you how much better (or worse) you’re doing.

In games like Rooftop Renegade, where there is a focus on speedrunning, the game must run as smoothly as possible, and at PAX, I was told by one of the team that they wanted it running smoothly on the Switch despite being released on multiple platforms. Throughout my time with the game, I never noticed any lags or drops in the framerate during the levels. The videos on the loading screen run a little rough, but it isn’t representative of the actual game. As the game is being released on other platforms, the Switch will have a different resolution and level of detail than the others. However, the futuristic environments still look good and add to the game’s overall feel. The characters have a more exaggerated cartoon look; most of the time, you only see Svetlana on the screen. With various obstacles or parts of the platforms that can be depowered or destroyed, it’s always clear what the obstacle is.

If the future sci-fi visuals aren’t enough to get you into the game’s vibe, the dynamic soundtrack adds to the levels. It plays into the frenetic action and helps keep you in the zone while you jump, duck, and dash with split-second changes.

While the game does an excellent job of spacing out the different hover blades abilities across the Arcade levels, it would be okay if there was at least another of the abilities to start with to speed up the earlier runs. It at least provides the opportunity to return to these levels to snag even better times with the new gear. One other minor issue I found now and then was that some sections of the levels could feel sparse with no paths to move to for that stretch – you’re just running along an ordinary empty space with nothing trying to stop you. It might be a credit to how busy the rest of the game can get. However, it slows down the action in these moments.

Rooftop Renegade is a wild ride for speed runners and fast-paced platformer fans. The fastest times and higher rankings are hard won and feel rewarding when you beat the CPU hellbent on slowing you down. It might look even better on other platforms, but it runs pretty smoothly on the Switch, and the futuristic backdrops look good without distracting from all the action. It may not be for everyone. If you aren’t into getting the best time or speed running in general, your mileage here is limited. But there is plenty to enjoy, and the unpredictable challenge is worth checking out.

Rating: 4/5