The year is 2030, and you are a competitor in a brutal new bloodsport – Rollerdrome. Combine stylish skate tricks with devastating slow-mo kills, picking your weapons with care to land the killing blow and make it to the end of the round… and maybe, with enough skill and hard work, to the end of the Championship.
To survive the cutthroat world of Rollerdrome, you’ll need to know the rules of the sport and the skills required to give you a competitive edge. Fortunately for you, Creative Director Paul Rabbitte and Lead Game Designer Andreas Yiannikaris are here to brief you, plus explain some of the PlayStation 5 specific features you can enjoy in the game.
- Skate or die: In Rollerdrome, slowing down or stopping is a sure-fire way to get yourself killed. Chase the adrenaline and keep up the pace at all times – you need to be constantly moving and carving paths through the arena. Focus on dodging enemy attacks and pulling off tricks – both will restock your ammo. You can fire at enemies to reduce their health and stagger them as you go, but don’t be tempted to stop moving!
- Moves like stagger: Staggering enemies interrupts their attacks, and in the case of the Riot Guard (who protects himself with a large metal riot shield) will put them in a vulnerable state where they’ll take damage from all weapons.
- Reloading: You gain ammo by performing tricks. The more complex the trick, the more ammo you’ll be able to gain. With the PS5 DualSense controller, you’ll be able to feel the lack of resistance in the trigger when you’re out of bullets – use this to your advantage to let you know when your clip is empty, and plan accordingly to keep your chamber full for next time.
- Weapons: You’ll have a range of weapons available to you as you progress through the levels – you’ll start with the basic Dual Pistols, but as you progress you’ll unlock other weapons, including a Grenade Launcher and the formidable Z-11 Energy Rifle. Take the time to learn which weapons you gravitate towards, and which are most effective against different enemy types.
- Artful dodging: While you want to stay moving at all times, you also need to be agile to avoid enemies – or to hunt them down. Use your dodge roll to make quick changes in direction. Keep an eye open for enemies taking aim – with the PS5 DualSense controller, certain incoming enemy attacks will also trigger haptic feedback specific to the strike type. You can utilise the feel of the haptic feedback as a cue to help you pick the perfect moment to roll away.
- Aim for perfection: The dodge roll and air dodge aren’t just handy for moving around – they’re also the most powerful moves you have, allowing you to dodge any type of enemy attack. You’ll need to utilise dodging as a tactic to evade the highly skilled House Players – enemy combatants who stand between you and your pursuit of victory in the Rollerdrome Arena. If you time it just right, you can perform a Perfect Dodge and enter Super Reflex mode.
- Stay super: Super Reflex mode allows you to experience the ultimate flow state! As an athlete at the very top of your game, the adrenaline rush of executing perfectly-timed tricks grants you a moment of slow-motion clarity. These brief bursts of slo-mo action are the perfect time to pull off some advanced tricks or blast some enemies, as you also gain a 1.5X damage multiplier while in this mode..
- Keep up the combos: Combos are achieved by securing kills in quick succession. The PS5’s 3D Audio provides spatial audio cues to identify the location of enemies around the arena. Use these sounds to help eliminate them as fast as possible and build a lethal combo to finish with a huge score.
- The sacred texts: If you’re stuck on a certain level – or just hungry for higher scores, check the Tricktionary, where you’ll find details for pulling off new and exciting tricks. You can start small, but as you improve, try to focus on the advanced tricks section – these difficult maneuvers will help boost your score, and they also award more ammo when reloading.
Rollerdrome launches August 16 on PS5 and PS4.