Parkour in a Haunted Machine World
Whenever I see ‘younger’ folk in real life doing parkour, my first thought is, “I am so glad I have other hobbies.” But even then, you have to admire the skill and athleticism that goes into what they do. Not to mention the constant fear of death.
Parkour in games, from the comfort of my sofa, is much more my cup of tea, and it has been a successful addition to many games, from Mirror’s Edge to Assassin’s Creed. Climbing and jumping around buildings has always delighted me, while falling simply means a quick restart.
It’s with that in which we welcome Motorslice; something that feels like the weird child of Mirror’s Edge, where you are exploring a strange, timeless liminal world.
Motorslice is modern, but it feels like a game of yesteryear in its vibe, story, and gameplay. At times, I felt like I was in a world from Shadow of the Colossus or Ico, which certainly isn’t a bad comparison to make. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has vanished, leaving us with rogue machines moving around a strange landscape. You play as someone called P, a slicer, accompanied by a little drone robot named after your gamertag.
Slacking Off
P and the robot are tasked with climbing huge megastructures and taking out the machines along the way. The story and character moments are gradually revealed and dropped as you progress. Throughout the game, there are moments where you can ‘slack off’. These are quiet interludes between P and the robot to have a chat and talk about life or the environment around them. I liked the premise of this game and these little breaks between the combat and parkour. The visual storytelling of the environments is intriguing, though the overall premise might feel a bit vague and lightweight for some.
Scaling the Heights
The gameplay is in the third person, starting off quite simply as you run across these strange environments using basic parkour skills. None of what you will be doing will come as a massive surprise, as you have likely done this at least once in a myriad of games over the years. There is double jumping, clinging onto ledges, avoiding traps, backward ledge jumping, and, of course, the old favourite: wall running.
The Motorslice Mechanic
Then there is the actual ‘motorslice’ mechanic, where you can use your chainsaw to move up and down walls in certain shaded areas. All these moves are brilliant when you find your flow and move quickly across the levels, making you look like you are in The Matrix. But, as the saying goes, what goes up must come down, and I am afraid you will be falling down and dying a lot.
Yes, Motorslice will feel unfair at times, and missing jumps or falling can be deeply frustrating. However, when you finally nail that difficult section you have been stuck on for so long, it feels great. And luckily, the checkpointing is very generous, so you won’t be repeating huge run-ups to get back to where you died.
Slicing through the Rogue Machines
There is combat in the game as well, which involves using your chainsaw to battle machines scattered around the levels. You get to slash with your weapon, utilising power-up moves, defensive blocks, and evades. This system works well, but it is very easy to get overwhelmed and die.
The boss battles at the end of each chapter definitely channel that Shadow of the Colossus energy, requiring you to climb up huge machines and complete a series of events to take them down. Again, these encounters can be exciting and frustrating in equal measure, especially when the imprecision of a jump feels incredibly unfair.
Visually, this is delightful and beguiling. I love liminal spaces where the architecture seems impossible yet amazing. The little cutscenes are cleverly edited with jump cuts that I really enjoyed. I also loved the sense of scale and the illusion of an open world, even though the actual path is quite linear.
Further to that, there is a great visual and audio effect when you die; P gasps in sudden shock as she returns to the world. The audio is excellent too, featuring amazing new music full of sci-fi ambience and sleek electronic beats.
A Rewarding Journey Despite the Clunky Edges
My advice when you start Motorslice is to be prepared to get annoyed. You will die a lot and repeat sections again and again, but there is a lot of good in this game, even when the mechanics don’t work quite as smoothly as they should. The story is intriguing, the visuals are sublime, and the journey is a solid one.
The biggest takeaway though is how it reminds of the classics of yesteryear, even though there isn’t anything inherently retro about it. So, if you want a parkour adventure without the real-world danger, give Motorslice a run around.
Important Links
Motorslice On Game Pass Throws You Into A Brutal Machine-Run World – https://www.thexboxhub.com/motorslice-on-game-pass-throws-you-into-a-brutal-machine-run-world/
Download through the Xbox Store, via Game Pass if you like – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/motorslice/9p0073g9fw5z
