Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

GOG version as of this moment doesn't get updates (first patch out since about 2 weeks) or the dlcs for some reason.

tl;dr Bomb Rush Cyberfunk isn't perfect, but it is a blast to play and successfully captures the spirit of the two Jet Set Radio games. This is indeed the spiritual successor we were waiting for. Finally after 20 years !! positives: -"JET SET RADIOOO !!!" vibes are strong -killer soundtrack -soooo stylish -gameplay is fun, but not especially challenging -platforming combined with small degress of classic extreme sports games mixes up the classic JSR formula by a notch -interesting story and likeable charakters -runs on a potato negatives (none of these are game breaking): -the game does not do a good job at explaining certain things -changing characters and gear is a little tedious (you don't have to do this though) -levels are emptier than in the older games (less pedestrians & interactive/destructible objects) -no graffiti editor (maybe someone can figure out how to swap the graffiti with .pngs?) -no Radio DJ for narration

I loved this game, but I see a lot of ways it can be improved. Starting with the good, the game looks, sounds and plays amazing. The character design, graffiti, levels and everything else are a feast for the eyes, they look slick and extremely well polished, the UI design is also stylish and readable, easly the best part about the game. About the music, it's a bit different than JSR, but I think it works for what they are doing, ultimately, there are some stinkers, some bangers, but overall, really good time. Gameplay is smooth as butter, love the mechanics and the movement, just playing the game moment to moment feels cool and exciting, which is great. The game has some small issue that can be easily fixed, like one button cutscene skip; easier character/ride swap; shorter police custcenes; no animation for small graffiti; better map, which shows dance pads/taxi/bathroom/other collectibles. There are also bigger issues, my biggest gripe is the scoring system and difficulty, I understand this game is supposed to be easy, but I feel like the scoring system is so forgiving and easy to increase, that even bad players will get bored at it, decreasing the combo multipler to 0.5x when hard turning; tricking at the wrong time making you drop your combo; making manual timer NOT replenish by griding, only by using SPECIAL tricks (with blue metter); and removing the scaling (or putting a cap on it) that is applied when building blue metter with tricks would really improve the the scoring system and challenge. Another issue is sound design, the soundtrack IS strong, but silcence it and you will feel how barren the map feels, adding more ambience goes a long way. Cutscenes are also affected by this, they are plagued with jarring music cuts and the sound effects/ambience problem is even more evident with them. In the end, being a JSR fan or not, this game retreads ground but also has fresh ideas that work well. I really hope Team Reptile continue making games like this.

If you even remotely enjoyed JSR or JSRF you should buy this game.

Played: Version 1.020385 (8 months old) (4 available versions spanning 1 year at the time of writting this) PC used: R5 5600x / RTX 3060 (12gb) / Win 10 Pro 10.0.19045 Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is an absolute gem of a game. Based on the Jet Set Radio games its got a lot of their charm and ideas but it adds its own twist to them. Quick rundown you compete with rival groups with graffiti, tricks and challenges to move towards your main goal. It's different to the Jet Set games and some may not like the changes, personally I like it but some things for sure needed refinement. Story is pretty dang good, some fun twists and it makes me want to see a sequel that expands on its ideas and settings/characters. The music is damn near perfection, I couldn't help but match my tricks to the beat of each song (PLEASE release an Official Soundtrack on GOG!). Performance wise I got a stable 144hz at 1440p max graphics, easy to run, recognizes my dualsense and xbox controller with no issues, only two visual bugs, no crashes. Lastly the mods for this game are fantastic and worth looking into! Negatives: No achievements, no pruchasable Soundtrack, also strangely enough no sales till this one, wish this had the same offerings as the Steam version. Personal negative, I feel the late game is kinda same-same as the start. New locations and new rail designs are fantastic but it could do with some gameplay/customization unlocks that could spice up how we play or face challenges/enemies. For instance combat could've been far more fun to engage in if we had more ways to fight along the way, a custom graffiti maker for each size to add our own charm in the game, heck even a custom color selector for clothing and gear would have been a very welcomed addition later on in the game (maybe even a custom character maker once the story is done). Hopefully we improvements like that in a sequel :) Solid 8.5/10 P.S. - Make sure to read the phone messages you get, they give great tips.