Carmageddon: Rogue Shift

“While the introduction of roguelike elements is a nice twist, in general this feels very low energy and is lacking the visceral fun of the original”

“An explosive return from this 30-year-old franchise, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is close to being the full package. It's one of those rare reboots that can satisfy older fans while also appealing to newer players drawn to the roguelite loop. It's fast, entertaining, and backed by a teeth-rattling heavy metal soundtrack.It's a shame, then, that there isn't more of it. With no multiplayer and no additional content announced, Rogue Shift starts strong and shows real promise, but it ultimately runs out of gas.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a game that delivers an enjoyable experience with its chaotic atmosphere and entertaining opening hours, but quickly becomes repetitive due to weak vehicle controls and a limited content structure. While its rogue-lite foundations attempt to bring a fresh twist to the formula, the game ultimately falls short of expectations in both presentation and gameplay variety.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a solid, fast-paced, and engaging racing-action roguelite, capable of becoming addictive thanks to a well-crafted gameplay loop, rewarding progression, and a wide range of strategic options. The gameplay is chaotic and exhilarating, supported by a strong system of weapons and perks and a reliable technical performance. At the same time, however, the game abandons much of Carmageddon’s historical identity: iconic characters, vehicles, and maps are missing, the narrative remains marginal, and the overall aesthetic feels dark and somewhat anonymous.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is hands down my first personal choice for GOTY contender. It’s big dumb fun; pedal to metal, bash everything is sight, run over zombies; it’s quite addictive. This shows that games shouldn’t be overly complicated to be enjoyable. Despite the annoyances mentioned above such as rubberbanding and few quirks that comes with being underpowered, it doesn’t deter the overall experience and you’ll always tell yourself one more race. If you’re looking for a way to unwhine after a hard day, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a great option. Highly recommended.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is neither the last game in the series nor a completely new game. There is a big experiment going on here that sometimes fails but mostly succeeds in being exciting, tense, and damaging without any qualms.”

“There's something undeniably addictive about Carmageddon: Rogue Shift: the combination of explosive runs, constant progression, and risky decisions creates that classic roguelite loop where you always want to try again.”

“As much as I enjoyed my time with Carmageddon Rogue Shift and I applaud the decision to streamline the formula – the lack of any sort of multiplayer is a real shame, and also, whilst Max Damage’s iconic car is a main feature, the lack of a goofy parade of the previous characters and cars in this new, more grim-faced iteration does strip the game of a lot of its historical identity, feeling a little generic ‘blood ‘n metal’ with a lack of humour in the game. That said, it all boils down to a very playable single player experience, with all the heft and weight you’d expect from a racing game in this genre, which I’m completely on board with.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift takes a few runs to really shift into gear, but once you’re using better vehicles and upgraded weapons, it gets quite fun.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a mechanically satisfying destruction-based racer, offering high-octane and chaotic races combining bold weapons, lots of zombies and lots of crunching metal.”

“Carmageddon Rogue Shift is a great return for a franchise that spent far too long forgotten. By embracing the roguelite format, the game finds a modern way to preserve the chaos and destruction that have always defined the series, even while stumbling over issues of balance and repetition. It’s not a game that tries to impress technically, but it succeeds in delivering races the way arcade fans love them—the classic mix of shooting, crashing, and bombing. With some fine-tuning, especially regarding the final boss and content variety, Rogue Shift has everything it needs to establish itself as a viable new path for Carmageddon.”

“Carmageddon is back, reborn as a roguelike racer with heaps of car combat. The core gameplay is fun, but Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is ultimately let down by its near non-existent event variety.”

“Carmaggedon: Rogue Shift is chaotic, challenging and consistently fun - and that’s despite the absence of online play.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift is a straightforward roguelite that sees you race around tracks using cars with unique handling properties and weapons as you blast your way through zombies and enemy racers alike as you seek victory.”

“Carmageddon: Rogue Shift tries to take the popular vehicle-combat formula and bring it to a different genre. At times, it works and can be fun. Unfortunately, frustrating driving controls, response issues, lackluster AI, and repetitive race types and boss fights hold this game back in ways that’ll disappoint long-time fans.”