REKT! (Xbox One) Review

The developer of Rekt! High Octane Stunts was very economical with its premise. All arenas to play in are made up of the same nondescript, neon-soaked assets, and completely lack any theme. While this is efficient, having every area look the same makes all of them blur together. Only the layouts of loop de loops, half-pipes, ramps, and many platforms, make each stage distinct. It is almost as if the levels were built in an editor, and what is more disappointing is that there is no mode for building courses. It is obvious that the designers used a level editor, and allowing users to make their own would have greatly added replay value.

The lack of care put into theming of locales can be forgiven if the gameplay maximizes what each arena has to offer. Luckily, the handling of the vehicles feels tight and the dozens upon dozens of unlockable cars to drive, have their own bespoke stats. The only drawback to the gameplay is the reality that cars do not have the versatility of humans. When Tony Hawk or Bam Margera does tricks in a skating game, the inputs can get pretty complicated, but it is rewarding to pull those moves off. The skater would go through an elaborate animation, and the skill of the player would be to carefully manipulate them so they land smoothly, in order to earn the score.

Rekt! High Octane Stunts's gameplay relies on real-time physics to make tricks happen. While the list of tricks may seem long, most of them will be achieved by accident… or without any effort at all. The meat and potatoes of the skill ceiling is rotating the vehicles' vertical and horizontal axis while in mid-air, and making a clean landing. This is all done with the right analogue stick, and aside from some loose drifting mechanics and the nitro booster, there is no much else to Rekt!'s mechanics.

The scoring system and milestones lead to unlocking more levels, more cars, and some customisation options. It is a very casual style stunt game compared to the likes of Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. There are no complex inputs, and the objectives are easy to complete; thus ensuring a steady stream of unlockable content to drip-feed dopamine, so that playing feels rewarding. It is not deep, but it gets the job done for young gamers who wish to play something casually.

The visual style of Rekt! is simple, but effective. It goes for that bright '80s neon grid aesthetic that was intensely popular throughout the mid to late '10s. This is a title made with Unity, and was made to run on low-spec machines, so it does end up looking and running very well on an Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S. The cars are modelled daintily and cutely; made to look miniature and adorable. The impression given is that they are toylike, and that the visual representation of the game is how a child might imagine playing cars would look like in his head.

The various modes to play with others are amusing for a couple of hours. Virus is where one driver is infected and has to spread the infection by crashing into others; ultimately amounting a long and tedious bout of "keep away." Checkpoint is a half-hearted attempt at implementing racing into the maps. Problem is that none of the courses are designed to be raced in, and this becomes extra challenging when it comes to parts where drivers must clear gaps or get on certain platforms. Without the right car, this can be almost impossible in some instances. Capture the crown is Rekt!'s version of Capture the Flag, and like the other modes, it does not play to the game's strengths. These extra modes are more amusing diversions than anything that anyone can truly invested in. It is surprising there is no football mode considering how much that Rekt! leans in on the Unity engine's physics.