Speed Limit Review: A Child’s Action Flick Fever Dream
Live, learn, die, repeat. Those four words happen to be my new mantra after playing Gamechuck’s Speed Limit. Both its Easy and Normal modes posed a challenge for me as I am a dawdler. I dawdle. If you were to do that here, you can get used to that repeat step for a long while. That being said, once I accepted the challenge the game offered, it was clear that the game delivers a solid fast paced gameplay experience. On top of that, saying Speed Limit takes you on a ride would be an understatement.
From the very beginning, the action packed fever dream vibe really resonated with me. The game flows along as if they asked a child to tell the plot of their very own action flick. The game’s change in perspectives really moves the game along at a very quick beat pairing well with its super quick moment to moment gameplay. However, as complimentary as the perspective changes and gameplay may seem, they are over pretty quickly and don’t do enough to wow the player. I enjoyed my time with Speed Limit and I think you will too, but I can’t say for sure that I will remember playing it weeks from now.
Presentation
Speed Limit is portrayed in gorgeous pixel art, hence my dawdling self wanting to dawdle. It is just too pretty not to look at. The game offers five and a half segments to play, all different from the ones that come before it. You start on foot riding on a train, followed by driving both a car and bike, and piloting both a chopper and jet soon after. Each one brings a new element to the presentation. Once escaping the train, you are on the open road, then driving your motorbike through the tunnels at dusk, followed by shooting it out in the clouds as a jet pilot. Every environment introduces something completely unique to dawdle at. I was all about it.
Gameplay
Speed Limit is all about its addicting speed. Fast paced action is its bread and butter. This fast paced action pairs super well with not only my mantra above, but the most important part of it; repeat. The respawn is nearly instantaneous. The respawn mechanic is absolutely crucial to this type of a game and admittedly my enjoyment of it. Luckily, they nailed it and my mantra was intact. You as the player are tasked with taking out enemies via your unlimited ammo, of which you have in every segment, while simultaneously dodging oncoming enemies. With only a few exceptions, you are always a one hit kill making its moment to moment gameplay a constant thrill.
Checkpointing is yet another thing that’s crucial to this quick paced gameplay style. Don’t worry, they nail that too. As soon as you either learn the trick or pattern, you are seconds away from a checkpoint. Whenever you fail at reaching said checkpoint or completing a segment, it always feels at the fault of the player rather than the game. Solid performance mixed with quick level pacing stand out for me here.
In the train segment in particular, there is a train car filled to the brim with a specific enemy type and only this type. There are people wearing trench coats of which you encounter only sparingly up to this time. They are the more sneaky of the enemy types in this specific segment. Once you pass them, they will try to get the jump on you from behind, leaping at you in random increments of time. This was among the most fun I had playing as I finally learned to take them down after putting my mantra to the test.
The final segment is a jet segment. This segment was my absolute favorite. The perspective threw me off initially, but after I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed it. I was able to get through this segment the quickest, but I totally went back to do it again. The feeling of taking out these enemies while doing barrel rolls and popping flares really did it for me. Feeling like a glorified Maverick is something I can wholeheartedly recommend.
The change of pace added to the game via its multiple settings and perspectives is absolutely the game’s selling point. As soon as you the player feels the gameplay might be getting stale or you might need a break, the game pivots and convinces you otherwise. These pivots don’t only improve the pacing, but the gameplay as well and even more so. The gameplay in each segment is drastically different from the one that came previously. Ultimately, these changes help the ebb and flow, keeping the player engaged throughout.
One of my favorite aspects of Speed Limit comes with its attempt to add a little bit of harmless anxiety to the chase. Each and every segment has an element that forces you to not only survive, but ‘go go go’ as fast as you can. For example, if you aren’t quick enough on the train segment, an entourage of riot gear fellas that are always at your back will catch up to you and take you out. On the motorbike segment this aspect is morphed into a truck barreling at you from behind.
While the anxiety element is one of my favorites, it helped me find something I didn’t enjoy too much; cramping. My hands do not cramp often, but in the motorbike segment in particular the controls didn’t do me any favors. Having to keep my finger on the gas to avoid being run over while simultaneously dodging and shooting made for a difficult situation out of my control. Now, I agree this is a small gripe, but I do think it affects the flow of the game. I mentioned above how the change of scenery helps keep the player playing. If I have to take a break due to my hands cramping, then that directly disputes how the game operates. This game will live and die in the moments where people have a free night to finish something, but if their hands cramp up that might not happen.
Story (Spoiler-free)
You as the player start as an innocent train passenger thrust into shooting his way through his pursuers from car to car or die. It is easy to gloss over that too, as I assume they intended, and I totally did as the gameplay is anything but insatiable. This all seems to happen in a single day as well. For a game lacking any real telling of a narrative, there is definitely a twist at the end of the game that encourages replaying over and over on top of its pop in and play gameplay.
Breakdown
Game: Speed Limit
Developer: Gamechuck
Availability: PS4/5 (February 16, 2021), Steam (February 17, 2021), Nintendo Switch (February 18, 2021), Xbox (February 19, 2021)
Reviewed on PS4
Runtime: Approx. 2.5 hours
Pros:
Complimentary gameplay mechanics and pacing
Gorgeous pixel art
Simple but effective vibe
Cons:
Lacks wow factor
Hand cramps
Final Thoughts
While the game doesn't try to wow you, it simply wants you to jump in and have a good time. In that it excels. It’s clear from the very beginning that Speed Limit offers a quick solid experience with little commitment. Its systems and mechanics are almost completely complementary to each other leaving the player engaged with the thrill of it all if nothing else. Speed Limit doesn’t ask for a lot of your time, but what it does ask for is totally worth it.
Review Written by Austin Ernst