Motorslice Review – Great Ideas, Clunky Execution

Motorslice Review

There are landmark titles that create such an impact, echoes of their traits linger in games years later. Prince of Persia implemented a parkour system like no other. With ease, you could run along walls, leap to pillars and balance on precarious beams to reach your destination. While this notion has evolved into free-form traversal led by the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the tight, linear format has faded. Motorslice proudly places this ethos at the forefront. Will this style resonate with modern audiences or will it feel like a relic of a bygone era?

You play as P, a fierce young woman who wanders into a barren place where living machines dwell. With a chainsaw in hand, you must eliminate all threats as you venture through the maze-like world. At your side is a drone that gives information to further the story and aid you on your journey. The plot is paper-thin, barely giving an incentive to delve deeper, leaving the gameplay to carry the experience.

Princess of Persia

Traversal is a core component as you must swing off poles, climb around pillars and run across walls in order to reach your destination. Moving from A to B is where Motorslice excels. Areas are well designed with clear routes, guiding you to your next location. Scouring the area for your path and making the dangerous ascent is a thrill. This is also where the strange camera effect becomes most noticeable, mimicking a droid’s perspective. The odd movement is off-putting, but luckily, you can turn this off to revert to a traditional style.

P’s movement feels quite slow, and each leap to safety has a slightly floaty quality. This takes a little time to adjust to, especially since modern titles tend to feel faster even when using similar skills. Frustration can creep in due to controls that lean more toward its influences than its modern contemporaries. This can often lead to P plummeting to her death, forcing you to be more precise and deliberate with every input.

Although linear, there are some open areas that include collectables in offshoots of the map. Grabbing these initiates a timer, pushing you to speed through the many obstacles to deposit the item. This is a great way to make collecting more enjoyable, encouraging further exploration of the environment.

Rev Up Your Chainsaw

Unruly machines patrol areas, requiring you to tear through them with your chainsaw. Most only take a few hits, with some needing you to insert your weapon into its surface and move around the enemy to destroy. Some enemies shoot discs from a distance, which you must part with the click of a button and then send back with another press. While the idea works, its implementation makes these encounters feel unnecessarily punishing. The timing is strict, which can result in numerous deaths that can lead to tedium.

Huge bosses culminate levels, challenging you to use all of your skills to overcome. Inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, you must work out a way on to the machine, destroying the orange panels as you climb to the top. Each encounter is wonderful and is a highlight of the experience. With your chainsaw, you must navigate up huge surfaces, shifting direction to reach your destination. Although issues with the controls can lead to multiple deaths, the generous checkpoints ensure that minimal progress is lost.

An Old Soul

The retraux presentation may not appeal to everyone. There’s a PSX-style minimalism with environments as blocky skyscrapers block your view. Pixelated textures also lean into this ethos to further add to the notion of an older adventure. While parts of the game manage to capture the aesthetic in a modern manner, dark interiors look ugly and muddy the otherwise distinct visual style. As you approach enemies, a slick atmospheric Drum ‘n’ Bass soundtrack kicks in. Each needle drop by Pizza Hotline is great, which adds a real sense of energy to each encounter.

Motorslice has the heart and soul of a classic adventure title, but it lacks modern sensibilities that sometimes hinder the experience. Platforming across its well-crafted linear levels is wonderful, but open areas are not as well-tailored. The controls can also be frustrating, with P not always feeling as responsive as you’d expect. Combat is serviceable, featuring a parry system with a harsh timing window, and it’s in these mechanics that the game channels its Shadow of the Colossus-inspired boss encounters most effectively. Although some genuinely strong ideas shine through, the rough edges make them hard to fully appreciate.

***PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher for review***