Overview – developed by Panda Indie Studio and published by Eastasiasoft, RPM: Road Punk Mayhem is a cel shaded bullet hell shooter taking place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Select one of three drivers of questionable sanity, taking the fight to the enemy forces with armored trucks, jets and massive motorized monsters. This title is available for all console platforms and the Steam service, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of RPM: Road Punk Mayhem that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story as the plot is pretty light, going straight into covering the gameplay for this release. Please note, I will be referring to this title as simply RPM throughout this review for the sake of brevity.
Gameplay – RPM is a vertical bullet hell shooter where three punks have travelled back in time, ready to save the world and hair from the evil Baldy Organization. To achieve this goal, players must make their way through several post-apocalyptic stages, battling the army of this evil group as they mobilize their forces. The player makes their way through preset stages, with waves of enemies that appear and attack the player with a hail of bullets.
At the start of the game, the player selects one of three pilots, each with their own unique weapons as well as their own durability to damage in battle. The weapons are a straight rapid fire shots, medium fire spread shot and slow homing bombs, giving each character a unique play style. While in the stages, the player can mash the fire button to get shots out faster, but if it is held down a constant laser beam will fire. Weapons can also be upgraded with power-ups in the stages.
The weapons and Lasers aren’t the only skill that players have in their arsenal, as there is a special warp and bomb that can be used. As players makes their way through stages a circle expands around them, slowing time down when the warp button is pressed. During this period of slowed time, the player can move through bullets and obstacles as the circle closes around them. When the player makes contact with the circle’s edge or the button is pressed again, warp will end.
This warp feature is on a cooldown before each use, making each usage of the ability a tactical decision. Then there is the bomb attack, which is activated by holding down the warp button, unleashing a blast that damages everything in the blast radius and clears bullets. This needs to be charged before it goes off, at the cost of using up the warp circle. The way this works pushes players to decide between dodging hazards or clearing the bullets, adding further strategy to play.
Throughout the game, players will find items that can be collected, including weapon power-ups (mentioned above), stop watches that restore the warp and fuel tanks for extra health. There is also the chance for bonus points to drop, boosting the score for that run. Speaking of score, destroying enemies will drop golden skulls and add to a multiplier, increasing the points that are earned. This does run out, so chaining enemy destructions is important.
At set points in the stages, a sub boss will appear, these vehicles are bullet sponges that will just absorb hits as they spit out dozens of shots at the player. Then there are the big bosses, each with their own introduction graphics to signal their arrival. These battles are tense and challenging, with hectic bullet patterns and multiple phases that really pressure the player. If the player has a multiplier at this point, it will be locked for the battle, but will be lost if the player dies.
On the subject of death, the fuel tanks will be lost when damage is taken from enemy bullets and environmental hazards. When all tanks are depleted, the screen will change and the sound will become muffled as they are on the edge of death. If one more hit is taken, the player will die and get a game over. But hope is not lost, there are limited credits that can be used to get back into the action, allowing players to keep fighting, but the score is reset to zero.
The last thing to discuss is the simple progression system. Over the course of gameplay and as players improve their skills with each run, they will unlock additional credits to help then get further into each run. Then there are the leaderboards, where players can challenge others and the world as they battle it out for the top spot. The highest score will be added to the rankings, as well as be displayed at the game over screen to motivate players to beat their personal best.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this title feels a little unusual when in motion, with the warp system and the charging up the bomb. There is a slight delay to some of the inputs and this can mess things up, which takes a little getting used to but after a little while it just falls into place. There is a lot of precision with the D-Pad and more flow with the thumbstick, but the optimal way to play games like this is with an arcade stick. Overall the game feels comfortable to play and works very well.
Difficulty – RPM is a brutal experience, with a difficulty curve that spikes almost immediately. There is little in terms of a tutorial and players are left to figure things out. This system can lead to a lot of frustration, as players can feel like they have been thrown in the deep end immediately. Unfortunately there is no way to ease the difficulty, but as players make attempts, they will be awarded additional credits, which can help to make it further on subsequent attempts.
Presentation – there is a very pleasing and stylistic look to RPM, with a bright and vibrant cel shaded presentation, alongside black and white graphic novel splash art. This looks good on all displays, with the ability to use Tate Mode if the player has a compatible screen. The game plays well with zero frame drops or lag during play. The sound for this game has a heavy edge to it, with a soundtrack that has a hard punk/metal feel that completes the look of the game.
Final Thoughts – I am a bullet hell enjoyer who has played many a shooter in the genre, with a soft spot for those that were made by CAVE back in the day. When RPM became available to me, the overall feel had a distinct appeal that made it easy an easy choice to review. I was unsure what to expect when I jumped into RPM, but I was not disappointed. There were some hiccups when trying to learn the different mechanics on the fly, which really knocked the difficulty up a notch.
It wasn’t a terrible experience, but there is a punishing difficulty curve after the first stage, leading to multiple failed runs. But after a few attempts I started making some decent progress. This isn’t the longest game in terms of completion from start to finish, but it can take a while to get to that point, which gives it some replay value. I can easily recommend RPM to fans of the bullet hell shooters, but it may be incredibly hostile to newer players.
In the end, I give RPM: Road Punk Mayhem a final score of 4/5. This is a brutally difficult bullet hell shooter that leverages its unique look, music and gameplay mechanics to make it stand out among the others. If you are a fan this will be right up your alley, but it is not for the faint of heart. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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