No Straight Roads

 Xbox One
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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  1. Xbox Tavern
    Sep 3, 2020
    70
    No Strange Roads presents something of an oddity – like a contradictory A-side and B-side. On the A-side you have a superb visual feast to experience, characterised by superb characters and bosses, coupled together with a solid soundtrack and a compelling yet simple premise that makes you want to ascend to the top of the music mountain. Unfortunately NSR’s B-side aggravates with unfair check-pointing, a tepid tutorial, a harsh opening level and a half-baked gameplay experience. Whether you can resist the ailments of the B-side depends on your tolerance for its shortcomings, but No Straight Roads still delivers a satisfying stage rush if you can avoid its pitfalls.
  2. Jeuxvideo.com
    Aug 25, 2020
    70
    Impeccable in its soundtrack, offering some inspired boss fights and really enjoyable to play, No Straight Roads is therefore convincing in its core proposition, except for a few readability concerns during more heavy clashes visually and soundly.
  3. Xbox Achievements
    Aug 28, 2020
    60
    After a rocky start, No Straight Roads settles into a rhythm, but its action is off-key, in spite of its edible looks and funky soundtrack. Regrettably, No Straight Roads is an action game that doesn't quite hit the high notes, with execution that falls some way short.
  5. GameSpew
    Sep 2, 2020
    50
    There’s a lot to like about No Straight Roads, there really is. But ultimately, its gameplay is disappointing. It’s essentially a boss rush game that’s been stretched thin by repetitive platforming sections and a hub that’s just a mindless collectathon. The boss battles themselves are of varying quality too, and are laden with frustration. With a patch or two No Straight Roads could be a decent game, but as it stands it’s impossible to recommend to even those who are really into music-infused adventures.

User Reviews

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User Score
4.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 27
  3. Negative: 14 out of 27
  1. Xbox_Alive
    Sep 14, 2020
    5
    No Straight Roads: musical adventure ]certainly got my foot tapping, albeit more due to frustration than the game’s admittedly catchy tunes.No Straight Roads: musical adventure ]certainly got my foot tapping, albeit more due to frustration than the game’s admittedly catchy tunes. Set in the music-obsessed metropolis of Vinyl City, No Straight Roads sees you play as two wannabe rock stars fighting against the dictatorship of NSR records, which not only mediates the city’s music tastes, but also controls its power supply. No Straight Roads has what it takes to be a pop sensation, namely a strong sense of style and a good ear. Vinyl City is a dazzling neon sprawl divided into multiple districts, from the kawaii-colours and anime billboards of Akusuka, to the leafy groves and neoclassical architecture of Natura. These districts are controlled by powerful pop stars you need to face in battle, with victory bringing you one step closer to NSR’s glittering skyscraper. These battles are themed around different musical genres. In Akusuka, you take on an entirely digital K-pop star created and controlled by a group of geeky teens. In the Tron-like Metro District, meanwhile, you square off against a cybernetic boyband called 1010, whose chrome avatars are actually repurposed military robots. From an audio-visual perspective, these encounters are wonderfully designed. The vibrant and imaginative staging makes each unique and memorable. The accompanying soundtrack is fantastic too, cleverly fusing a wide range of styles. If No Straight Roads were an album, it’d trouble the charts with ease. Unfortunately, it’s a video game, and as a video game it sucks. No Straight Roads can’t decide whether it’s a third-person fighter or a rhythm-action game, with the result that it fails at both. Your basic combat abilities involve hitting enemies with your instrument and firing musical notes at them, neither of which is particularly exciting. More powerful abilities are unlocked as the game progresses, but the standard enemies are so tedious to fight that it feels like a waste to use them. Bosses, meanwhile, rarely engage you directly. Instead they keep their distance, unleashing lengthy strings of attacks that look impressive, but mostly involve you standing in the right place and waiting for an opportunity to get in a couple of hits. Using the music’s beats and rhythms to dodge and occasionally parry attacks is enjoyable, but the game and the soundtrack only sporadically intertwine, so you don’t get the sense of rhythmic synaesthesia that you would from playing Guitar Hero or the fantastic Tetris Effect. Aside from collectibles and a handful of notes to read, Vinyl City is an interactively barren place. The writing is generally decent, but the main characters are difficult to like, particularly the petulant and annoying Mayday. And while I like how the game looks, there are times when its kaleidoscopic imagery works against it. Some boss encounters are so visually busy that it can be hard to parse what you’re supposed to be doing. The idea of a literal battle of the bands is a good one, and I was always keen to see what the next encounter would look like. But the lack of substance to the actual fights was invariably disappointing. Despite some impressive sights and sounds, in the end No Straight Roads has too many potholes to make its musical journey worth recommending for the Xbox One.… Full Review »
  2. Sanuka
    Sep 14, 2020
    3
    Overall excellent presentation, I love the music, the style, the artwork and it's characters. But sadly this is all hampered by it's poor andOverall excellent presentation, I love the music, the style, the artwork and it's characters. But sadly this is all hampered by it's poor and unrefined gameplay coupled with some buggy sections, optimization issues and crashes. Fortunately, this game is only about 4 - 5 hours long so it's not too much of a chore to finish the game and is best played with a friend while chilling out on the couch in a single evening. Other than that, the game seems quite ambitious and it does stand out in certain aspects but unfortunately, it only falls short of mediocre.… Full Review »
  3. miraika
    Jan 28, 2023
    10
    Good game , beatiful desigh and style , but one make me really angry , its camera , he bugget
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