No Straight Roads

 Xbox One
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
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  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. 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. NoNo 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.… Expand
  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 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 theOverall 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.… Expand
  3. Sigmund92
    Sep 5, 2020
    9
    Great game! Better then expected, not really good at this kind of gamr but as a Malaysian definitely will support this game. But really hope the perfect parry mode can make easy like with checkpoint in between the fight.>< This is the only thing stopping me from 100% the game now.
  4. Wqrt
    Sep 7, 2020
    10
    Masterpiece of a game the ends up hotting all the right notes to be the best indie game of 2020
  5. Azamander
    Jan 21, 2021
    8
    I'm a "patient gamer" and usually wait for games to go down in price, but I bought this game at full price at launch because I love the style, and want to support games like this. The game is full of charm, excellent design, and stunning visuals.

    Since the developers addressed the bugs that were present at launch (and for a few months after), I have come back to adjust my review and    I'm a "patient gamer" and usually wait for games to go down in price, but I bought this game at full price at launch because I love the style, and want to support games like this. The game is full of charm, excellent design, and stunning visuals.

    Since the developers addressed the bugs that were present at launch (and for a few months after), I have come back to adjust my review and give it a higher score.

    One downside is that the multiplayer is not really playable, since the camera only follows one player and doesn't restrict the other player to stay within it. My P2 got lost running off the camera so many times and I had to run around looking for where she got stuck, and it really gets in the way of boss fights and levels. They should have made the multiplayer split screen, or use a shared camera, or just not included it at all.    … Expand
  6. casttech
    Sep 25, 2020
    10
    An absolutely phenomenal experience, a complete delight to play through and one of the best surprises of 2020! (play on PC if you can)
  7. miraika
    Jan 28, 2023
    10
    Good game , beatiful desigh and style , but one make me really angry , its camera , he bugget
  8. GamingCouchSpud
    Dec 20, 2021
    7
    No Straight Roads is a strange game, it is an action adventure, rhythm infused, third person combat music game. Confused yet?

    Set in "Vinyl City" you play as two wannabe rock stars who are fighting against NSR records. NSR records controls the music in the city and also the power supply, so clearly they need to be stopped. You move from room to room and fight against the enemy in    No Straight Roads is a strange game, it is an action adventure, rhythm infused, third person combat music game. Confused yet?

    Set in "Vinyl City" you play as two wannabe rock stars who are fighting against NSR records. NSR records controls the music in the city and also the power supply, so clearly they need to be stopped.

    You move from room to room and fight against the enemy in different musical genres. For example in Akushuka it is all K-Pop, in Metro District you fight against a boyband, and so on.

    The graphics in this game are superb, a very unique look and as you would hope the soundtrack is excellent.
    Although I was expecting more of a rhythm music game, this at it's core is an action adventure.

    The story is fine, you are the underdogs trying to over come a corrupt music industry and you fight from the bottom until you get to the top. It is a story that everyone can understand and be empathetic towards. Although the fighting system is simplistic, you avoid being attacked, and then you attack, it is fun how you judge when an attack is coming by listening to the music.

    This is a fun game, I think the problem many will have is that they will expect too much, sometimes you just need to turn the volume up, don't take things too seriously, and just enjoy the experience.

    A simple and fun game, I enjoyed playing, not going to set any records, but I give it a solid 7/10    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. XboxAddict
    Sep 8, 2020
    85
    No Straight Roads is far from perfect, but when it comes to everything related to its audio, from the soundtrack to the great voice acting, there’s really no better. It’s clear that No Straight Roads was made with passion and care, and it shows with its uniqueness and visual flair. While I wish the gameplay was equally as satisfying as its soundtrack which elevates the whole experience and more than makes up for its shortcomings, I’m glad to have been a part of Bunk Bed Junction’s fight at taking NSR down and restoring order to Vinyl City while rocking out.
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  2. 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.
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  3. TheXboxHub
    Sep 3, 2020
    80
    No Straight Roads is a love letter to the old school. From its rock versus electronic story to its gameplay and characters, this could fit in with any of the classics from the PS2 era and it's all the better for it. It doesn’t just appease this longing for the old, it entirely satiates it.
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