Hover

Still Keeping it Groovy
Yeah yeah i hear it all, blah blah blah Jet Set Radio rip off, blah blah blah Cyberfunk is better. Look, Cyberfunk dropped a little less then a year ago at the time of this review and yeah its immaculate. But for almost 7 years now, Hover has been keeping the lights on and carrying the Jet Set Radio fandom on its back alone until they showed up. This game is NOT a rip off of JSR because there's no such thing, if you make a game that involves the visage of the greatest video game ever made, then by all means praise will be given, and this game deserves all the praise for keeping us fed.
Hover is fun, fast paced game with the smooth vibes that I became accustomed to since playing JSRF for the original Xbox back in 2003. I been aching for a game like this for years, and in 2017 it came along and scratched that itch as well as connect me to other long time JSR fans from around the world.
There are some missing pieces that would have put this game on the same grounds of JSRF such as a DJ to give you the 411 on current events in the game, it felt a bit quiet in the speaking department which kind of hurt the overall enjoyment of the story. But thats just a preference for an already solid 8/10 game.
You can get this game anywhere from steam to consoles, id absolutely recommend the Switch version as its perfectly designed for on the go gaming. (BTW use a controller for this game, using mouse and keyboard can be a bit awkward)

Throughout this entire game, I could really summarize it as "Jet Set Radio ran so that this game could walk". Sometimes, a peaceful walk is what you want though.

It is odd. I feel like I should absolutely adore this game. It really just is ok though. The music ranges from alright to Hideki Naganuma, which is really cool that he did songs for this indie game. Movement is... fine. It is like half of the game, but it really is just fine. I guess it never clicked with me, which is odd since Jet Set Radio clicked with me extremely fast. It is very simple to control. Trick / Grind and then movement with a jump button. There is also a scanner to find where to go next and hack things. Very simple.

Movement feels like it should be better. The gameplay looks amazing, but actually playing it feels very floaty and odd. Wall slides cancel downwards momentum which feels odd. Grinding can slow you down depending on your build (huge issue that will be covered soon). Jumping feels like you're on the moon. It is really just... fine. It is nothing atrocious, but I felt I could never really do cool stuff with it. It is fun to just free style some combos, just don't try anything precise. Speaking of, combos are not earned here. They just never stop. Sliding pretty much made combos impossible to drop. That and wall runs / jumps.

So the big issue. Progression. This game is semi-MMO. So they have a stat based upgrade system. I hate this system. Like a LOT.

Major issues:
-Most upgrades are deleted if you unequip them. This punishes experimentation
-You have to start from scratch to try a new DNA kit (character)
-Lower tier upgrades have zero purpose compared to higher tier ones. Higher tier are objectively the best with no reason to keep the lower tier ones or to even win them
-High tier upgrades can be won extremely fast by getting a fuzzy metal at any mission
-Leveling up feels slow and pointless
-Varying builds completely destroy any form of cohesive level design

This is a Jet Set Radio styled game. Because of that, all of the characters should be roughly the same so that levels can be designed around how they move, accelerate, jump, etc. Because of this progression system, the world cannot be designed around that. This does not destroy the game, but it greatly limited its ability to be better than it is. Combos / Tricks that you use to get through the worlds feel slapped together. There does not feel like there are many purposeful paths to take.

I know that it sounds like I am absolutely dogging on this game, but I did have fun with it. Gameball matches were amazing, races felt fun, and the worlds were incomprehensibly large. There was just so much more this game could have been if they removed the progression system.

Speaking of the worlds, there are 2. Haven district and Administrative District. Both of these are absolutely huge. Like, both could be their own game huge. That is probably my favorite part of this game. It is just so big. Just exploring felt really dwarfing to me.

Overall, it is alright. It is nothing deep, but it is fun enough for what it is. Don't go into this expecting a thrilling run, expect a little walk. 7/10

What an amazing game ! The universe, the mechanics, the lore
Unfortunately lobbies are almost empty

You run around and do parkour and tag stuff and break-dance in sci-fi cities/slums/sewers. It's fun to play in short bursts, probably better for longer if you're in a group. It's compared to Jet Set Radio which it obviously takes inspiration from but it does it's own thing well enough I think to be worth a play even if you're not here for the Jet Set vibes this game has. Definitely a game to give a shot if you like open-world exploration or are lookin for something more "chill" or relaxing.

A pleasant & zen parkour playground where you stunt around a bunch of interconnected jungle gyms.
You can even make your own races up to 19 checkpoints & more in the mission editor.
Can be <$6 sometimes so definitely grab it if you have a chance.

absolutely gorgeous visuals.
You can really tell that there's heart in this game.
It's practically oozing style and I love the vibes.
The mechanics and progression leave a lot to be desired though. for a game all about grinds and movement it just feels clunky and awkward.
The scanning system doesn't always work as well as it should either
Still super worth it if you can get it on sale though

This game revolves around reactions and planning ahead before jumps. It's action packed and looks awesome and worth every penny so far. Well done guys.