MOTORSLICE Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC)

MOTORSLICE strikes me as being the illegitimate child of NieR: Automata and Shadow of the Colossus’, with, perhaps, a DNA strand of Lollipop Chainsaw. A strange combination, and yet one that, weirdly, works a lot better than it should. It took me a while to click to it—the crossbreed of Prince of Persia-like parkour; the monolithic mechanisms; and the low-poly nature minced with chainsaw-ripping dice-and-maul combat. But, once it started to fall into place, I couldn’t resist the temptation. A peculiar world called out to me, and I couldn’t help but accept the invitation to dive deeper into its mechanical carcass and tear its gizzards from the inside out.

What is faithfully described as a “slice-of-life action-adventure” game is, at least once you remove the low-poly aesthetic and the “immaculate” vibes, a stylishly cool and elegant parkour-centric affair that blends the glorious spirit of Mirror’s Edge with the acrobatic whimsy of Prince of Persia’s slick combat. Armed with a towering megastructure of machines and automative forces with hostile tendencies, MOTORSLICE leans into its strengths as a robotic force of technical innovation that knows how to get your gears grinding and the blades on your chainsaw ripping.

As P, a sleepy protagonist with a chainsaw for a sidekick, naturally, you find yourself etched into a mechanical world where humans cease to exist and a giant orb—the main focal point of the game—coughs up homicidal machinery in an attempt to thwart your efforts to eradicate and ultimately sever a few bad wires. As this flexible heroine with a blade, you find yourself with the monolithic task of navigating the so-called Orb, and confronting various mechanical bosses along the way. But, herein lies the catch, and, more importantly, the biggest challenge of the game: everything that the far eye can see is hidden behind a whole lot of legwork. There are no shortcuts here — only trials, obstacles, and a concerning amount of fatalities. But, more on that later.

To call MOTORSLICE a soothing experience might be a bit of an overstatement. Given that you not only have the problematic P to (gracefully) shove around, but a camera system that has an awful habit of taking you away from the action at every given moment, you essentially have two problems to juggle. On the one hand, you have a parkour system that requires you to vault, sprint, shimmy, and tear into the walls at the same time whilst evading a rather horrible fate. But on the other hand, you have a camera to control—a device that, if you fail to keeps tabs on, brings you a step closer to death at every possible turn. And no, it isn’t like your ordinary camera; this particular drone requires more of a hands-on approach, annoyingly.

Of course, once you finally manage to wrap you head around the dual camera-parkour malarkey, the game soon begins to find its rhythm. You gracefully ascend golden towers, carve into the walls with a chainsaw, and slowly carve through a mechanical fortress whilst battling against hostile machines. At times, it can feel great—liberating, even. But when death comes out to knock you from your pedestal, it can feel like a chore that you just don’t want to do. And unfortunately, due to the nature of the world and the mechanics, death, sadly, is never all that far away here. And by that I mean, you are likely to suffer a lot as you mindlessly volley and flail around in an attempt to clasp onto just about anything that looks climbable. Usually, it is. But, like all platforming affairs, most ascents come with a lot of trial and error segments.

When MOTORSLICE finds its stride, it can feel like a free-flowing experience that’s both fun and satisfying to watch unfold in a low-poly environment. To take a chainsaw and carve through the golden cloisters of a monolith whilst gradually conquering a megastructure is a fantastic way to burn through time, truly. The falls and the frequent death sequences might pose as a slightly irritating roadblock, true, but when it all clicks, it becomes a satisfying endeavor that can keep you engaged for the long haul. Perhaps it’s the creative boss fights. Or maybe it’s just the sense of intrigue that drives you to uncover new heights as you desperately search for a new foothold.

With around fourteen hours of gameplay to unearth here, MOTORSLICE gives you plenty of bang for your buck, with a solid selection of boss fights, a constant stream of vertical challenges, and, as if to push it just one step further, a hard-hitting drum-and-bass score that will keep you awake from the moment you place your first piton to the second you exhaust your gas in the chainsaw canister. Could it do with a little more variety in its gameplay department? Perhaps. That said, if you’re a fan of Jusant-like ascents and punch-drunk combat with rip-roaring battle sequences, then you’ll probably enjoy tearing into this monolithic carcass.

Verdict

MOTORSLICE finds its rhythm as a unique successor to the likes of Shadow of the Colossus and Mirror’s Edge, with a low-poly finish and a challenging yet oddly rewarding parkour-centric experience that, provided you can withstand the countless failures, is likely to give you something to write home about. It might be a slightly irritating affair, and its frequent death sequences can leave you feeling a little lost and frustrated. But, as I said, when the cogs begin to align and the chainsaw begins to tear into the heart of its monolithic world, everything starts to feel brilliant—immaculate, even.

For a game that’s punching upwards of fourteen hours in length, I’d say that you have more than enough material to slice through here. It might just make you a little angry and hungry for the downhill path, but if you can stick with it long enough to reach the apex, then you’ll more than likely come out with a better outlook on the uphill journey. Eh, just try and ignore the death toll — you’ll thank us later.