Games worth discovering

The Vehicle Combat Game Revival Is Here - Rebel Riders First Impressions

20K View2022-07-12

If you grew up around or otherwise have fond memories of the original PlayStation era, then there’s a good chance you spent some long weekends playing raucous sessions of Twisted Metal (or one of its many sequels) with your friends. There was just something magical about blowing up your buddies while driving an ice cream truck piloted by a homicidal clown.

It wasn’t just Twisted Metal either. Other console hits like Vigilante 8 and Interstate ‘76 provided similar thrills, and older PC titles like 1996’s Death Rally and 1997’s Carmageddon also taught us about the many bloody things cars could be used for other than racing. It hasn’t been the same since that golden age of vehicular violence, though. Despite an attempted revival of the O.G. a decade ago and efforts to breathe new life into the genre, car combat has seemed more or less dead since the early 2000s.

At least, that’s what I thought until I tried out Rebel Riders, the new car combat game from mobile mega-company King. Yes, the Candy Crush people. And no, I’m not joking. It’s still early, but I think this could be exactly the shot in the arm that this type of game has been desperately in need of.

The first big difference between Rebel Riders and many earlier car combat games is in its style and theme. Eschewing the grim-n-gritty aesthetic of its forebears, Rebel Riders has a family-friendly sheen, albeit with just the tiniest bit of bite to it. Instead of playing as a serial killer who moonlights as an ice cream truck driver, you choose from a variety of cute toys with ‘tude. This colorful cast looks like it could have walked right out of an ‘80s cartoon—there’s Nuke, the action hero duck; Bloodclaw, the cat in a futuristic bodysuit; Eddie, a pink teddy bear wearing a slick leather jacket; and several other similar options, plus bevy of skins for the characters.

Though it’s obviously aiming for a wider (and younger) audience than something like Twisted Metal or Carmageddon, Rebel Riders’s cast maintains that all important element of character. Listen, I won’t argue that playing as a purple pony who’s dressed like he’s headed to a Devo show is cool. But it’s memorable, at least. It’s not boring, which is the cardinal sin of all too many hero shooters and other character-based games.

I mention hero shooters purposefully, because Rebel Riders has more in common with that popular mobile genre in its structure than with earlier car combat games. It was obvious from the first time I saw the game’s menu, which looks nigh identical to the menu of T3 Arena (a recent hero shooter that I reviewed and enjoyed a fair bit). You unlock new heroes and modes by earning trophies in multiplayer. You have a battle pass that you rank up to earn other rewards, including loot boxes. And you have a focus on multiplayer through a set of game modes with rotating maps.

This all seems fairly standard, but it’s getting into said multiplayer where Rebel Riders truly begins to shine. In addition to picking a character—which is purely cosmetic—you must pick a vehicle. You begin the game with three vehicles unlocked: a slow but beefy tank called Boomer, a medium-sized Humvee with a shield special ability called Ranger, and a speedy, quick-turning bike with low health called Lazer Stryke. Each of these feels both totally unique from the other vehicles and also completely viable, depending on the mode you’re playing. And if none of them click with you, there are five other vehicles (for a current total of eight) which you can unlock through progress or lucky loot box pulls.

The first game mode you’ll check out—by necessity, as the others are unlocked until you’ve earned enough trophies—is the traditional Team Deathmatch. This mode plays out on small, symmetrical maps as three-versus-three affairs. The Bomb the Base mode is similar, except instead of getting kills, players have to carry explosives into the opposing team’s base. There’s even a ten-player take on the battle royale genre (cloyingly called “Battle Toyale” here) which felt shockingly fresh given the much shorter match times, much smaller maps, and the fact that we were all trying to survive while maniacally zooming around in colorful cars, rather than scavenging for weapons and hiding in bushes.

For my money, though, the real star of Rebel Riders is the fantastic Stash the Cash. In this game mode, which is once again a three-versus-three team conflict, players must speed around the map collecting coins, and then bringing them back to a giant holographic pig to “bank” the cash. The first team to bank ten coins wins, but if an enemy player intercepts you mid-delivery and blows you up, they steal however many coins you were carrying.

Stash the Cash grabbed me with a manic, party game vibe that feels almost more like something out of Mario Kart. There’s a wonderful risk-reward tension that plays out during these matches, as you make on-the-fly decisions about whether to go for an extra coin that just spawned or focus on getting back to your base to bank the one or two coins you already have before disaster strikes. Likewise, you can choose to put your energy towards defense and denying the other team from banking their cash, or you can dedicate yourself completely to just grabbing the money yourself.

Part of the reason Stash the Cash struck me so well is that it really emphasizes the strengths and weaknesses of different vehicle types. In particular, while it was never my choice in Team Deathmatch or (sigh) Battle Toyale, I learned to love the Lazer Stryke motorcycle while playing Stash the Cash. Sure, focused attacks from the enemy team could take me out quickly, but with its already higher average speed, smooth handling, and two boosts available, the Lazer Stryke provided all the tools needed for me to run circles around enemy teams.

If I was left with any concerns about Rebel Riders, they mostly lie in the game’s overall progression. It seems to reward new vehicles regularly, so I’m not too concerned about not having access to a vehicle everyone else has. But players also earn parts to level up those vehicles. You get those parts out of loot boxes, and each box of parts is specific to a single vehicle and, as far as I could tell, chosen at random. Let’s say I’m a huge fan of the Arachnafang, the creepy spider tank vehicle, but across months of playing I’m only finding upgrade parts for Skyhawk hovercar. It would feel awfully bad for a vehicle I didn’t like to be nearing max level (whatever that is) while my preferred ride is still stuck at level 2 or 3. And as presumably more vehicles will be added, this concern will only grow.

That said, King still has time to figure out the proper approach to this system. This isn’t a final review, because Rebel Riders is still in early testing. Even now, though, it’s a slick, surprisingly polished game, and play the test will even unlock the premium version of the preseason battle pass for free. If you have any nostalgia for Twisted Metal or other vehicle combat games of the past, don’t hesitate to give Rebel Riders a shot. Even if you think the toybox aesthetic is silly, you might just be surprised at how solid it feels.

You can download the test version of Rebel Riders right here via TapTap. A release date for the full version has not been announced, but we’ll definitely have our eyes on this one—when we’re not busy greedily grabbing at more gold coins in Stash the Cash, at least.

💬 Planning to check out Rebel Riders for yourself? Let us know in the comments! And if not, tell us your favorite car combat game from the past!

CHECK OUT SOME MORE FIRST IMPRESSIONS POSTS FROM TAPTAP: