Thank you Melonhead Games Pty Ltd for sending us a review code!

Globalcorp has been using mysterious crystals to create portals that can warp through time and space. The renegade, Svetlana, has stolen their technology and fused it with her hoverblades. She now tries to collect these crystals before Globalcorp can, but they’re hot on her trail and trying to stop. As she’s making her getaway, Globalcorp shoots at her surroundings to slow her down, so they can catch up with and capture her.

The single-player campaign has twenty-four levels with the first few being dedicated to basic controls and maneuvers. You’ll learn how to duck under and jump over various obstacles. Grinding on rails is fun and charges up your hoverblade abilities. Your hoverblades can boost, blink, jump, and phase past enemy attacks.

The levels will have moving platforms and several layers of obstacles. While you may get knocked down, there always seems to be a level below to safely land on and keep going. Many of the obstacles are color-coded. Items in blue will speed up your character and orange ones will slow her down. You’ll want to jump over or blink/phase through orange obstacles if possible.

Occasionally, you’ll have an option to grind on a purple rail and when you do so, it will launch a counterattack on the Globalcorp officers shooting at you. There’s a long purple grinding rail at the end of each level and once you make it there, you’ll get your score tallied up. The score is based on completing the level, how long it took you, and how many crystals you collected along the way. I got an A on most of the levels on my first time through. S ranks are available and I still have a couple of levels stuck with B’s. I like how you can race against your ghost to see if you’re doing better than last time.

It’ll take less than ninety minutes to complete the built-in twenty-four arcade levels. You can randomly generate levels to keep yourself busy and level up your character to unlock more powerful hoverblades. That’s the extent of the single-player experience.

Local multiplayer opens up more possibilities by letting up to three more players attempt to slow down and stop Svetlana from reaching the end of the level. The shooters can target the rails to prevent them from charging. Blockades can be deployed and conveyor belts can be reversed to slow down the rooftop renegade. There are tractor beams that can be reversed to push Svetlana down instead of lifting her up.

The visuals are futuristic and colorful. While there are bursts of speed and fast moments, I don’t get the same speed rush that the Sonic series offers. There’s a decent variety of levels and the randomly generated ones mix things up nicely.

Rooftop Renegade’s audio is well done. The futuristic soundtrack is composed by John Oestmann and is available on Steam. For the price of $5.99 you’ll get to listen to forty-four minutes of smooth techno music. The sound effects are fitting as well.

Morally, Rooftop Renegade is pretty clean. We know that Globalcorp is bad, but that doesn’t pardon Svetlana’s stealing from them. It also doesn’t absolve Globalcorp of attempted murder.

If you like parkour platformer games, Rooftop Renegade is worth looking into. The single-player experience is a tad short, but if you have others to play alongside you, you’ll have some fun with this game.