Onrush
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''Onrush'' (stylised as ONRUSH) is a 2018
racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...
and published by
Deep Silver Deep Silver is an Austrian video game publisher and a division of Plaion. History Deep Silver was announced in November 2002, with their first release to be '' Anarchy Online: The Notum Wars''. According to Craig McNichol, who ran Koch Medi ...
for the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
. Online servers officially shut down on 30 November 2022.


Gameplay

''Onrush'' is an arcade-style
vehicular combat game A vehicular combat game (or car combat game) is a vehicle simulation video game where the primary gameplay objectives include vehicles armed with weapons attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players. The genre n ...
in which players drive a variety of off-road vehicles, from motorcycles to buggies, across large levels over hilly terrain. The game features a boost mechanic that players can use to increase their vehicle's speed. Players earn boost by performing stunts and slamming rival racers to take them out. The game itself is a team game; twelve players are split into two teams of six. In a significant departure from other games in the racing genre, none of the game modes involve reaching the finish line first. In "Overdrive", teams score points by boosting; the first team to boost enough to reach the target score wins. "Countdown" involves a series of checkpoints and a timer that drains over time; teams can keep the timer from running out by successfully passing the checkpoints, and if either team's timer ever hits zero, the other team scores a point. "Lockdown" is a King of the Hill-style mode in which teams fight to stay inside a zone that moves along the track with them for points. "Switch" gives each member of each team three lives and tasks the teams with taking each other down to win, but upon crashing, players will respawn in a more powerful vehicle if they have lives left.


Development

''Onrush'' was developed by Codemasters Evo, a team largely made up of former employees of
Evolution Studios Evolution Studios Ltd. was a British video game developer based in Runcorn, Cheshire. The company was founded in 1999 by Martin Kenwright and Ian Hetherington, following the purchase of their studio Digital Image Design's publisher Ocean So ...
, which was shut down by
Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...
in 2016 despite actively working on games. With the game the studio wanted to answer the question "How do we keep everyone in the action all of time" the solution the team came up with was a gameplay system dubbed "The Stampede" by which players are respawned near the other players at all times creating a pack of cars traveling together. The team took inspiration from a variety of genres including,
sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
, shooters and
fighting games The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
. The latter influenced the team due to its possession of "fast flowing rounds that seamlessly roll into the next one and give players the opportunity for a comeback if their first round didn't go so well". The game ''
Rocket League ''Rocket League'' is a 2015 vehicular Association football, soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix for various home consoles and computers. A sequel to 2008's ''Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars'', ''Rocket League ...
'' was also a notable influence on the team. Due to the nature of the gameplay the team was nervous about pitching the game to Codemasters, although they were receptive and asked them to proceed with a prototype. Within the development team themselves there was some concern about the decision to stray from the established racing formula however at this point the mechanics specifically the "stampede" did not lend itself well to such a change. For game modes the team came up with 50 possible modes from which they prototyped twelve and eventually whittled down to only four. The remaining modes were chosen because "played to the strengths of Onrush and the Stampede system". ''Onrush'' was announced in October 2017 during
Paris Games Week Paris Games Week, or simply PGW, is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris, France. It is organised by SELL (''Syndicat des éditeurs de logiciels de loisirs''), a French organisation that prom ...
. The game was published by
Deep Silver Deep Silver is an Austrian video game publisher and a division of Plaion. History Deep Silver was announced in November 2002, with their first release to be '' Anarchy Online: The Notum Wars''. According to Craig McNichol, who ran Koch Medi ...
and was released on 5 June 2018 for
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
. Prior to its release a
public beta The software release life cycle is the process of developing, testing, and distributing a software product (e.g., an operating system). It typically consists of several stages, such as pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate, before the fi ...
was available for console players running from 17 May to the 21st with players who preordered getting access to it for an extra 48 hours prior. Although a version for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
was announced, though as of April 2025 it has not been released, and the digital console versions have been delisted.


Reception

The game was received well by critics, generating scores of 75/100 and 77/100 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions respectively on reviews aggregation website
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. Despite the critical response, the game sold poorly, which contributed to a series to layoffs at Codemasters, including game director Paul Rustchynsky. The game was nominated for "Best Audio Design" at
The Independent Game Developers' Association The Independent Game Developers' Association (TIGA) is a trade association representing the business and commercial interests of some video and computer game developers in the UK and Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the ...
Awards 2018, and won the award for "Game, Original Racing" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards. It was also nominated for "Best Racing Game" at The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards 2019.


References


External links

* {{Official website, http://www.onrushgame.com/ 2018 video games Codemasters games Cancelled Windows games PlayStation 4 games Racing video games Xbox One games Deep Silver games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom