Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is certainly a love letter to its predecessor Jet Set Radio and the franchise's many fans. Even though I haven’t played Jet Set Radio, I don’t feel the need to, in order to understand its influence on Team Reptile’s vision for Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, especially since the comparison inevitably comes up whenever the game is reviewed, analyzed or simply discussed.

Gritty and tightly designed, the game plays great. Whether you prefer skateboards, Inline skates or a BMX, you’ll quickly settle for a favorite. After that, you’re introduced to the amazing open zone layouts of New Amsterdam. The movement feels incredibly fluid, with multiple traversal routes and branching paths along the same rails. Everything works together seamlessly. Building long combos comes naturally. Once you discover all the different ways to boost your score, the game rarely interrupts your momentum, such as manuals to keep a combo alive whenever rails are out of reach. No mechanic feels underutilized, and as long as you keep using every feature available, combos become much easier and enjoyable to maintain. Being able to switch from Red to characters like Tryce or Bel is a nice gameplay addition. Having to start a dance cypher is a little touch I really favoured.
However, combat and police encounters are where the pacing starts to stumble. Going from chaining tricks at full speed to suddenly being forced into combat completely disrupted the flow, forcing me to duck into the nearest restroom, since police won’t ♥♥♥♥ off. I get that the whole Grind Fiction aesthetic is rebellion against the laws, but the police are just not fun to deal with. That combined with the same three attack moves you got is just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. It doesn’t give anything to the experience, merely ruining the flow you got going on. I just found myself dodging around trying to tag as many places I could before the dumbass chain mech came and chased me around for eternities. Bosses were the only exception for the use of combat where it didn’t bother me. Sure they don’t really do or add anything, but the purpose of combat there, didn’t have any influence on the fun outside the fights.

As a homage to SEGA’s cult classic installments, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk knows what the people want, with an exceptional knowledge of the Grind Fiction culture's choice of music, blending EDM, hip-hop, and breakbeat. The perfect soundtrack for cruising and graffitiing across the many open zones, bumping Hideki Naganuma and grinding rails. The OST is packed with standout tracks that could easily carry the experience on its own. Considering the music’s significance to the game's identity, Team Reptile clearly understood how important the soundtrack is and it absolutely delivers, like holy ♥♥♥♥ 2Mello’s “I Wanna Kno” is CRAZY.

Along with the music, the presentation is a personal favorite of mine. It is compelling and captures the essence of the Grind Fiction aesthetics. From low-poly, cel-shaded character designs, to Y2K fashion and vibrantly colored environments with so much life and activity. Interactions between characters Poppin’/breakdancing while battling rival crews for reputation, feels authentic and reinforces the game's artistic direction. The graffiti tagging culture and street art plastered across New Amsterdam sets the tone for the atmosphere you get from exploring. At last, the retro-futuristic approach that makes an immediate impression from the moment the game starts. It's reflected consistently throughout the UI, menus, and in-world technology, giving the entire experience a distinct visual touch that remains cohesive in the Grind Fiction world. The game has so much identity and style, and it’s clearly confident in its intention

The story gradually won me over as I continued. It didn’t really click at first, but the more time I spent exploring the world and interacting with its characters, the more invested I became in the narrative. While the story isn't the main reason I enjoyed the game, it's well-written and builds toward a twist that ties everything together. Yet the cast is a major strength. Each character has personality, and their interactions make them feel like more than supporting roles. Characters like Tryce and Bel are enjoyable companions throughout the journey, while Vinyl and DJ Cyber play important roles in keeping the narrative moving. Together, they help give the world a stronger sense of identity. The Dreamscape sections also stood out as a nice change of pace. Navigating floating buildings and railways while recovering fragments of memories added some variety to the game's structure.

With HYPERFUNK in development, I'm excited to see how Team Reptile expands on this formula and what new ideas they bring to it.