By now you’ve probably had a chance to try out Sunset Overdrive and given the city a little spin for yourself. With these quick and easy tips, you can become a vanquisher of the OD and savior of the humanity trapped within Sunset City’s invisible walls.
1: Don’t stop moving
Staying still is the number one way to get wrecked in Sunset Overdrive. Many of the enemies you encounter have bigger and badder (or sometimes just a whole lot more) weapons. Not only will keeping mobile keep you out of their firing range, but it will also build your style meter and brings me to tip #2.
2: Mix up your mobility
Sunset Overdrive’s combo and style systems reward the player for mixing up their playstyle. Transitioning from a grind into pole swing into a wall run before blasting a group of OD away with your Flaming Compensator is sure to not only look awesome but score big on the style meter. The game is quite liberal with how fluid and free flowing the traversal systems can be, so don’t be afraid to use that X button to keep moving. Grinding on a rail that’s about to end? Switch to an undergrind then at the last second, tap X to switch to grinding atop the rail then the A button to launch yourself high into the air.
3: Max out your style
Sunset Overdrive has a unique system where most anything you do builds up not only a combo gauge but also a style meter (it’s that lightning bolt in the top right of the screen). Killing bad guys, grinding, vaulting, wall-running, all of these help build up your style. With each progressive notch on the lightning bolt, you activate a particular Amp equipped to your character and boost up your combat potential exponentially.
4: Tweak your amps to your playstyle
Just like how no one character will look alike in Sunset Overdrive, no one will have a similar amp loadout. With five amp slots, there are a great number of customization options. Hero Amps augment your character as he goes around Sunset City, from increasing the damage of his or her dodge roll, leaving a healing trail behind while grinding (handy for healing teammates during Chaos Squad), or my personal favorite: Screw the Fourth Wall, where an invisible announcer follows you around, proclaiming your awesomeness. You’ll have two Hero Amp slots to work with, so customize to your liking. In addition, there are Melee Amps that power up your melee swing, Dive Bomb Amps that switch on when you do a ground pound (hit the melee button while in the air), and Epic Amps that unleash incredibly powerful abilities once your style gauge is maxed.
5: Level up your weapons
Every weapon you pick up along the way carries their own experience meter. With each progressive level on the weapon, its maximum ammo capacity and overall damage increase. Also, hitting level 2 with a particular weapon will unlock a Weapon Amp slot, These work similarly to the Hero Amps for the player, augmenting the weapon in various magical and explosive ways. Would you like your weapon to have a chance to detonate a giant TNTeddie when it kills an enemy or maybe recycle a few rounds back into your inventory after blasting away?
6: Check up on Floyd from time to time
Floyd, the chummy scientist behind all of your amps, tends to cook up new concoctions from time to time. The main batches are all story missions as he builds up new bases across Sunset City which always culminate in a hectic base defense-style mission as you try to defend the amp-cooking overcharge vats from OD. Not only are these missions frantic and filled with larger-than-life swarms of enemies, but the armps you get afterwards help kit the player into much more of a badass.
7: Grab every collectible you see in Sunset City
While grinding around Sunset City, chances are you’ll be seeing some sort of collectible item just out of reach. Neon Overcharge signs, toilet paper handing from street signs, moldy sneakers, helium-filled Fizzie balloons, and more litter the streets of Sunset City. More than just a series of collectibles for an achievement, Floyd can use the chemical components from these items to craft new amps for you. His selection changes throughout the story of Sunset Overdrive, so it’s worth checking up on him just to see what else he’s cooking up.
8: Two-Hat Jack’s got the goods
Two-Hat Jack’s, the merchant with the giant Flavor Flav-style clock around his neck, is the man you need to look out for when you need to up your arsenal. Jack deals in cans of Overcharge, so beating up rogue OD, taking part in side missions, or Chaos Squad are the easiest ways to get that currency he craves. His stock always increases the further you progress into the story of Sunset Overdrive, as well as the level of ridiculousness with the various weapons. Another part of Jack’s ever-expanding inventory are a number of maps for the various collectibles scattered about, although these can get quite pricey.
9: Need some quick boosts? Chaos Squad!
In Sunset Overdrive, there’s no need to just play by yourself. After all, you made a custom avatar that’s far more baddass than any of the Scabs or OD roaming the streets, so why not show it off to other players? From any of the photo booths scattered across Sunset City, you can access the online-only Chaos Squad. The better you perform (remember hints #1 and #2 to boost your score in certain objectives), the more points you earn. After a successful Night Defense, your points will be tallied up and you’ll earn rewards based on just how highly you scored. These can range from cold hard cash and Overcharge, upgraded amps, cosmetic upgrades, and more. Even when you’re just starting out and learning the ropes, you’ll get rewarded for your effort so it’s worth your time to check this mode out.
10: Keep doing what you like and earn those badges
As you’re playing Sunset Overdrive, you’re bound to get frequent pop-ups mentioning a new badge that you’ve unlocked. These badges are another form of currency used to unlock player-specific upgrades called Overdrives. Do you use deployable turrets a lot? Spend some of those badges to increase your ammo capacity or the amount of style you gain with each kill. Just as customizable as your hero or heroine, Overdrives give you the tools to find a style that suits how you like to approach the city and specialize however you see fit. Don’t stress about trying to unlock everything and just have fun experimenting and finding new creative ways to survive the Funpocalypse.
