Carmageddon: Rogue Shift Review – A Controversial Franchise Returns to UK Shores
In a surprising turn for British gamers, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift has launched without facing the ban that plagued its notorious predecessor. The original Carmageddon game, released in 1997, was effectively prohibited in the UK after the British Board of Film Classification refused certification, sparking nationwide moral panic about video game violence.
From Tabloid Fury to Zombie Mayhem
The Carmageddon franchise emerged during the late 1990s when video games became society's favourite scapegoat for youth behavioural issues. Game publishers actively courted controversy, operating under the belief that all publicity ultimately served their interests. Following Resident Evil's provocative 1996 poster campaign featuring a blood-filled tub, Carmageddon delighted in generating outrage with its central mechanic of mowing down pedestrians.
This calculated controversy made the game infamous but came with serious consequences. Inspired by the 1970s B-movie Death Race 2000 starring Sylvester Stallone, Carmageddon was originally conceived as an open-world racing game that actively encouraged pedestrian collisions. The resulting media frenzy led to the BBFC's refusal to rate the game before PEGI's establishment, effectively banning it from UK release.
To appease authorities and secure distribution, developers made significant alterations: replacing ordinary pedestrians with zombies and changing blood from crimson red to infected green. While this preserved the game's macabre humour, it fundamentally transformed the experience into something tamer and less provocative.
A Dormant Franchise Reawakens
The series' third instalment in 2000 proved even more lacklustre than its predecessors, and despite a reboot attempt a decade ago, the franchise remained dormant until this month's zombie-style resurrection. Carmageddon: Rogue Shift arrives not as a direct sequel but as a spin-off that introduces significant gameplay changes, most notably adopting a roguelite structure.
Players begin with a basic machine gun-equipped vehicle, navigating zombie-infested urban wastelands featuring graffiti-covered derelict buildings and industrial backdrops, all accompanied by a relentless heavy metal soundtrack that veteran players will recognise. Each race presents primary and secondary objectives, typically requiring podium finishes alongside zombie quotas, nitrous oxide boosting distances, or specific damage amounts inflicted on rival racers.
Gameplay Mechanics and Frustrations
The combat system creates inherent tension between destruction and victory: when leading a race, there are simply fewer opponents to target. This dilemma extends to vehicle selection, with cars specialising either in speed and manoeuvrability or resilience and damage capacity. Track design exacerbates these choices through immovable obstacles like pillars, pipes, and indestructible barricades that can halt vehicles abruptly, particularly punishing slower, combat-focused cars.
Compensating for these challenges, the game employs extremely aggressive rubber banding. During boss battles against small enemy vehicle groups, collisions briefly pause your progress while opponents remain conveniently positioned ahead. Similar mechanics affect standard races, with competitors occasionally overtaking without apparent cause after prolonged periods in the lead.
Between races, players visit modification shops to purchase weapons and perks, hoping to build vehicles capable of defeating level-ending bosses. Available inventory depends largely on chance, as does credit earnings to some extent. This randomness means acquiring essential weapons like rocket launchers over useless alternatives like laserguns becomes a matter of luck rather than strategy.
Final Verdict on the Revival
Carmageddon: Rogue Shift occupies an awkward middle ground: neither terrible nor particularly good. Races frequently fail to excite, with multiple random elements overwhelming any developing player skill. The meta-game of permanent upgrades and unlocking superior cars and weaponry provides some appeal, but when core racing lacks engagement, structural enhancements can only accomplish so much.
This outcome feels authentic to the franchise's history yet results in a game that remains more interesting to discuss than actually play. The roguelite format introduces novelty, and moments of destructive fun emerge with better equipment, but chaotic races regularly frustrate, useless cars and weapons disappoint, and excessive randomness undermines the experience.
Notably absent is multiplayer functionality, while boss races stretch tediously long. For a franchise that once dominated headlines through controversy, this revival delivers competent but unremarkable racing action that fails to recapture the cultural impact of its infamous predecessor.
Carmageddon: Rogue Shift releases on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC priced at £32.99 with a 16 age rating from publisher and developer 34BigThings.
