Gripper Review – Powerslides and Family Ties

With a sea of new games being released every day, there can be times when it feels like there really is nothing new under the sun.

That’s not to say that developers don’t try their absolute best to distinguish themselves from other titles. A general rule of creative pursuits is that everything is inspired by something else. This is true of books, movies, comics, etc..

An unfortunate truth of the gaming industry is that these inspirations are often a lot easier to see, usually because games often play very similarly to each other. While this isn’t a problem in of itself, as many devs seek to chase what’s popular and successful, it leads to a market of the same-face syndrome, and the really unique titles can often go overlooked.

I’m glad to say I didn’t overlook Gripper.

Gripper is an action-adventure game played completely from the seat of a bike. Taking some clear inspiration from the 1998 anime movie Akira, you ride, slide, and dodge along with a number of other bike-based mechanics, taking on a rogue AI and giant monsters alike and burning rubber across a doomed cyberpunk planet.

The story of Gripper follows None, who left his homeworld after a troubled relationship with his parents. When they beg him never to return, None does the opposite and discovers that the world is under siege by a vengeful ai named Zero. Teaming up with his childhood best friend, None takes Zero on to save his world from utter annihilation.

Gripper tells a very human story about family and loss, using the backdrop of a doomed cybernetic planet to frame it all. It tells this story in a short, sweet way, without overcomplicating anything or distracting from the gameplay.

I see people in the review space calling out None’s character as being ‘edgy’ or over the top, mostly due to the energetic performance of his voice actor. To this thought, I say phooey; None is a great character, who clearly has a troubled and complicated past, and in my opinion was the perfect vessel for this story to be told. I never thought he was “too edgy” or annoying, and I actually found him to be pretty cool at times, especially when he was sliding his bike past dangerous obstacles.

The world of Gripper is a distant cyberpunk planet, a desolate desert littered by evidence of human exploitation. It’s full of people just trying to get by, rogue machines, and giant sand bugs that want nothing more than to tear you apart.

The world is connected by a series of vast tunnels, which our hero None uses to navigate in his quest to stop the AI menace, Zero. I thought the inclusion of these tunnels was a clever way to tie the bike gameplay to the world around you, and it made the world feel a little more unique when compared to similar sci-fi settings.

A lot of the gameplay in Gripper is tied to these massive tunnels, where None rides his bike at top speeds either chasing or being chased by Zero. Spacial awareness and quick-time events are the main challenges in these segments, and they last just long enough to keep from feeling repetitive.

If Gripper was any longer, these sections might be a problem. However, the game only takes maybe 3-5 hours, depending on how ‘good’ you are at it and if you avoid bonus/side content. In this time, the game is separated in equal parts between these tunnel segments, and boss fights.

In boss fights, you’re given free control of your bike, and the camera moves to a top-down perspective. Using a grappling ability to throw objects (and the boss’ henchmen,) you widdle down a much larger health bar than yours as you dodge the boss’ deadly attacks.

Pretty standard boss fights in that regard, but Gripper mixes things up by letting you collect new moves from the bosses you defeat. These moves are usually something the boss used against you, and as you collect them you’re able to take them into later encounters.

Once you defeat a boss, Gipper incentives you to head back and take these bosses on again, with new victory conditions tacked on to the familiar fight. This is where the bonus content in the game comes in, and it offers up a new twist on a familiar battle along with some bonus rewards to make the game a bit easier should you succeed.

I spoke about inspirations earlier in this review, and how it’s hard to hide what inspired you. Gripper seems to be inspired by Akira, and personally also gave me some Borderlands vibes — but it’s hard to say that it felt like any other experience I’ve had with games.

Gripper is a truly unique game, one that presents you with just enough to keep from overstaying its welcome. The story is sweet, the gameplay is engaging, and you can feel the passion from the devs that went into this title. That kind of passion is infectious, and you can’t help but enjoy the game as much as they did.

Gripper was reviewed on the PC. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website! Gripper is available on the Nintendo Switch and Steam, Epic Games, and GOG.