Do you like the speed found in games like Valley or Sonic the Hedgehog? Are you a fan of robots? Then you’re going to like Defunct for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Travel at breakneck speeds to try to be as fast as you can. Utilize the environment in multiple ways to keep your little robot from slowing down and plow through each area with skill and agility. Short but fun, Defunct is a game that delivers an indie-like experience with a large ambition.

When you enter the world of Defunct, you’ll soon realize one thing: Speed is what matters most. With several abilities that allow for multiple forms of movement, Defunct makes you think on the fly on how to best gain speed and keep the momentum going. Race through the single player to beat your friends and other’s times online and or go through numerous time trials. Defunct is fast and fun making it a truly unique take on a quick adventure title. See how fast you can go in Defunct!

Defunct takes place in a far-off future. Above the Earth, a giant ship containing a small robot who ends up in a pretty bad predicament. Falling out of the ship’s trash shoot, the little robot is now stuck on Earth. With his racing prowess, the robot must try to catch up to the ship and hopefully get back onboard. However, with various terrains to traverse standing in front of him, the little robot isn’t going to have an easy time accomplishing this mission…

Speed-based adventure games aren’t a new theme in the gaming world. Back in 2016, a game called Valley released and allowed players to whiz through giant landscapes with speed and precision. Then you have Sonic the Hedgehog which has been out for decades doing the same thing in either a 2D or 3D fashion. Defunct, by indie publisher SODESCO and developer Freshly Squeezed, tries to capture that speed-like gameplay many love. Does Defunct pull of this feat or does it crash and burn? Let us find out as we review Defunct here at Honey’s Anime.

Defunct is a simple game to understand and begin. You control a little one wheeled robot who needs to get back home. Thankfully, this little robot can accelerate pretty darn fast given its design. This is where you, the player, get involved. The small robot needs you to guide it by manipulating its very systems to traverse areas as fast as possible. Accomplishing this task is where Defunct shines and also falls apart in equal measure.

In terms of gameplay, Defunct works at the base level. Players initially can “Gravitize” the area under the robot to make it accelerate downhill faster and land faster. Players can also use a simple move system to push the robot up hills and or more treacherous terrain. Later, you’ll gain magnetism to stick to walls and or go upside down. Initially, you’re probably going to struggle slightly figuring out which manipulation works best in obtaining that sweet speed you’re looking for, but once you get the hang of it—because honestly the way Defunct explains it is kind of poor—you’ll be zooming through areas with speed. Once you get to a specific area of the main game, you’ll even get a boost ability—given you pick up fuel—that makes your speed even higher. Defunct works best when you have all the powers in your repertoire, but until then, it can be quite troublesome thanks to the learning curve.

The problem with learning everything and seeing the best Defunct has to offer is that it comes near the end of the game. Defunct is a short title—nearly 2 hours long, but faster if you’re efficient with the gameplay—meaning you’re not going to enjoy the experience for long. There are time trials to engage in and you can replay the single player for hidden items and to beat online scores but for most, this won’t be enough to want to play Defunct anymore once the game is completed. Seeing as how Defunct is a $14.99 game, this quick experience may not warrant the price tag for many and we can understand why.

Graphically, Defunct works well enough. The cartoonish visuals and open vistas you see are actually nice to look at. Music is where Defunct yet again falls short. Even with the options set at max, we here at Honey’s Anime had to blast our TVs to hear Defunct playingm which was quite annoying. Once we did hear the OST though, we weren’t overly impressedm but we also didn’t hate it. Defunct’s music—when audible—works enough as it is. We did love some of the later game music though as it felt like a rush when you paired it with the insane speeds we were reaching.

Defunct has a few other flaws that we felt we’d save for last. Besides being ridiculously easy—there are dozens of checkpoints if you do die and no consequences for dying in general—Defunct is also marred by technical issues. We ran into a few glaring faults while playing Defunct. Not only is the game incredibly laggy at times—most noticeably when hitting high speeds in some locations—but it also can be downright slow when the lag nearly freezes the game. We’re sure a few updates can fix it and we also understand that Defunct is an indie title, but given the price of admission, we expect a bit more polish to be honest. Though, again as a reminder, when Defunct runs well, it’s still fun and that makes the technical issues a bit more palatable.

Defunct, at times, is both a game to love and a game to kind of dislike. The first 20-30 minutes of Defunct feel slow as you try to learn the various mechanics and how best to utilize them to gain speed and movement. However, once you begin to gain new powers like boost and truly get a hold of the controls, Defunct is actually quite enjoyable. At $14.99, it’s hard to recommend a title that is barely 2 hours long, but it’s also hard not to recommend Defunct seeing as how the speed elements are truly a lot of fun. If you love fast paced adventure titles that don’t overstay their welcome, then you’re probably going to enjoy Defunct despite its numerous flaws. Though if you want an adventure title that lasts a bit longer and has more substance you might want to wait for a price drop for Defunct before making a purchase.

Defunct isn’t the best indie game we’ve ever played but it does have a lot of elements we liked as well. Similar to Sonic games or The Valley, Defunct’s greatest strength isn’t in it’s story or setting but in the speed you obtain as you fly around the giant environments. Unfortunately, we don’t think everyone’s going to like Defunct and that’s because it does contain a lot of issues that keep it from being a great game. Have you tried out Defunct on the PC or have you played the Xbox One version as well? Let us know by commenting down below and for all your game reviews be sure to stick with us here at Honey’s Anime.