Insomniac Games really caught lightning in a bottle back in 2014. It was bright. It was loud. It made grinding on a power line feel as natural as breathing. Finding games like Sunset Overdrive isn't actually about finding another neon apocalypse, though that helps. It’s about finding that specific "flow state" where you never have to touch the ground.
Most shooters want you to take cover. Sunset Overdrive laughed at cover. If you stopped moving, you died. That’s the DNA we’re looking for today. We need momentum. We need style. We need weapons that make absolutely no sense but feel incredible to fire.
Honestly, the industry hasn’t made it easy. We’ve drifted toward "gritty" and "realistic" lately, which makes the search for that high-octane punk rock energy feel like a scavengers hunt. But they're out there.
The Insomniac Connection: Spider-Man and Ratchet
If you want the closest mechanical feel to Sunset Overdrive, you go to the source. Insomniac Games basically took the traversal tech from Sunset and shoved it into Peter Parker’s web-shooters.
Marvel’s Spider-Man (and Miles Morales) is the obvious successor. When you’re swinging through Manhattan, that sense of maintaining speed? That’s Sunset Overdrive’s ghost in the machine. While the combat is more about fisticuffs than explosive teddy bears, the rhythm is identical. You’re dodging, jumping, and using the environment as a playground.
Then there’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
It’s gorgeous. It’s also incredibly fast. The hover boots and the dash mechanic create a combat loop where staying still is a death sentence. You’ve got the wacky arsenal—the Topiary Sprinkler is basically a cousin to the TNTeddy. If you miss the creative weaponry and the bright, Saturday-morning-cartoon-on-acid aesthetic, this is your best bet. It’s less "punk" and more "pixar," but the soul is there.
High-Speed Movement is the Secret Sauce
Traversal shouldn't just be how you get from point A to point B. It should be the game itself.
Take Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. It’s basically a love letter to Jet Set Radio, which was a huge inspiration for Sunset Overdrive anyway. You’re on skates, bikes, or skateboards. You’re tagging walls. You’re grinding. The world is a giant jungle gym. It lacks the gunplay, sure, but it captures that specific feeling of "the floor is lava" better than almost anything else on Steam or consoles right now. The soundtrack alone will put you back in that 2014 headspace.
Then we have Ghostrunner.
Wait.
It’s first-person. It’s punishingly hard.
But listen: the momentum is everything.
You are a cybernetic ninja who dies in one hit. You have to wall-run, slide, and grapple through levels at breakneck speeds. It’s Sunset Overdrive stripped of its jokes and replaced with cold, industrial steel. If the part of Sunset you loved was the technical challenge of staying off the ground while managing enemies, Ghostrunner will scratch that itch. It’s stressful. It’s sweaty. It’s brilliant.
Why Hi-Fi Rush is the Spiritual Successor We Deserved
If Sunset Overdrive had a kid with a rhythm game, it would be Hi-Fi Rush. Developed by Tango Gameworks, this game literally came out of nowhere and stole the hearts of everyone who misses the Xbox One era of experimental exclusives.
Everything moves to the beat.
Your attacks, the environment, the enemies—it’s all synced.
Chai, the protagonist, feels a lot like the "Player" from Sunset. He’s a bit of a dork, he’s got a mechanical arm, and he’s fighting a massive, colorful corporation.
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- The combat rewards timing over mindless mashing.
- The visuals are cell-shaded perfection.
- It doesn't take itself seriously for even a second.
It’s one of those rare titles that understands "fun" is a legitimate design goal. You aren't just clearing a room; you're performing. It’s a dance. When you get a S-rank combo while the music is peaking, it’s the exact same dopamine hit as clearing a massive wave of OD in Sunset City.
The Open World Chaos Factor
Sometimes you don't want the platforming. You just want the carnage.
Just Cause 3 (specifically 3, not 4, we don't talk about 4 as much) is a masterclass in physics-based stupidity. Rico Rodriguez has a wingsuit, a parachute, and a grappling hook. Between those three things, you never have to walk. You can tether a gas canister to a soldier and watch him fly away. You can hijack a jet mid-air. It’s a different kind of movement—less about rails and more about gravity—but the sheer "I can’t believe I just did that" factor is high.
Then there's Saints Row IV.
People forget how wild this game got. It started as a GTA clone and ended with you being the President of the United States with superpowers inside a virtual Matrix. You can run up the sides of skyscrapers. You can glide across the city. You have a Dubstep Gun.
Is it a bit dated? Yeah.
Is it janky? Absolutely.
But in terms of games like Sunset Overdrive, it’s one of the few that matches the irreverent, fourth-wall-breaking humor and the feeling of being an absolute god of movement in an urban sprawl.
Small Gems You Might Have Missed
Don't sleep on Solar Ash.
Made by the creators of Hyper Light Drifter, this game is entirely about skating through a surreal, cloud-like world. The scale is massive. You're fighting these colossi that require you to navigate their bodies at high speed. It’s a bit more melancholic than the Awesomepocalypse, but the fluid movement is top-tier. It feels like silk.
And then there's Turbo Overkill.
It’s a "boomer shooter" but with modern sensibilities. Your character has a chainsaw for a leg. Let that sink in. You slide around levels at 60 miles per hour, cutting enemies in half with your shin, and then you jump into a flying car. It’s incredibly violent and incredibly fast. It captures the "over-the-top" nature of Sunset’s weapons better than most AAA games ever could.
The Technical Reality of Traversal Games
Why don't we see more games like this?
The truth is, making movement feel this good is a nightmare for developers. When a player moves fast, the game has to load assets even faster. It’s why Sunset Overdrive was such a technical achievement on the original Xbox One hardware. The "streaming" of the city textures as you zipped along a rail was a balancing act of smoke and mirrors.
When you play something like Spider-Man 2 on the PS5, you’re seeing the evolution of that tech. The SSD allows for speeds we couldn't dream of in 2014. But the design philosophy—making the traversal part of the combat loop—is a choice, not just a technical capability.
What to look for in your next "Sunset-like" fix:
- Momentum Preservation: Does the game punish you for stopping?
- Verticality: Can you get to the top of a building in five seconds?
- Weapon Variety: Are the guns boring "realistic" rifles or something weird?
- Style Points: Does the game care how you kill the enemies, or just that you killed them?
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
If you’re staring at your library wondering what to install next, start with Hi-Fi Rush if you want the vibes and the color. It’s the most modern, polished experience that feels like a spiritual successor.
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If you want the raw speed and don't mind a challenge, grab Ghostrunner.
For those who just want to fly around a city and feel like a badass, Marvel’s Spider-Man is the gold standard.
The Awesomepocalypse might never get a direct sequel—legal rights between Insomniac and Microsoft make it complicated—but the "movement shooter" sub-genre is alive and well if you know where to look. Stop walking in games. Start sliding, grinding, and swinging. The floor is for NPCs.