Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is a third-person action game set in the distant future city of New Amsterdam. Players control Red, who joins the Bomb Rush Crew to reclaim his head and memories from DJ Cyber by spraying graffiti over rival territories, traversing on skateboards, BMX bikes, or rollerskates while evading escalating police forces, all within a vibrant cel-shaded artstyle reminiscent of Jet Set Radio and featuring upbeat electro and hip-hop music.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk: A Vibrant, Flawed Triumph of Style Over Substance

Introduction: The Weight of a Dreamcast Ghost

For over two decades, a phantom has haunted the gaming landscape: the specter of a proper successor to Sega’s Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future. These Dreamcast and Xbox classics weren’t just games; they wereCultural artifacts—a dizzying fusion of cel-shaded psychedelia, breakbeat fury, and rebellious street expression that felt utterly of its moment and yet timeless. Into this void stepped Team Reptile, a small Dutch studio known for the cult fighting game Lethal League, with a promise: a “spiritual successor” that wouldn’t just mimic the surface but capture the soul. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is that promise realized. It is a game that wears its inspirations on its vibrant, graffiti-splashed sleeve, and while it occasionally stumbles under the weight of that inheritance, it ultimately carves out a distinct, funky identity. This review argues that Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is a landmark of indie revivalism—a game that successfully translates the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of its forebears into a modern context, even if its narrative ambition and mechanical depth sometimes clash with its pure, unadulterated style. It is, in the most genuine sense, the Jet Set Radio sequel we never got from Sega, for better and for worse.

Development History & Context: From Lethal League to a Neo-Tokyo Dream

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk was born from the mind of Team Reptile’s director, Dion Koster, a self-described lifelong participant in hip-hop, skating, and graffiti culture. The project emerged not from a corporate mandate but from a personal, decade-long desire to see that culture authentically rendered in a 3D action game. After the success of Lethal League Blaze (2018), which itself featured a Jet Set Radio-esque aesthetic and a track from the legendary composer Hideki Naganuma, Team Reptile had the resources and credibility to pursue this passion project. The transition from the 2D, precision-based chaos of Lethal League to a 3D open-world platformer was a monumental leap. The team, which grew from a core of around 7 to about 12 full-time developers for this project (supported by freelancers), had to build fluid traversal and momentum-based systems from the ground up, a stark contrast to their prior work.

Technologically, the game was built in Unity, a choice that presented both opportunity and constraint. The team had to wrestle the engine to achieve the specific, bold cel-shaded look—a style that emphasizes thick black outlines, flat colors, and deliberately “low-poly” character models that evoke the late-90s/early-2000s aesthetic. Performance optimization, especially for the Nintendo Switch, was a noted challenge, with some users reporting crashes and frame rate issues that required post-launch patches. The development spanned approximately 3.5 years, a relatively quick cycle for an indie project of this scope, but one marked by the intense pressure of serving as a de facto sequel to a beloved, dormant franchise.

The gaming landscape of 2023 was crucial. Players starved for the kind of stylish, risk-taking action Jet Set Radio represented were increasingly served by indie developers. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk launched into a world that had seen spiritual successors to Banjo-Kazooie (Yooka-Laylee), Metroid (Axiom Verge), and Castlevania (Bloodstained), proving that passionate fans could indeed build on abandoned legacies. Its reveal as a Nintendo Switch timed exclusive at the 2021 Indie World Showcase was a masterstroke, directly targeting the console that, like the Dreamcast before it, had cultivated a reputation for championing unique, stylized indie titles.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive: Identity, Amnesia, and All-City Ambition

Where Jet Set Radio presented a largely plotless, vibe-driven experience with archetypal characters, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk dives headfirst into a surprisingly convoluted and self-serious cyberpunk narrative. The premise: protagonist Faux is arrested, broken out by Tryce, and then beheaded by the enigmatic DJ Cyber. His body is saved, fitted with a generic “cyberhead,” and he awakens as Red, an amnesiac with no memory of his past self. He joins Tryce and the cheerful Bel in the Bomb Rush Crew (BRC) with two goals: retrieve his head from DJ Cyber and conquer the five boroughs of New Amsterdam to achieve “All City” status.

This setup is merely the entry point into a labyrinthine plot of body-snatching, corporate conspiracy, and police corruption. The central twist, revealed mid-game, is that “Red” is not Faux at all, but Felix—the legendary, only true “All City” writer who was murdered by Faux. Faux, it turns out, is the villain: a jealous, corrupt cop’s son who used his father’s influence to frame other writers and has been secretly manipulating the city’s AI police system, Project Algo, to systematically eliminate all competition. DJ Cyber, antagonistic at first, is revealed to be a tragic figure trying to help Felix (in Red’s body) remember his true self and stop Faux.

This narrative is Bomb Rush Cyberfunk’s most divisive element. On one hand, it provides a clear, driving motivation missing from the original games and creates genuine stakes. The themes are potent: the cyberpunk exploration of identity through body modification (“swapping heads like hats”), the corrosive nature of jealousy and legacy, and the rebellion of creative expression against a system designed to suppress it. The revelation that the hero is literally someone else, struggling to reclaim his life, is a compelling hook explored through flashback dream sequences that cleverly double as gameplay tutorials, forcing the player to master advanced movement to uncover fragmented memories.

On the other hand, the execution is frequently criticized as clunky and earnest to a fault. Cutscenes are presented as static, silent (save for text and sound effects) character portraits against simple backgrounds, a stark contrast to the vibrant in-game world. Dialogue can be exposition-heavy and melodramatic. As Game Informer bluntly stated, the story is “boring and bad.” Yet, for a subset of players and critics (notably NintendoWorldReport and fan communities on Reddit), this very sincerity is endearing. It mirrors the over-the-top, comic-book logic of the setting and provides a surprisingly emotional core. The journey of Red/Felix reconciling his two selves—the peaceful, boostpack-avoiding legend and the new, cybernetic crew member—is a unique angle on the “amnesiac hero” trope that resonates when it works. It’s a story that, for all its flaws, tries to be about something, which is more than can be said for its inspirations.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems: The Zenith of Funkstyle Movement

The heart of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk—and its undeniable triumph—is its movement system. This is where Team Reptile’s design philosophy shines, taking the Tony Hawk and Jet Set Radio blueprints and refining them into a consistently exhilarating experience.

• Traversal & Combo System: Players choose between inline skates (precise gliding), skateboards (balanced jumps/manuals), and BMX bikes (weighted stability). Crucially, all characters have a boostpack for double jumps and speed bursts. The genius lies in the seamless integration of these tools with the environment. Grinding rails, wall-riding, performing manuals, and executing aerial tricks (using X, Y, B) all feed a combo meter and boost gauge. Chaining these actions—grind into a wall-ride, manual into a jump, spin trick—increases a multiplier (x10, x25, x50). This isn’t just for show; a high combo refills boost faster, enabling longer, more improbable paths. The feeling of discovering a new route through a borough by chaining three different grind rails and two wall-rides is pure, unadulterated joy. The physics are forgiving but deep, rewarding flow over rigid precision.

• Graffiti & Progression: Tagging is a quick-time event where you trace a pattern with the analog stick. It’s fast, punchy, and never hampered by resource scarcity (paint is unlimited). Successfully tagging builds REP (Reputation), the game’s core progression currency. REP is earned from tags, crew battle wins, and combo scores. Maxing REP in a borough unlocks the next story beat, recruits new crew members (each with unique design but no statistical differences), and unlocks new graffiti tag patterns, outfits, and music for the in-game radio. This “collect-a-thon” structure, combined with a map that reveals untagged spots, creates a powerful “one more run” loop.

• Combat & Police: This is the game’s most consistent point of failure. Police encounters escalate via a “heat” meter (a la GTA), spawning turrets, snipers, and helicopters. Defeating them involves simple, loose melee (kick/punch) that often feels like an afterthought, designed to clear space rather than provide tactical depth. While some appreciate that combat never overshadows traversal, others find it awkward, repetitive, and disruptive to the flow, especially during mandatory “beatdown” sequences and boss fights that devolve into button-mashing. The clever solution—hiding in a portable toilet to reset heat—is both amusing and a band-aid on a weaker system. It’s a clear case where the game’s priorities (style, speed) are at odds with a less-polished secondary mechanic.

• Crew Battles & Structure: Rival crew confrontations are resolved through score-attack challenges and “dance-offs” (essentially combo competitions). This is a brilliant fusion of the Jet Set Radio turf war concept with Tony Hawk’s high-score mentality. The game’s structure—introducing a rival crew, completing smaller challenges that teach you the borough’s best routes, then facing a full crew battle—is near-perfect tutorial design. It makes the player feel smart and accomplished.

• UI & Quality of Life: The flip phone menu (accessed via the d-pad) is a standout feature. It allows real-time map viewing, music changing, photo mode (including selfies), and graffiti design selection without pausing the action. This maintains momentum brilliantly. However, character swapping is a noted flaw. While you can change characters at “cypher spots” (dance floors) in the world, you must return to the hideout to change your vehicle (skateboard vs. skates). This inconsistency can break flow, a rare misstep in an otherwise streamlined experience.

World-Building, Art & Sound: A Masterclass in Cyberfunk Atmosphere

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk’s world, New Amsterdam, is a character in itself. Divided into seven boroughs (Versum Hill, Brink Terminal, Millennium Mall, Pyramid Island, Mataan, etc.), each area is a distinct, densely packed playground of Y2K cyberpunk. The aesthetic is a loving collage of neon-drenched streets, crumbling industrial zones, glossy shopping malls, and floating city-islands. The cel-shading isn’t just a visual gimmick; it’s a philosophical statement, uniting the game’s punk rebellion with a deliberately “retro-futurist” look that feels both nostalgic and fresh. The low-poly models, thick outlines, and exaggerated animations ensure every character and environment pops with personality.

The soundtrack is the game’s otherworldly lifeblood. Curated from indie artists and featuring several original tracks from Hideki Naganuma (“GET ENUF,” “JACK DA FUNK”), it masterfully blends funky basslines, breakbeats, J-pop synths, and contemporary elements like trap and hyperpop. The music dynamically shifts during battles and police chases, and its rhythmic pulse is intrinsically tied to the gameplay loop, encouraging players to move with the beat. While some critics found certain tracks less energetic or repetitive than the iconic Jet Set Radio scores, the inclusion of Naganuma and artists like 2 Mello (known for JSR-style tributes) is a profound love letter that satisfies on a foundational level. The soundtrack’s release as a triple vinyl set (through iam8bit) is a testament to its cultural weight and the developers’ commitment to tangible, meaningful media.

Reception & Legacy: A Polarizing Success Story

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk received generally favorable reviews (Metacritic 75-83/100), but critical opinion was sharply split, often along ideological lines.

• Praise (The “It Surpasses Jet Set Radio” Camp): Outlets like Nintendo Insider, NintendoWorldReport, and Rectify Gaming awarded it 90%. They celebrated its “juice”—the sheer, infectious joy of movement. They argued its quality-of-life improvements (unlimited paint, seamless character/vehicle switching in theory, better camera) and deeper narrative elevated it above its inspirations. The modernized controls and combo system were seen as long-overdue evolutions. Its commercial performance was strong for an indie title, with estimated Steam sales of ~430,000 units and $13M gross revenue in its first two years, proving a substantial audience existed for this specific vision.

• Criticism (The “Derivative and Flawed” Camp): Game Informer (60/100) and Metro (70/100) led the charge, calling it a “blatant copycat” and “outdated.” Their core argument: it replicates Jet Set Radio’s mechanics without advancing the genre meaningfully in 20 years. The repetitive structure (tag, battle, repeat), shallow combat, and basic trick system (compared to Tony Hawk) were seen as holding it back from masterpiece status. The story, while more complex, was often dismissed as nonsensical or poorly presented.

• The Middle Ground: Most reviews landed in the 75-85% range. They acknowledged the stellar traversal and soundtrack as unimpeachable highs, but cited the combat, occasional performance issues (especially on Switch), and the inherent nostalgia factor as limitations. As The Guardian put it, it’s “a throwback, for better or for worse.”

Its legacy is already crystallizing. It is the definitive proof-of-concept that a Jet Set Radio successor could be made by fans, for fans, in the modern era. It inspired a thriving modding community (Steam Workshop support) and a plethora of fan art. Most significantly, it paved the way for its own follow-up, Hyperfunk, announced in October 2025, which promises an “evolved funkstyle” and official multiplayer—addressing one of the few perceived lacks of the original. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk’s greatest impact may be in rejuvenating interest in the style-over-substance, rhythm-driven platformer, reminding both players and publishers that there is a passionate audience for games built on pure, kinetic style.

Conclusion: An Imperfect All-City King

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is not a perfect game. Its combat is functional at best, its plot is a soap opera worthy of its own disco-ball, and its reliance on the Jet Set Radio template can feel suffocating. Yet, to focus on these flaws is to miss the point. This is a game built on a singular, radiant vision: the pure, unadulterated joy of movement through a world that pulses with music and color.

Team Reptile did not merely imitate Sega’s classic; they translated it. They took the essence of funkstyle—the meeting of hip-hop rhythm, skate/skateboard physics, and graffiti expression—and rebuilt it with modern sensibilities. The result is a game where every grind, every wall-run, every perfectly timed combo feels like a personal victory. The city of New Amsterdam is a masterpiece of environmental storytelling and vertical exploration. The soundtrack, anchored by Naganuma’s genius, is a 32-track monument to a specific era of electronic and hip-hop fusion.

In the pantheon of video game history, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk will not be remembered as a revolutionary landmark like its muse. Instead, it will be celebrated as a triumphant, heartfelt resurrection. It is the game that finally let a generation of Dreamcast and Xbox nostalgics skate through a living, breathing Jet Set Radio world on modern hardware. It is flawed, sometimes deeply so, but its heart—its funk—is undeniably, irresistibly in the right place. For anyone who ever looked at the skaters and taggers of Tokyo-To and thought, “I wish I could feel that free,” Bomb Rush Cyberfunk delivers that feeling in spades. It is, quite simply, the most fun you can have with a spray can and a grind rail in 2025, and its place as a beloved cornerstone of the indie revival movement is assured. All City? Not quite. But it’s damn close, and it grooves all the way there.