With major publishers completely abandoning classic linear 3D platformers, finding a tight, 10-hour action game with wall-running and intense combat feels like catching lightning in a bottle. So when I stumbled upon Motorslice, a game made by two brothers that promised to fill that empty Prince of Persia niche, I leaped at the chance. It turns out to be a fantastic homage to the genre—even if it occasionally forces you to sit through the creators’ rather bizarre narrative fetishes.
Slicing Through the Concrete Jungle
You play as Pi, a “slicer” sent into a massive, abandoned city built in a stunningly bleak brutalist style. Your job? Wipe out an army of rogue construction and industrial vehicles controlled by a mysterious entity called the Alpha-Core. To do this, Pi wields a massive chainsaw, using it both as a lethal weapon and a high-speed traversal tool.
Visually, the game’s scale completely blew me away. Looking out at the monolithic concrete horizon feels incredibly moody, perfectly complemented by a melancholic, NieR: Automata-esque soundtrack that seamlessly shifts into high-energy electronic beats during combat.
Unfortunately, the developers didn’t care much for traditional storytelling. Instead of letting me find lore notes or uncovering the history of this fascinating world, the game’s narrative mostly consists of Pi chatting with her flying drone companion, Orbi. These conversations quickly become awkward, as the drone mostly just gasps, sighs, and acts deeply infatuated with Pi. It’s an incredibly weird creative choice that left me rolling my eyes rather than getting invested in the lore.
Pure Platforming Bliss (With a Chainsaw)
Where Motorslice absolutely redeems itself is the gameplay. As a Prince of Persia successor, it gets the core mechanics incredibly right. Pi can slide, roll to break her fall, climb, and sprint across walls. The game constantly ups the ante, forcing you to chain wall-runs, swing from pipes, and dodge massive spinning saws and localized wind currents.
The coolest mechanic, however, is “motor-slicing.” Whenever you encounter metal-plated surfaces on walls or ceilings, you can rev up your chainsaw, dig it into the metal, and literally ride it like a motorized surfboard. It looks spectacular and handles beautifully, especially when the camera dynamically swoops around a massive pillar as you blast past.
It’s not flawless, though. Air control can feel a bit loose, and if your analog stick deviates even slightly while jumping toward a wall, Pi might run sideways instead of climbing up, sending you plummeting into a pit. Thankfully, checkpoints are incredibly generous.
Shadow of the Colossus Meets Heavy Machinery
The boss fights are another massive highlight, heavily channeling Shadow of the Colossus. You find yourself facing gigantic excavators or cranes, and as tiny Pi, you have to platform your way up these moving monstrosities to saw through their critical health points. They aren’t brutally difficult, but they look incredibly cinematic.
Fighting regular mobs is where the real challenge lies. You can parry melee attacks and deflect projectiles back at enemies with a charged chainsaw swing. It’s easy in a 1v1, but when you’re dropped into tight arenas with multi-tiered platforms crawled with long-range turrets, it becomes a frantic, exhilarating dance. Pi is fragile and dies quickly, which forced me to keep moving, flipping, and wall-running to survive.
My only major complaint regarding the design is the collectibles. Scattered around the maps are lost drones. Gathering them requires beating tight platforming challenges, but they serve zero purpose other than unlocking achievements. You can’t trade them for alternative skins or combat upgrades, which made me stop caring about hunting them down halfway through the campaign.
THE VERDICT
Motorslice is a beautifully paced action game that masterfully transitions from wide-open arenas to claustrophobic corridors without ever losing its rhythm. While the narrative is practically non-existent and the drone’s weird behavior towards the protagonist is pure cringe, the platforming and combat are addictive enough to keep you glued to the screen. If you miss old-school 3D platformers, you absolutely need to play this.
PROS:
- Thrilling, highly responsive platforming and wall-running mechanics.
- Incredible pacing with a fantastic brutalist aesthetic and adaptive soundtrack.
- Engaging, dynamic combat system and spectacular Colossus-style boss battles.
CONS:
- Occasional camera and control hiccups during precision wall-climbing.
- Entirely useless collectibles that offer no gameplay rewards.
- Terrible story progression drowned out by bizarre, uncomfortable character interactions.
