Motorslice has some interesting potential, all of which is undone by clunky mechanics, a weak story, and cringy cutscene choices…
The indie parkour action game Motorslice has seen its fair share of controversy among fans since its release on May 5th. Gamers are questioning the game’s creative choices regarding the protagonist, which seem to upset some, while others praise them.
The question beneath the back-and-forth is simple: Is the game actually good in spite of the discourse? Today, we are going to explore the world of Motorslice and whether it is truly worth your time.
Motorslice
Release date: May 5, 2026
Platform reviewed on: Steam
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and GOG
Developer: Regular Studio
Publisher: Top Hat Studios, Inc.
The Story
From the outside looking in, the game looks like it is a world full of adventure and lore. The story follows a woman simply known as “P,” who we find in a desert filled with murderous machines. Accompanied by a metal orb on its last leg, P must parkour through grinding gears, treacherous heights, and high-stakes combat.
Once in the game, I found that the story and lore I hoped for were almost nonexistent. Instead, there are short cutscenes that pander to strange interactions with the protagonist and the orb between stages of the game. From solo monologs that pan to different questionable poses and angles of P, to off-putting choices for Orbie, such as sniffing P’s feet, I never quite knew what the next cutscene was going to throw at me.
The beginning of the game feels like you are about to be taken into an immersive world, but the immersion never comes. I found myself constantly being confused and unsettled by the animations and cutscenes that over-sexualize everything P does.
What little you do get from the cutscenes is that P was sent to this desert locale to hunt and destroy these corrupted machines. When she starts her mission, she is disconnected from headquarters and is left with only Orbie, whom she doesn’t seem to understand much of what the Orb is saying. P is her ranking as a slicer, and she has a target destination she is trying to reach.
Gameplay and Mechanics
The core allure of the game is supposed to be its parkour gameplay and brutal fights. Which, to its credit, the game does slightly better at this, but it’s hard to enjoy because of the mountain of clunky mechanics that were meant to be the main focus.
There were far too many moments, such as when moving the camera, doing wall runs, and doing P’s chainsaw movements, where the controls triggered the incorrect actions, or nothing at all. Not to mention that some of the core mechanics were purely based on luck, as there was no button to press to trigger them. The wall runs and climbing do not have buttons to trigger these actions. You just need to go in the direction of the obstacle and hope you hit it at the correct angle to trigger the action. The real fight is not against the corrupted machines, it is against the controls that refuse to do what you expect them to do.
Overall, the mechanics felt dated, making progression more of a hassle than a fun challenge. You will die—a lot in this game—and for once you can blame it on the game and I for one would believe you.
The Cutscenes
Not every game is made for every person, and Motorslice is a perfect example of that. This game clearly has an audience, and I’m not among them. The main deterrent for me was, hands down, the fan-service cutscenes.
Orbie seems to fall in love with P, even though she can barely understand him. He violates her with the option to sniff her feet. Every awkward angle of P from below looking up, views that I can only assume were supposed to make her sexy to someone. Combined with poses that couldn’t have been more obvious, made me forget what we were even here trying to do. Were we on a mission? Were we trying to seduce Orbie? I caught myself questioning this several times throughout the game.
