Speed Limit is quick, clear and incredibly addictive. After just a few short attempts I found myself getting hooked onto the nonstop arcade action gameplay, Even if it’s rather short-lived.
Speed limit, Developed by Gameschuck, see’s players take control of an everyday commuter on the train, who, after a run-in with a tired and beaten passenger, is throw a small pistol. After that, it’s pretty much a non-stop game of cat and mouse as you run to escape armed swat teams, secret agents and everything in between. You’ll be running and gunning through all modes of transportation from running down trains to driving cars franticly down busy roads, all while doing your best to survive their attempts to take you out.
If it sounds a bit ridiculous, that’s because it is. Speed Limit is about as arcade as it gets. Its 8-bit graphics and heavy electronic soundtrack are all you need to see to know that, but its the painfully addictive gameplay that seals the deal here. Once you start a new game you are immediately thrown into the deep end, facing down a group of SWAT officers with shields and weapon aplenty. With no explanation as to what the controls are, you’ll most likely do what I did: frantically hit keys on the keyboard to figure out the controls. Thankfully its as simple as using the arrow keys to move and the space bar to fire your pistol, but that didn’t stop me getting killed rather quickly in my first few attempts. 
At its core, Speed Limit is a game about frantic decision making, giving you mere seconds to figure out the best way to handle the enemies coming at you. You’ll be crouching and jumping to avoid gunfire and other hurdles all while making sure remember enemy patterns and trying not to die because death means starting over from the beginning.
No checkpoints, no do-overs, just one shot. Get better or be stuck in a cycle of neverending failure.
Trial and error is the only way to learn and progress, and as with each subsequent run you become more adept at tackling enemies and moving quickly to avoid that ever-present fear of starting again. It’s certainly challenging at first and can become incredibly frustrating as you die after missing one simple bullet; however, it’s because of this super simple gameplay loop that I found myself become quickly entrenched in learning enemy movements. I spent many attempts trying to improve my gameplay, with
each run giving me a little more progress than the last. That’s not to say I was particularly good at it, but it’s the fact it was so simple that made it frustratingly addictive, giving that “just one more try” feeling that sucks you in so quickly.
It’s fun and addictive, but equally frustrating and rage-inducing, but I get the feeling that’s meant to be the point. My only concern after playing is I get the feeling I’ve seen pretty much all developer Gamechuck has to offer with Speed Limit, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that what I found was fun, frantic and an infuriatingly hard joy-ride that I can see myself returning to for just one more try.
Speed Limit has a demo currently available on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux. For more information check out their Website or their Twitter
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