Game studio Games for Tutti’s first commercial game,Scrap Riders, launched earlier this month. At first glance, the game might seem like a very scrupulous follower of theLucasArts school of point-and-click adventure games. However, the game has another side: a beat ‘em up combat mechanic. This doesn’t exactly align with most point-and-click adventure games but is somehow integrated smoothly into the experience.
The founder and developer at Games for Tutti, Raul Diaz, wanted to create a game that would combine some of his favorite game styles and media franchises over the years. As a fan of 1990s adventure games, thepoint-and-click naturecame naturally, but he didn’t want to follow entirely in the footsteps of Sierra and LucasArts. That is where the combat mechanic adopted from the most popular action games of the 90s found its way intoScrap Riders,with Diaz speaking to Game Rant regarding this hybrid genre approach.
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Mass Effect Inspired Scrap Riders’ Hybrid Genre Nature
Scrap Ridersis a point-and-click adventure with beat ‘em up combat set in a cyberpunk meetsMad Maxworld. That is quite the mouthful as it is, but it wasn’t enough for the team to just cobble together something that would be reminiscent of a classic in the field. Diaz loved all the mentioned genres and franchises, which made it important to create something that would honor those that preceded him but also come up with something new.
The point-and-click is mechanically and technically fairly easy to create, much of its complexity lies in storytelling and audiovisual artistry. That was a challenge in itself, but adding another, completely different type of gameplay mechanic on top of it was not guaranteed to work. The idea of the dual nature ofScrap Riderscame from Bioware’sMass Effect.Bioware combined a role-playing game with a third-person shooter inMass Effect, which made it interesting to the development team at Games for Tutti.
“In Mass Effect 2 there were places where you can roleplay, and there were places where you can just play action-style. So we did the same because, in terms of gameplay, it’s really complex to create narrative experiences, where you include guns.”
In the originalMass Effect, this was extremely freeing, but Diaz and his team realized that there was a good reason this was too much freedom even for BioWare. Later editions of the game series separated the action and adventure sequences more clearly. This was also the progression withScrap Riders. Initially, the team designed the game to support action-style gameplay in most situations. However, it greatly complicatedthe point-and-click gameplay mechanics, and there was no way to make drawing a gun in the middle of a dialogue into a cohesive product.
Scrap Riders Spiced up the Combat With Combos and Dodging
The narrative experience and the action-focused experience were separated from each other, as a result. Interestingly, the team also decided to separate cyberpunk andMad Maxelementsfrom each other. The wastelands were theMad Max-like environment of the biker gang Scrap Riders and the buzzing cities are the representation of the high-tech corporations running the world.
When the team wondered how would they bring action into a 90s-inspired point-and-click adventure, only one answer seemed to make sense. During the 90s, the action genre wasdominated by beat ‘em ups, whether it wasStreets of Rage, Battletoads, or any of the dozens of other greats. Beating the way through gangs and thugs was the way to go. This seemed to fit the bill perfectly, and the story wrapped nicely around the fighting sequences.
However, the team wanted also to do something new with the combat, and that’s where combos entered the conversation. While the classics offeredexhilarating button-smashing action, they were mostly just that - button-smashing. While Diaz gives credit to the games, as some require an excellent sense of timing, a more modern take would offer a variety of options. Additionally, the team wanted to make it violent, which isn’t common in point-and-clicks adventures.
“Well, in the beginning, it was a bit more violent. A bit more grotesque. But talking with our publisher, they said that it’s not bad, but maybe we should tone it down.”
While regular attacks are still a large part of the combat, theplayer can also execute combo moves. These can be performed by timing a specific combination of attacks in specific stages, like hitting an enemy after they’ve been punched in the air by an uppercut. In addition to combo moves, the character can also use dodge to avoid attacks and create opportunities for more powerful retaliation. To tie the fighting in with the narrative, the team inserted amusing cutscenes that reflect the hilarious, albeit blood-soaked story.
Scrap Riderswas released for PC on June 06, 2025.
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