No Straight Roads - Encore Edition is precisely what NSR was supposed to be: An action packed musical adventure with a great deal of customisation and replayability.

Who am I?
I am Tatjia. I love all things NSR and I am a speedrunner for the Original and the Encore Version of this game. I have over 300 hours in all of the versions combined and know this game a little too well.

In the first part of the review I will reference the NSR original release and differences to it for previous NSR players considering buying this version.

I have bought the previous Version of NSR. Why should I buy this one?
NSR Encore Edition fixed a lot of previous issues with the game: Specifically flow of combat, movement, customisation and Approach levels are now a joy to play compared to the release Version of NSR back in 2020.
Encore Edition also comes at a lower cost than the base version does on any platform.
This Version of the game has also introduced a host of quality of life improvements, like improved quick travel, customisation wherever you want, Ability Buffs and bug fixes, without compromising any of the previous quality or introducing new bugs.
This Version has even more remixes to play compared to the previous version of NSR, which only had the base soundtrack, as well as the PS and Epic Games Version which had a Christmas Remix and reskin of the game as well.
Many of the difficulties with the Parry Modes of the game (The level design in which you have to play with the rhythm) have been fixed; specifically parry attacks being registered wrong.
But the most important Bug Fix of all? Neon J dances now. For this alone you should buy this version- /j

I have never played this game before. Why should I buy it?
It is a vibrant and fun experience, especially once you figure out how everything works. The community even loves to help people understand this game and give out tips and tricks. I personally have given small workshops for people having troubles with specific parts of the game and recommended strategies on how to beat them and get past them. I also plan on releasing a “beginners guide for NSR speedrunners” in the future, with simple, but quick ways to get past bosses and approach levels.

If you are looking for a fun, musical experience with a challenge, this is it!

But you have to have patience with this game. The game, sadly, does start off a little slow. The real fun of the game, in my opinion, is in replaying the boss levels and figuring out how to optimize your build and attack strategy to get the 99,999 point S rank, as well as doing challenge runs, or simply vibing to the music while relaxing with a fun videogame. But in order to do all of this, you do need to finish the skill tree first. I recommend: After you have finished the game, you go ahead and replay Eve about 7 times. That should be enough points to finish your skill tree.

I want to speedrun this game, what do I need to know beforehand?
As with starting any run, it is HARD WORK to get a foothold. However, No Straight Roads is a little different in that regard. It is easy to pick up and learn your first run. The harder part is to learn how to optimize your runs and how to skip phases/bosses, and sometime a glitchless run is even harder than an OOB run.
But overall, the NSR Speedrun community is a small one, in which we are always more than happy to welcome new runners, even if you are super new and need to learn everything from scratch.

No Straight Roads - Encore Edition is precisely what NSR was supposed to be: An action packed musical adventure with a great deal of customisation and replayability. [b]Who am I? [/b] I am Tatjia. I love all things NSR and I am a speedrunner for the Original and the Encore Version of this game. I have over 300 hours in all of the versions combined and know this game a little too well. In the first part of the review I will reference the NSR original release and differences to it for previous NSR players considering buying this version. [b] I have bought the previous Version of NSR. Why should I buy this one?[/b] NSR Encore Edition fixed a lot of previous issues with the game: Specifically flow of combat, movement, customisation and Approach levels are now a joy to play compared to the release Version of NSR back in 2020. Encore Edition also comes at a lower cost than the base version does on any platform. This Version of the game has also introduced a host of quality of life improvements, like improved quick travel, customisation wherever you want, Ability Buffs and bug fixes, without compromising any of the previous quality or introducing new bugs. This Version has even more remixes to play compared to the previous version of NSR, which only had the base soundtrack, as well as the PS and Epic Games Version which had a Christmas Remix and reskin of the game as well. Many of the difficulties with the Parry Modes of the game (The level design in which you have to play with the rhythm) have been fixed; specifically parry attacks being registered wrong. But the most important Bug Fix of all? Neon J dances now. For this alone you should buy this version- /j [b]I have never played this game before. Why should I buy it?[/b] It is a vibrant and fun experience, especially once you figure out how everything works. The community even loves to help people understand this game and give out tips and tricks. I personally have given small workshops for people having troubles with specific parts of the game and recommended strategies on how to beat them and get past them. I also plan on releasing a “beginners guide for NSR speedrunners” in the future, with simple, but quick ways to get past bosses and approach levels. If you are looking for a fun, musical experience with a challenge, this is it! But you have to have patience with this game. The game, sadly, does start off a little slow. The real fun of the game, in my opinion, is in replaying the boss levels and figuring out how to optimize your build and attack strategy to get the 99,999 point S rank, as well as doing challenge runs, or simply vibing to the music while relaxing with a fun videogame. But in order to do all of this, you do need to finish the skill tree first. I recommend: After you have finished the game, you go ahead and replay Eve about 7 times. That should be enough points to finish your skill tree. [b]I want to speedrun this game, what do I need to know beforehand?[/b] As with starting any run, it is HARD WORK to get a foothold. However, No Straight Roads is a little different in that regard. It is easy to pick up and learn your first run. The harder part is to learn how to optimize your runs and how to skip phases/bosses, and sometime a glitchless run is even harder than an OOB run. But overall, the NSR Speedrun community is a small one, in which we are always more than happy to welcome new runners, even if you are super new and need to learn everything from scratch.