Experience the thrill of becoming a storm chaser in Tornado: Research and Rescue! Capture twisters with a 90's VHS camera, warn towns, customise chases, and get up-close for thrilling photos. Deploy probes, collect data, and upgrade your truck, radar, and probes. Mod vehicles with Steam Workshop!
The core gameplay loop challenges players to track powerful tornadoes on the in-game radar, time the deployment of scientific probes to capture data from within the funnel, and then quickly escape to safety before the twister destroys the player's storm chasing truck. Reviewers praise the sense of scale and menacing presence of the tornadoes, which move and behave in a realistically unsettling manner.
In addition to data collection, the game also tasks players with warning towns of impending tornado strikes. Players can manually trigger the town's emergency sirens when a twister is on a collision course, earning money for each successful rescue. Reviewers appreciate this added layer of responsibility, as it provides an additional income stream and imbues the gameplay with a greater sense of purpose and realism.
As players earn money from successful chases and rescues, they can spend it to upgrade their storm chasing truck, radar equipment, and scientific probes. This progression system allows players to incrementally improve their capabilities, making it easier to track, intercept, and collect data from increasingly powerful tornadoes. While the customization options are limited in the early access version, reviewers note that the system shows promise for the future.
The lack of a proper tutorial can make the game's systems and objectives unclear to newcomers, leading to frustration. Additionally, the difficulty in consistently intercepting tornadoes, due to their unpredictable spawning and movement patterns, can be a source of both excitement and occasional frustration for players.