For many video game fans, one of the main attractions of interactive entertainment is the difficulty it provides. These players enjoy overcoming a difficult challenge through skill and persistence, and this segment of the gaming community has only grown over the years with the explosion in popularity of difficult games like the roguelike action of Hades and the punishing surreal world of Dark Souls. However, long before the days of these difficult titles, one unique driving game delivered punishing difficulty and satisfying triumphs to diligent players. That game was the 2002 PlayStation 2 release Stuntman.
Of all the forgotten driving games of the past, Stuntman is a game that was singular in its presentation and gameplay. Developed by Reflections Interactive off the heels of its incredibly successful Driver series, Stuntman was a game that placed players in the titular role of a movie stuntman, tasked with completing a series of vehicular stunts for various fictional movies. It was an experience that was demanding in its execution, and the kind of difficult game that not only provided one-of-a-kind driving action but a true sense of accomplishment to those players who were able to best its toughest challenges.
Stuntman placed players in the shoes of a nameless wheelman. However, unlike Driver's '70s cop action, players were literally working behind the scenes, taking on a career mode that featured six fictional movies inspired by real film series. Players were tasked with completing each film's driving stunt setpieces by taking the various vehicles through timed challenges. Each level had players driving a vehicle through chaotic and dangerous movie special effects, all while taking direction from the director over the radio, who shouts out which stunts need to be performed and at what time.
However, there's just one catch: these movie setpieces must be completed in one take and players have no idea what stunts will be performed beforehand. The Indiana Jones-inspired shoot might need a series of near misses, powerslides and dangerous jumps for its climax, but players would only find out during the level itself. Foregoing the logic, palpable danger and tension this would bring to a real movie set, Stuntman delivered a tense video game experience that demanded players replay each level to learn the ropes and memorize what was required. This experience for many was an exercise in futility, but for those willing to take on the challenge, it was a delight when a level was bested with a flawless run.
Stuntman was a game that understood this feeling of accomplishment, and for those players who succeeded it rewarded them with a unique reward after completing each movie shoot. After each level players were treated to a custom trailer for the fictional movie that each level's stunts were for, including cuts of the player's actual stunts edited into the footage. Watching a James Bond-style ripoff film's trailer play out, interspersed with the gameplay stunts that the player pulled off successfully never got old, and each new level brought another exciting movie trailer full of highlights of the player's successes.
On top of this Stuntman made the player really feel like a professional wheelman through its demanding challenge and constant switching of vehicles. One film might have players rocketing a tuned-up muscle car underneath a falling smokestack, another wrestling a clunky 1940s jeep around a desert, dodging explosions. This constant switching of vehicles required the player to not just be a skilled driver in one vehicle but to be a skilled driver, no matter what was needed for each scene. This again for many players could lead to frustration, but for those that Stuntman clicked for, it meant that the eventual triumph, the final perfect run, was all the more satisfying.
Stuntman was unique in that it was a thrilling driving game that featured neither any traditional racing nor car combat of any kind. Its experience was in effect almost a puzzle game on four wheels, one that required skill and precision from players in order to hope for any sort of success. An almost roguelike driving experience, whose tight level design demanded that players learn each facet of each course through trial and error, where one simple mistake can spell the end of an otherwise successful run. Stuntman was the epitome of a game not made for everyone but brilliantly designed to appeal to those who were ready for a serious four-wheeled challenge.