[b]Second Impressions Review[/b]
So have played the game more after the latest update and have come to understand it better. The engine sound is much improved, the race starts are better, and there is some basic FFB, which I think could start a bit earlier when you start to lose traction but nonetheless helps.
The essential thing I learned from playing more is this: The game has a physics model but it's a bit unusual and takes some getting used to, because [b]the cars heavily understeer on throttle and oversteer off throttle[/b]. If you are new to the game I think that's the most important thing to know because it means you very rarely want to brake, and instead lift off the throttle to get the car turned in. The oversteer and understeer come on very quickly as you adjust the throttle, so you want to be very careful with your joystick inputs. I thought the joystick was too sensitive before, but it's actually just the way the understeer and oversteer massively affect your inputs in a split second. You really need to focus to stay on the track! Anyhow, I think this is a game I can recommend, as it's continuously improving and rewards practice if you know what it's doing!
[b]First impressions review:[/b]
I have only played for a short time in the first two categories, but I have multiple hundreds of hours of in racing games of both the sim and arcade type, so here is my review.
[b]Visuals:[/b]
The car sprites are excellent and the sprite scaling effect is super smooth and satisfying. Some of the environmental sprites like trees don't look very nice but the vehicles are all outstanding sprite work, even the ones off track. The knock off ads on the trackside are all fun to look at. The menus are attractive looking and better than most from the era that the game is imitating.
[b]Sound:[/b]
I played with the music off so I can only comment on the sound effects. Unfortunately they are really not very good at all. Your car sounds like the length of each "gear" (there is no actual shifting in game but the sound simulates there being gears) is of exactly equal length and it seems each car in the class has the same very short sound sample it plays. The same sound effect plays at each race start for your class and it tells you nothing of value. The incidental sound effects like the tyre screech and the crowds cheering are all fine.
[b]Driving dynamics:[/b]
I say "dynamics" because there isn't really any physics model to speak of here at all. Well, they're not exactly terrible but they're also not very good. I understand that this is meant to be a pure arcade racer, but forget basically everything you know about driving going into this game or you will be punished.
It seems like the AI just always gets a boost off the starting line and nothing you do with your inputs has any effect on how fast you get off the line. Maybe I'm wrong but the game doesn't tell you anything about how to do a good race start.
The cars (Mini and GT class) understeer like crazy until you push the steering angle past a set point and then they will break traction and do a half spin. They will never spin any more or less than that because again, there is no physics engine here, it's just a simple trigger and effect relationship.
The spin threshold does depend on how much throttle you have down, but again, there are no gears on the cars, so 100% throttle is basically like flooring it in your car in first gear, while being light on the throttle bogs the car down like you're driving through mud.
There is no force feedback or audible feedback on how much you are pushing your tyres. You simply have to memorize the visual angle and joystick angle at which you will break traction. This is a HUGE problem with the game. I understand that the old games of this type didn't have force feedback, but not being able to adjust the linearity of your inputs in the options menu makes it a total crapshoot how well your controller will match up with what the developer intended the inputs to be. My 8BitDo Pro 2 was a total disaster to drive, making the right window of input extremely narrow with no feedback on when I was or was not in it until I was off the track. I couldn't even try using my dpad as there are absolutely zero controller configuration options in the game. This is the game's biggest problem without question, as it could be a lot more fun if the player could dial in their controller settings.
[b]AI:[/b]
Well, it's fine I guess. The bar for AI in racing games is pretty low, barring exceptions like GT7's Sophie. The cars don't really follow the racing line but since it's almost impossible for the player to do so I can understand why. You do get a sense of racing your opponents in the pack and there is a lot of 3 wide action on track. Basically I don't have any major complaints about this.
[b]Verdict:[/b]
I wouldn't recommend buying this game until there are some controller configuration options. Once there are I think it will be a good time for most players and give them the nostalgia hit they're looking for. If you are looking for similar games with physics engines check out Art of Rally (outstanding game) or Circuit Superstars (More varied, more similar to what this game is going for, but with a more sophisticated physics engine, not the best game but a good time) but I understand that some people want a pure arcade racer and this game will hopefully provide that once it has received a bit more polish.
