Although there’s unquestionable evidence of rubber-banding, challengers aren’t passive drones that follow scripted routes. Sumo’s experience with Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is evident here, especially with AI that’s a bit brighter than most games. Both drifting and drafting feed into your boost meter, supplying Burnout-like opportunities to jet past your rivals on a straightaway. Fortunately, it’s just as easy to recover traction, so you’ll never be frustrated by the kind of constant fishtailing that occurred when you played Ridge Racer for the first time. Tap the brakes, and your vehicle will break traction, allowing for a textbook drifts through turns. Undoubtedly, racing veterans will appreciate the game’s handling. Yes, those impossibly azure skies are back as well as an announcer who sounds hopped up on energy drinks. From a Ferris wheel on the side of the track to a whale leaping through the air, Hotshot Racing feels like a SEGA title from the last millennium. Peer a bit deeper and you’ll find a multitude of cheeky references to yesteryear’s titles.

Hotshot’s low-poly cars and courses largely eschew texturing, evoking the visual style of classics like Daytona USA and Virtua Racing. There’s even splitscreen play for up to four rivals, providing plenty of competitive prospects.īut gamers with at least a hint of crow’s feet are the ones who’ll be head over heels with the recent Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC release. Running at an unswerving sixty frames-per-second, the titles offers a multitude of tracks, characters, and modes. Lucky Mountain Games and Sumo Digital’s game is a thoroughly polished arcade racer that doesn’t demand the skillset of most modern simulations. Players under the age of thirty are poised to have a good time with Hotshot Racing. Price: $19.99 via digital download, 20% discount until September 17thĪvailability: Steam, Microsoft Store, PlayStation Store, eShop Platform: PC, also on PlayStation 4, XBox One, and Switchĭeveloper: Sumo Digital, Lucky Mountain Games

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