ARC_the beginning

[quote] A review copy was provided by the developer.  [/quote] 🔶 [b] ARC_the beginning is a arcade racing game set in a small open world[/b] 🔶 Nice graphics overall, low poly but well done overall ... https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3673607872 A open-world to explore and race to complete for money for buying news cars + cars customisation. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3673606883 In practice it’s fine, in reality it’s another matter … All others racers are way too much powerful again your basic first car (and I am playing on easy ...), and there no others way to get extra money … https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3673607722 Even more, the game lack of optimisation, on open-world section the game work well for me, but during a race the game often run at 10 fps (playing on a i5 / 2 Go VRAM / 8 Go RAM) Lack of polishment, no controler support, lack of gps for getting into story mission, and no way to proper quit the game (need to alt + F4) Overall, could be a good arcade racer, but still fill in Alpha version, wait for multiples patch before taking it ... 💚💚💚 • Nice pleasant small open-world ❌❌❌ - Really lack of optimisation / polishment (controller support, lack of gps for story mission, street racer are really too hard on beginning, badly optimised …) - 12.79 € [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/] Follow [b]IndieGems[/b] [/url] for more reviews like this one. [/quote]

Colorful but flawed indie arcade racer with weak controls and AI, shallow variety, and frustrating mechanics that make it enjoyable only at a steep discount. After creating a profile and choosing the difficulty and transmission mode, which can be changed later, you’re dropped into a car festival. Once you prove your skills in a short introductory race, you receive prize money for your first new car and an invitation to compete in various events around the city. One major issue becomes obvious almost immediately: there is no proper gamepad support. Although you can attempt to remap controls by pressing a gamepad button in the settings, some inputs simply do not work. Steering, for example, does not register when using the directional pad. As a result, you are effectively forced to play with a keyboard. Because of that, manual transmission is best avoided, as it feels awkward and unenjoyable on a keyboard. The driving model leans heavily toward arcade style, so it is fairly simple overall. You have a throttle, a brake for corners, and nitro that refills automatically, which keeps things straightforward. The game takes place in a small open city built with colorful low poly graphics. Traffic is minimal, with only the occasional vehicle on the road, but there is just enough to disrupt your position during races. Barriers line nearly every road, making it impossible to drive off road. These panels can actually help during races, since you can scrape against them and continue driving without major consequences. For an arcade racer, however, the driving mechanics should feel more refined. On one hand, you can take most corners without braking much or worrying about damage. On the other hand, a collision with another car or a roadside object can send you spinning directly into a wall. There is also a frustrating inconsistency where roads meet pavement. Even a slight change in elevation can cause your car to spin out unexpectedly. When you crash into a wall or another vehicle, recovering is often impossible. Accelerating and steering does not free you, and the cars feel as if they are stuck together. Your only options are to reverse or press the reset button. Repeated crashes also cause noticeable jittering, which becomes more pronounced over time. The car selection is decent, but the vehicles lack visual variety. Most of them resemble generic sports cars with only minor differences in shape. While each car has different stats such as speed and steering, these distinctions do not matter much given the arcade-focused gameplay. Customization options include bumpers, wheels, colors, and patterns, which add some welcome personalization. You begin with four unlocked cars, and each of the three chapters adds four more. Every car can be upgraded multiple times across all stats, including nitro, since newly purchased cars do not come equipped with it. Upgrades are noticeable and highly recommended as soon as you can afford them. However, upgrades are limited by the car’s level. A level 0 car can only be upgraded once per stat, while a level 3 car can reach the maximum upgrades. This system prevents you from grinding money to fully upgrade your starter car and complete the entire game with it. The city is fully open, and you must drive to each event. All events are displayed on a large map, and you can set a destination that highlights the optimal route. After completing an event, you can fast travel to it from anywhere. Event types are standard and include checkpoint races, circuit races, and sprint races. Since races can be replayed, earning money is never an issue. To complete an event, you only need to finish in the top three. Winning is not required and is often impossible in the early races, as your opponents are faster. Fortunately, the AI drivers are not very intelligent. They frequently crash into traffic or get stuck against walls, allowing you to climb the ranks even from last place. Their unpredictability can also work against you, as they may suddenly swerve into your car when driving alongside you. Ultimately, your success often depends more on your opponents’ mistakes than on your own driving skill. Another frustrating design choice is the lack of a quick restart option. If you know you cannot win, you must either finish the entire race before restarting or quit and drive back to the starting point. Both options waste time. After completing all races in a chapter, you must defeat a boss to unlock the next chapter and a new part of the city. The boss is faster, but you can catch up by cutting corners. Even so, winning often feels dependent on aggressive tactics such as ramming the boss during turns or forcing them into traffic. Overall, this indie racing game offers a modest amount of content, a semi functional driving model, and a selection of basic race types, along with a small bonus objective of discovering landmarks. It may be worth considering at a steep discount, but at a higher price there are far better racing games available.

makes me annoying. can't stop playing till the end