[b]My playtime:[/b] 9.3h (based on steam, 100% achievement)
[b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] No.
[b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] No.
[b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No.
[h1]Intro[/h1]
[i]High On Racing[/i] is an arcade game that emulates racing games with a different control. You will control your vehicle's lane and speed while relying on the tiles on the ground to change directions. The game has 15 levels in total.
[b]Pros:[/b]
- 15 levels
- 3 lives
- You can play the game from any level that you want
[b]Cons:[/b]
- The setting to change resolution or switch to full screen mode doesn't work
- You need to roam around the place for hours if you don't know where to go to finish the game
- Lives aren't reset after you advance to the next level although you can start the game from any level that you want
- You can't jump after you get a speed boost powerup without lowering your speed first
[h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1]
[b]No.[/b]
[i]Actually, I had some fun when I played this game. I also felt good when I finished some levels. However, the massive difficulty spike starting from level 10 doesn't make the game fun at all; you'll re-explore the same places for hours just to finish a level that can be completed in minutes, especially if you don't know the full layout of the level and die often. I ended up not recommending this game because of this.[/i]
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[h1]In-Depth Review[/h1]
[h1]Graphics[/h1]
The game uses various graphics style on the main menu. There's a pixelated dog in the stage selection, an anime-style girl in some part of the screens, and a 3D vehicle model in the main menu. The combination might look weird to some people, but I don't expect much from a cheap game.
The actual game uses 3D models with a plane-like vehicle that you can control. There's also the anime-style girl in the bottom right corner which will change her facial expression if you lose a life. The 3D models look decent for the price tag and the obstacles are clear enough for me to avoid.
[h1]The game[/h1]
[b]Controls[/b]
To be honest, I thought that this was a racing game and I just needed to reach the goal to finish a level. I ended up getting frustrated when my plane doesn't turn right even though I already pressed the right arrow button. It turns out that you need to step on a tile that has a right turn symbol on it to turn right. You can achieve this by moving the plane right and left to switch the lane you're in.
The game becomes easier after you get the hang of the controls. There is also a "How to Play" section in the main menu that describes what each symbol means and the game's objective. However, that section doesn't cover that you can adjust your speed by pressing up and down arrow. The game also has a jump mechanic that will be used in level 10+.
[b]Crystals[/b]
There are a lot of crystals scattered around the map in each level. Yellow crystals will increase your high score while red crystals, which have a predetermined number in each level, will allow you to finish the level if you manage to collect them all. Some of them are easy to get, some are hidden in tricky areas. However, the game doesn't give you any hints on where the red crystals are so you might have to traverse the area several times until you find them.
[b]Timer[/b]
You need to collect all red crystals within the time limit to finish the level. You can increase the timer by either collecting timers or red crystals. You'll lose one life if you run out of time and you have to start over from the beginning of the level with all red crystals that you have collected when that happens.
[b]Lifes[/b]
You'll start with 3 lives and you will lose it either by running out of time or running into obstacles. You'll get a game over screen if you lose them all, meaning that you have to start the level from the beginning again. However, the game didn't reset my life count after I finished a level so I had to return to the main menu and select the new level to reset my life manually.
[b]Levels[/b]
The game has 15 levels in total. You can play from any level that you want from the main menu although you should play them in order because of the increasing difficulty.
[b]Difficulty[/b]
The game was fun at the first 9 levels. I even got addicted to the game at some point. However, the difficulty spiked starting from level 10. Red crystals are placed in tricky places that I had to roam the places for hours just to find the last few crystals. I thought the nightmare was over after I finished that level, but it got worse.
Level 11's map is vast and you need to keep your speed up at all times while making sure that you can jump on time. Strangely, the game won't let you jump if you don't lower your speed after you step on the speed boost powerup, leading me into crashing a lot of times. There were also some instances where I went off track because of this. Luckily, you can restart the level while keeping your lives when this happens.
I ended up giving up to finish the game without a guide at that point. I used [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695588375]this[/url] guide to finish the rest of the levels and even though each video is only ~5 minutes long, it still took hours to finish the game. This is because the obstacles are placed in insane places that I kept on crashing several times. Strangely, the game auto closes after you finish level 15.
[b]Problems[/b]
I had no major problems in this game except the fact that I got stuck when my plane was near a fence a few times. You also can't change the game resolution or set it to full screen even though there's an option to do that.
[h1]Conclusion[/h1]
It's an arcade game that has different control from racing games although it looks like one. It was fun to play at first but becomes frustrating after level 10 because of its difficulty spike.
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