[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote]
[quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote]
[h1]Overall Rating - Average ★★★☆☆[/h1]
[h1]First Impressions[/h1]
Looking at the trailer for Super Arcade Racing (SAR), it made me think of a game or two I had played on the NES. They weren't my favorite titles, in part because of the controls and difficulty, but there was still something that I enjoyed about them. Hoping that a modern overhead racer could provide a better experience, I accepted a review key for SAR.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
Many racing games make use of a system where you begin with a basic vehicle, earn prize money from doing well in races, and use that to upgrade your vehicle or purchase a better model. SAR does much the same, though changes it up based on how it handles car customization. When you buy vehicle upgrades, they're universal improvements, which will apply to any body you select. Swapping out the appearance and parts is wholly a cosmetic change, as I don't believe the shape or size alters the speed or handling. There's no indication of stat alterations when making those choices in the garage at least. Otherwise, this overhead racer is fairly standard for its genre, except the campaign isn't about becoming a world-class racer. You're instead trying to rescue a family member.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2944483683
[h1]Controls[/h1]
At the very beginning, I was making minor inputs on my controller to steer my vehicle, unsure how slippery the racing would feel. Before long though, I was adapting, using the D-pad fully and making turns without slowing down. For the sharpest turns, I sometimes have to hold the brakes while still accelerating to drift, but it otherwise lets me drive at top speeds without much issue. Unrealistic, but the sort of handling I like from racing games.
[h1]Story[/h1]
Things get underway quickly when your younger brother is kidnapped right in front of you, with no idea as to motive or who's behind this scheme. Plus, over the course of the game, they don't send ransom notes to try and squeeze your family for money. It takes quite a few races just to learn who everybody is, let alone the history and possible reason for this incident. I think it's a decent enough plot, but I like finding out details about characters sooner rather than later.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2945057808
[h1]Visuals[/h1]
Seeing as how the design is what caught my eye, I think the overhead perspective and distance works well for a racing game. It's not so distant that you can see really far ahead, meaning you'll have to respond quickly to different hazards or tight turns. However, the view isn't too close either, giving you enough of an opportunity to make reasonable reactions. With how small the cars wind up being though, I do find all the customization options mostly redundant, as it's hard to make out the finer details anyways. Looking at the tracks, since there's four environments available, I thought there was enough variance in their appearance to not get stale.
[h1]Sound Design[/h1]
While playing SAR, I didn't think there were that many songs in the game, but I was surprised to find that there's a little over 30 of them. Contributing to this amount, every fifth race pits you against a “boss,” and each of them has a unique tune. Unfortunately, they just show up without much build-up, so the music doesn't develop as strong an identity for them as it could have. That doesn't diminish their quality any, as the music in SAR is enjoyable, assuming you don't mind light rock made up of boopy sorts of noises. They do tend to be on the short side, which in other games would be a greater problem, but it works just fine when races only take around a minute or so. For the few sound effects in the game, they're passable, but the sounds of the engines make me think of lawnmowers more than race cars.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2945058069
[h1]Pros[/h1]
🌟 Except for the one on one races, you only need to come in third or better to progress. That's pretty generous, allowing players to unlock new car parts to upgrade and get further into SAR than if they always had to get first.
🌟 Since the courses aren't overly long or complicated, at worst, I only ever had to retry a track a few times before being able to clear it. Not having a mini-map wasn't much of a hindrance.
🌟 There's a handful of secret courses hidden in the Story Mode.
[h1]Cons[/h1]
❌ With races only giving rewards around $10,000 and upgrades costing $20,000 and higher, you'll want to grind in order to afford them all. I believe enemy racers are maxed out to the highest upgrades available at the time.
❌ The achievements for reaching pro rank in multiplayer are grossly excessive. I've no intent on winning a minimum of 1,000 races for that.
[h1]Tips[/h1]
🔍 Sometimes the arrows on the track are misleading. It will tell you the general shape of the upcoming turns, but you won't always have to turn as much as the arrow suggests. Instead of turning hard left then right, cutting across diagonally might be the best option.
🔍 You can always practice a track if you're especially stuck, but I'd think grinding money from earlier races for upgrades would be a better use of your time. Ironically, due to how short it is, redoing the first race for $6,000 is very efficient.
🔍 Enemy vehicles don't seem overly aggressive, intentionally steering into you for bad positioning. However, I won quite a few races from doing that to them.
[h1]Final Thoughts[/h1]
It's not immediately obvious, but SAR is a mobile port. From what I can tell, it's not littered with micro-transactions, so I'd say it's mostly harmless. I believe this background is behind the large amount of vehicle customization options and intent for players to complete so many online races. Mobile games are at their most successful when they hook several players for large amounts of time. However, I can't imagine many people would spend so much time repeatedly playing this racing game when there's not much reason to do so. Ignoring the mobile matter, it's a decent enough experience for killing a handful of hours, but unless you're zany for completing achievements, you wouldn't have much reason for playing beyond that point. I'd recommend SAR, but not for its asking price. Get it on sale.
[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote]
[table]
[tr]
[th]PC Specs[/th]
[th]Performance[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ryzen 2700
RTX 2070
16GB RAM
ADATA SSD
1920x1080
[/td]
[td]The game ran without incident on default settings.
💖 - SAR is healthy
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
