Horizon Chase

Well, this one definitely lives up to the description. It plays just like the pseudo-3D racing games from the 80s and early 90s. The upbeat soundtrack and vibrant visuals go a long way toward replicating that vintage charm.

There are couple of issues worth pointing out. First of all, the nighttime races have terrible contrast. There's nothing more annoying than having to crank the brightness on my phone just to see where I'm going.

More frustrating, however, is the nature of how races play out. I feel like there are two parts to every race -- the early part, when you're fighting through through throngs of other races to avoid momentum-draining collisions, and the late part, when the course feels empty and you just need to navigate the curves. Because of this, it often feels like the outcome of a race is decided within the first half of the first lap. Maybe that's realistic, but it means that races often feel less tense the longer they go on. The only exceptions were a handful of the later races, when I felt like I needed to nail every curve to get first place.

Despite this, the game is quite a bit of fun. It doesn't hurt that there are plenty of tracks, as well as upgrades and cars to unlock. I'm even tempted to delve into the DLC, but given how many other games there on my phone it's unlikely I'll get around to it anytime soon.

Horizon Chase Turbo is inspired by retro racing games, in particular it seems very much inspired by Top Gear (unaffiliated with the hit TV show) which was released on the SNES.

When you activate a turbo boost, or overtake opponents, a speech bubble often appears. This is another nod to Top Gear. I’m pretty sure one of the music tracks is also stolen from it too.

Top Gear was played in split-screen, with your rival shown on the bottom. This game doesn’t have that feature. I think it would have been nice to at least be assigned a rival, even if the game didn’t copy the camera style.

The racing feels fast, and there’s rarely a need to use the brake or take your finger off the accelerator when navigating the corners. Brakes are mainly used as a last resort. You have 3 nitrous boosts to use and using them wisely can make a huge difference in the race. You can also gain a turbo start with correct timing of the accelerator much like games such as Mario Kart.

Crashing into cars slows you down, and hitting the obstacles at the side of the road dramatically slows you down. This means it's a huge waste of your boost if it causes you to crash. It is wise to use boosts on long straights, especially when you have the chance to overtake. Some races have extra nitros to pick up.

In Top Gear, you had to move into the pit area to refuel, and choose when to come out. This required some planning as you needed to gauge how much fuel you need to last the race, and ensure you pit in the correct lap. This game just has fuel cans in a few locations on the lap, and you drive into them. It works fine, but I prefer the strategy and tension that the pit mechanic brought to the table. The fuel mechanic barely affects cars with large fuel supplies, whereas the smaller capacity cars mean it is vital to make note of where the cans are.

When you do run out of fuel, you will gradually slow down. Once stationary, you will be disqualified. If you have any nitro boosts, you can use them to hopefully carry you the remaining distance to the finish line.

The game is split over 12 countries, with 5 or so events within. Some events have 2 or 3 races. You need to finish in the top 5 to progress. You are awarded coins based on your result and gain bonuses for the amount of tokens you collect, and the amount of remaining fuel you have. You can revisit the races to improve your result, and race against your ghost.

There's nice variation with the tracks with lots of elevation and some off-road sections thrown in. Some races may start during day-time and progress into the night (or vice-versa), or have a variety of weather conditions; snow, rain, fog. The backgrounds help set the scene with mountains, beaches, temples, city landscapes etc.

You unlock many cars throughout the course of the game, and they have various attributes; acceleration, speed, handling, nitro, and fuel consumption. Some cars are unlocked when you accumulate a certain amount of coins, whereas others are unlocked when you come 1st in all races within a country.

There’s an “upgrade” race in each country. If you finish in the top 3, then you have a choice of 3 upgrades. By the end of the career mode, you will have collected them all. Upgrades are applied automatically to all cars in your collection, so there’s no fiddly menu to switch them out.

The races themselves are usually 1.5 - 2 minutes in length so many of them felt disposable - I played them once, finished first and didn’t feel the need to return. For large parts of the game, I felt like I was just ploughing through the game without much thought.

I felt fewer and longer races would have been better than the numerous and short approach the game had. I do miss the pit system, and the rival system of Top Gear. It is a simple and fun game that can bring nostalgia to those who played this type of game in their youth.