ShayneL

Overall, this is a decent racing game on the Switch platform. If you are into games like Forza Horizon (that is, relaxed, sightseeing driving without launching bombs or having to drift all the time), this is your dish. The graphics is not the best. The engine seems like a port from previous editions (Gear.club True Racing on iOS/Android; Gear.club Unlimited on Switch), the trees rocks are of low definition. However, this does not affect game experience in a serious way. When you start driving, you pay less attention to details like those. There are even scenes with fog, dust etc., which is a nice surprise. In general, the game gives you a decently immersive feel. The fleet is impressive, and the car models are detailed and polished. Story is stereotypical but with moments of amusement (one of the bosses is a funny windbag…). The learning curve is fine—basically you will have to turn on manual gas and fully disable braking assistance if you want to win rank C or D events. Completing the story gives me 40+ hours of quality time, and then there are still interesting challenges to take. My major complaints are these. First, driving mechanics is not accurate; the game 'invents' a new physics instead of approximating real physics (and this is so regardless of the level of driving assistance). This makes normal corners (level 3-6 as in a rally race) very easy. Seeing this, the developer adds tons of narrow corners and hairpin turns to the circuits, but these are incredibly difficult under the game's own physics. (For reference, I am not an expert but a devout amateur. I can beat highly experienced drivatars in Forza Horizon 4, and I usually ranked top 25% in time-attacks in Real Racing 3.) Over time, this becomes very annoying, and the races lose their charm. Second, the AI is built in a simplistic way, and your opponents are made challenging only because, well, THEY CHEAT. With the same Performance Index you will see your opponents usually not as smart as yourself but occasionally go incredibly fast (as in they don't lose speed at all when turning around a hairpin), especially when they are out of your sight. The result is that you feel you are not racing against respectable, experienced drivers but a pack of sorry cheaters. Besides, the AI is aggressive and will make extra efforts to block you, even if this means they will be slowed down, too. This becomes a huge problem when you have to start as the last in the queue and the 6th bumps you like crazy while the 1st (a cheater, of course) vanishes from your sight in no time. Since this game is not really open-world (no free roaming option), winning the races is still the only thing to do in the game. The problems I list above therefore seriously compromise the pleasure the game could have brought. Once I finish the story, I don't feel like going back to it. That said, I see great potentials in the series, and I wish there will be a better-made sequel.