An Homage to the Best of the Gamecube Era

Synthwave Racers made me feel like a kid playing games on my Gamecube again. Nostalgia meter has been refilled successfully!

The amount of passion the [solo, may I add] developer put into this game is evident from the moment the game boots up. Even the splash screen has me reminiscing of those old Rare games where they used to have the logo spinning around as the game loads.

The driving gameplay feels a bit different from other Kart games, but I actually prefer it over titles like Mario Kart / CTR. Shocked to feel that way from a one-man team. There is an extreme amount of precision provided to you with the drift mechanic. The drifting in this game is really, really responsive - something that was very surprising to me. Its clear that gameplay feeling good was a priority for the dev, because its very nice to control the car. The powerups are all incredibly responsive as well. The SPEED in this game is amazing! It feels SO GOOD to reach intense speeds. Plus, as you go faster and faster, you still maintain amazing control over your vehicle. Breezing through the time trial courses was an absolute blast.

The ragdoll minigame is hilarious. I actually found myself getting addicted to the random and chaotic nature of it. It felt a bit like a mix between playing a randomizer and playing the Home Run Contest in smash bros. Its yet again such a nice little touch that a lot of games these days seem to omit.

There is a 32-level single player campaign featuring "linear challenge levels" similar to something like Super Monkey Ball. Then, there is also 8 looping tracks that are used for both time trials mode, local vs. AI, and online multiplayer. The single player campaign levels are designed pretty well for the most part, a couple of them fell pretty short in my eyes, but an enjoyable experience overall. I felt that some of them were a bit short. The powerups were a standout for the single player campaign - I think the dev could have done a bit more with the gravity switcher and the stopwatch. Plus, the ranking system is a great touch. I found myself coming back to levels that I had beaten but not mastered multiple times in order to get that Diamond rank. The looping courses are ALL really well crafted. There isn't a single course that I encountered that had any kind of major issue. And many of them were the opposite, where I felt like it was a great mix between wild, wacky tracks, and at the same time designed to be able to drive through the track extremely quickly.

The customizations are plenty and much inbetween. Some inspiration from Rocket League was definitely taken here, which isn't a bad thing by any means, but I really appreciate that you actually have characters driving the karts and bikes. The Chicken character is just hilarious to look at. Plus, the emotes are a nice touch for the online gameplay. The sheer amount of content to unlock is ridiculous. There are over 100 items to unlock, and you must get them from multiple different methods - NONE OF WHICH ARE MICROTRANSACTONS. Props again to the dev in this regard. It truly is a callback to the early 2000's when you had to actually PLAY THROUGH THE GAME to unlock different items. The loot system I don't quite understand, it seems like maybe it wasn't quite finished or thought out all the way. But it does feel good to unlock the chests, however it feels a bit like Minish Cap at times since you can get duplicates. I would have preferred an in-game store (not paid obviously) where you just select the items to purchase, like Sack Boy - A Big Adventure.

The online gameplay is definitely fun, but I experienced a couple disconnection issues in my ~2 hours of playing. Not sure if it was on my end or the game end, I have occasional connectivity issues in other games too, but I think I had 2 in just 2 hours so I'm not totally sure. Plus, the latency seems to be a bit of an issue, because the players that are a bit behind you will sometimes actually be in front of you on the server end, so it seems like a bit more work could have been done on the client side to alleviate that. I am definitely being a bit more leniant here since its just one developer making the whole game. That being said - the items are very fun to use, and plus, the game even spawns AI on the server for you to play against when there are no other humans on the server, which is a great feature to have - especially for a smaller indie title that may not have a lot of players online at the same time. There is even a level-up system where as you play more games and complete actions in matches (like, blowing someone up for instance), you get more XP. And again, ALL of it is free, no battle pass or anything. Overall I was satisfied with the multiplayer, but I think fixing some of the DC issues I encountered, and adding some more client-side prediction would make it go from a "good" experience to a "great".

Synthwave Racers, despite the name, actually has a decent variety of environments. But its done in such a unique way, where the typical other-kinds of worlds you see in video games have been altered into more synthy environments. Some of them are the typical neon-drenched cities and wacky vibrant abstract worlds, but there is also a Miami-Beach themed world, an icy mountain world, and my favorite theme, the "Funky Forest", which sees a jungle get transformed into a neon-soaked land. The graphics aren't completely mind-blowing, but I have to say, they are great for the retro-nostalgic aesthetic that is being presented throughout the whole game. A very cohesive style, which is what I care about more than extremely high-fidelity.

If there is one absolutely easy 10/10 aspect of this game, its the soundtrack. I'm not sure how this is even possible, but each and every track is both Synthwave-style, and also environmentally matches the world. Let me explain...being in Freezy Peak, this delightful synthy track with digitized bells but that solid 80's drum kit propels you to keep driving. The space levels completely invoke a feeling of wonder and awe that space scores usually give you, but at the same time have an electronic beat-thumping to them that is perfect for driving. When I booted up the game in the main menu, I just sat there for a bit listening to the theme song. It was extremely catchy and I even catch myself humming it occasionally.

I think normally I would give a game like this a solid 8 or 8.5 out of ten - but, there are 2 reasons I am giving it a 9.5 instead.

1. After discovering this is not only a solo developer, but also he made the entire soundtrack as well, AND its only 10$, AND there are no microtransactions - all content that could be in the game, is already in the game. Just like the good old days!

2. The game is cohesive and complete. The passion and vision the dev had for this game shines through the screen. And, the insane amount of content and replayability this game has to offer. I bet I will play this for at least another 20 hours, after already spending about 15 hours. The price point is unbelievably fair for what it has to offer.

You should buy this game and support this dev! Lets see what else can come from Corrtex Games. This was close to a masterpiece in my book.