Racing 80's Style! 😎

Last year, when I resumed my reviews, I purchased two titles on my newly acquired Nintendo Switch. The first was a rail shooter, Bot Vice, submitted to The Weekly Replay; the other was 80's Overdrive. I played a small amount, but Bot Vice and Mortal Kombat 11 had a firm hold on my attention. Like many of us, I have a bit of a backlog I'm working through, and the aforementioned retro racer can finally be checked off the list. In my youth, I enjoyed some racing titles, such as Mario Kart, F-Zero, Road Rash, and other classics from yesteryear. It is one of those genres that not many know I enjoy, which is understandable considering what I usually play or cover. 80s Overdrive tries to recapture that nostalgia bug being clearly influenced by titles like Outrun. A simple single-player 3rd person racer with rad music and tubular backgrounds.

The title begins by taking you from the title screen to select file. From there, you have three options to choose from. I will cover the other two later, but let's discuss the career mode. When you access career mode, you will be taken to a map to choose your first race. Once you have selected your car and music, it's time to hit the track. I have some issues with this title that I will bring up as needed, but in terms of each race track's background, I have no notes. It's simple, it's retro, and it's beautiful. Each part of the map you race on looks like the area you're driving through, which is not always the case in these racing titles. The people at Insane Code and Esno could have been lazy and recycled the same 5 courses, but they didn't, and I, for one, highly appreciate this fact. A fun note I would like to point out is that several character icons are famous 80's faces. I picked Mr. T, but I also saw McFly and The Fresh Prince in the ranking pool.

The music was not exactly what I expected for a retro racing soundtrack. To me, several tracks had a little bit of a Shadowrun vibe. I wasn't against this, however, and when you consider that some of the best Cyberpunk movies came from the era of the New Age, it makes sense. The soundtrack is provided by five groups providing at least three tracks, except Aceman, whose track "Starchaser" serves as a main theme for the title. I am a fan of Vectorwolf, and the option to change tracks while on the race track is a nice feature.

After choosing your rockin' tune, it is time to begin the race. Now in terms of driving difficulty, 80's Overdrive is pretty standard. The genuine hardship lies within some game design choices the coders implemented. The race begins, and you put the pedal to the metal. You are trying your best to avoid traffic and your rivals to obtain the coveted first place. Suddenly, a cop is on your tail, and it gets weird. The cops will drive past, or through, you and then brake check you several times before driving off into the horizon. There were times the A.I. was using this weird pass-through collision present within the game, going through you during turns, causing you to lose control and crash into a nearby hazard. Normally I would just dismiss this as the other drivers being stupid. Still, the racers in 80's Overdrive are jerks, especially the final challenge. Once I got used to dodging the kamikaze boys in blue, they took to more aggressive tactics such as cutting off 18-wheelers to cause an accident.

But if you have enough points to go fast and a good sense of timing, it only matters when you beat this title with an automatic transmission. You do have the option to drive manual like many other racing titles, but this is not Forza. The one thing I hate about the mechanics behind the manual transmission. You automatically drop back into first gear when you touch anything, be it a car or otherwise. I would highly suggest dodging everything you see to avoid such an annoyance.

The time attack is something for you, true old-school arcade lovers. Select your car and take on a massive track with several branching forks taking you to different locations, similar to the classic Cursin' series. You drive from one checkpoint to the next with a limited amount of time. Still, you can earn extra seconds by performing near misses like Need For Speed or Burnout. A feature like this and the chance to unlock and customize cards truly enhance the title's replay value. Still, the third option in the title sequence is a bit confusing.

I would like to point something out before explaining the level editor. I could have gone online to fill the information gaps, and I encourage you to do so. Still, as part of the whole experience, I like to approach the title as a casual gamer, and there was no manual I could find with this virtual purchase. A shame, too, because there are a few questions I feel the average gamer might wish to inquire about. When you select the level editor, you are presented with any tracks you made, the option to create a new one, and a code input screen. At the moment of writing, I have no idea its function. You can adjust the amount of traffic, police, lanes, turns, and other variables you can add to any theme within the title you wish. To be honest, I am currently looking at the menu upon writing this. It dawned on me that a more experienced racer could navigate this customization better than I could. All and all, I enjoyed this title more than I thought I would when I first purchased it. Now to be fair, I have been playing other racing titles like Dirt 5, which I might write about. But for what 80's Overdrive is and wants to represent, it is awesome, awesome to the max.