If you’rea veteran of manya
cross-leggedMicro Machines
campaignfromthe 16-bit days or, to
be honest, if you’vesimplyseen a
screenshot and clocked the isometric
camera, you’vegot a
handleon how it feels
to drive. What isn’t
evident until your first
raceis the sheer
amount of subtlety
baked into those
adorable littlevehicles.
Going fast hereis about
picking out and
committingto perfect racinglines,
keeping all inputssmooth, and
holding onto momentumlikeit’s a
fistful of James May’s Marks &
Spencer Autograph blazerafter he
wanders a bit too close duringa
Grand Tour filming.
Eachday I’vegone back to it, I’ve
found some new way to unlockmore
speed. A micro-revelationthat makes
me want to go through every racing
series– 12, since you ask – all over
again. It is, I’m really surprised to
discover, my favourite racinggame
for years.
Tracks rubberup as the laps go by,
revealing thick, tar-like stripes of
freshly laid tyrewhere extra grip and
lap time can be found. Conversely, in
eventswith tyredeg enabled, you’ll
lose pace alarmingly quickly unless
you focus your driving style on
modulated throttlingand minimal
steeringunder throttleor braking.
Another part of your brain is still
keeping an eye on fuel. In a game that
looks likethis, remember.
Original Fire finds a style of track
design that works really well with
both its camera perspective and
vehicle physics, and in its 12 circuits
- with 18 total layout variations
- lies a long-term challenge.
Mastering the lines well enough to
perform respectably online, and
fine-tuning that muscle memory in
search of time trial
leaderboard
perfection.
PARTYFOUL
This being an indie
studio’s debut, you can
forgive its pretty light
onlineproposition.
Still, it’s a shame that
evenwith an onlinelobby feature
that lets you buddy up as a party of
four, you still have to race in public
lobbies with up to eight strangers,
and can’t createyour own event types
fromscratch. The community’s
voicedits desirefor morelobby
controlssince Early Accessin March,
so far to no avail.
That’s not to say those strangers
themselvesare a bad lot, you
understand. Partly motivated by the
unforgiving collision physics and
perhaps partlyby the air of joviality
inherent to a game about tiny
vehiclesracingthrough Aardman
Animation sets, they’re usually
sporting– and about three seconds a
lap quicker than you. It’s just that full
12-person servers are prone to lag,
which in the worst cases renderthe
raceprettyundriveable.
The game itself is prettylaissez-
faire about onlineracingconduct.
Brief time penalties are incurred
whenyou cut corners, and you can
see exactly how much cutting
constitutes a penalty by observing the
markerpoles beyondthe apexes. No
penalties are handedout for contact,
other than the time both parties lose
for playing silly buggers and
inevitablyheading off track. It might
not alwaysfeel fair, but which online
racer does? It is, at least, clear and
consistent in its race marshalling.
Oddly enough, there’s no
mid-series save functionin offline
races, so later serieswhich feature
five, ten+ lap races must be taken on
in one session. It’s not likeasking
someone to drive a seasonof F12021
in one sitting, but it’s an
inconvenience all the same.
But despite those issues, if you ask
me a real and formidabletalent has
emerged in Original FireGames.
Somehow, using some cute littlecars,
a cameraperspective fromthe
arcades of yesteryear, and surprising
sim touches, it makes all-out racing
simsfeel a bit likedoing a yearlytax
returnby comparison.
85
Pleasemakemore
games, Original Fire.
Showthe rest of the
genre how sim meets
arcadeisdone.
VERDICT
I
n the time it takes to read this sentence, 17.3 game developers
will have tried and failed to do whatCircuit Superstarsdoes: a
mix of arcade and sim racing that feels enriched, not
compromised, by both. Admittedly that was quite a long
sentence. Still, the point stands. This may look like an
unassuming title, and certainly it launched to little fanfare from
publisher Square Enix, but it deserves the attention of any motorhead.
THE BENDS
Bad news, sim racing rigs – CIRCUIT SUPERSTARShas arrived
ByPhil Iwaniuk
The game itself
ispretty
laissez-faire
aboutonline
racing conduct
NEED TO KNOW
WHATIS IT?
An isometric racer with
genuine sim chops
EXPECT TO PAY
£15
DEVELOPER
Original Fire Games
PUBLISHER
Square Enix Collective
REVIEWED ON
i7 9700K, RTX 1080 TI,
16GB RAM
MULTIPLAYER
Yes
LINK
bit.ly/305NLv3
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIAS
Circuit Superstars’ finestmini motors
PANTHER
A GT car that seems to be
smiling effusively.
PICCINO
Say hello to my little friend. It’s
named Piccino.
STORM
For expert handlers of tiny
cars only.
OSPREY
Driven by only the most daring
borrowers of the ’60s.
Circuit Superstars
REVIEW