PC Gamer - UK (2022-01)

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