Available for Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC, also via the Game Pass, Hotshot Racing is a title that clearly winks at the arcade racing of the 90s that raged in the arcade, in particular as regards the productions of SEGA.
The title was created by Sumo Digital, who have been collaborating with the software house for many years also in the racing field, in collaboration with Lucky Mountain Games.
If you have seen the launch trailer right above you will have easily understood that Hotshot Racing, of which the first free DLC coming soon has already been announced, is very far from any simulation ambition, to offer us a 100% old school arcade experience with lots of it. of checkpoints to get to before time runs out. Even if immediate, HR still requires a good technique in drifting at the right moment in corners to get as much turbo as possible and make every race our own.
In other respects, however, it also wants to keep up with the times, for example by offering us a very full-bodied online multiplayer component with which we can also win elements of aesthetic customization of our car. Obviously, the offline split screen could not be missing for a maximum total of 4 players. Also noteworthy is the presence of various virtual drivers, each with the possibility of choosing between four different cars in terms of performance.
Take a look to the first 30 minutes gameplay!
The game modes are finally enriched by a particular variation of Guards and Thieves which honestly, however, did not particularly impress us in a positive way. Much more interesting is the Drive or Explode in which practically we will not have to go below a speed limit that will continue to grow non-stop from check point to check point.
From a visual point of view, the low poly choice is above all stylistic and its liking or not substantially concerns personal tastes. What is certain is that the frame rate is granite at sixty frames per second at all times. The sound sector is very pleasant, in perfect harmony with the game action and strongly and deliberately derived from the coin op racing of the 90s.
Our verdict
Hotshot Racing is a dip in the past of the 90s, in the arcade racing of the last decade of the last millennium, with some additions to keep it up with the times, starting with the presence of online multiplayer. A game dedicated to a particular niche of the public, perhaps raised on bread and Virtua Racing or which has begun to appreciate racing games far removed from any simulation ambitions even in more recent times.
Vote 8/10