Hotshot Racing (2020)

Picked up this because I heard it being compared to Ridge Racer and it was £1 odd in the sale. There's some fun game modes (cops and robbers and one with exploding barrels) however could never find an online match on PS4 to play them with real people.

Unfortunately gran prix mode has some problems that stopped me fully enjoying it notable the AI have elastic band AI that constantly aim for the back of your car so many times whether I placed 1st or not depended on how aggressive they were being. Also the characters have voice over and there are quick little cut scenes however there appears to be no subtitles so I guess that deaf people don't play racing games? Pretty annoying in this day and age for accessibility options being widespread.

20 odd years on and Ridge Racer Type 4 remains the ultimate arcade racer IMO. Where is our remaster Namco?

This game is stupid fun to play online with friends. I bought it on sale for $12 two weeks ago and have already sunk over 25 hours into it. The speed is very fast on expert mode, but the drifting and controls are responsive enough to handle it. The drifting, in general, feels amazing.

There's a few different online modes: arcade race, barrel barrage (drop barrels to damage other players while avoiding barrels yourself), cops and robbers, and drive or explode (your base speed increases as the race progresses as does the minimum speed you have to maintain, otherwise you take damage and eventually explode).

On Switch, there's never anyone else online to play with so you'd need a group to coordinate for online play. My group is usually about 6 players, so if anyone has this game on Switch and wants to do some online play, hit me up! There's room for at least two more.

Finished all Grand Prix cups on Hard

Final thoughts: Overall, this game's a fun arcade racer that's a throwback to 90's arcade racers with exaggerated drifting and time-limited checkpoints. The aesthetics are low-poly but clean, and the music is energetic and dynamic (More instruments on the final lap, and fewer instruments in tunnels). While the drifting does take practice and you probably will spin out the first 30min, it's extremely satisfying to do once you get the hang (it's similar to Burnout handling).