BlazeRush Review - Arcade Forever

In today’s age of gaming, there exists an ever-diminishing line between ‘AAA’ titles and ‘indie’ titles. While it isn’t always black and white, often the former are ‘safe’ approaches to game mechanics and storytelling, usually with huge financial backing; while the latter may exhibit a mesh of well-executed mechanics, a universal aesthetic, and a solid premise to deliver a unique gameplay experience, regardless of budget. This is by no means a guide on the traits of AAA-versus-indie games, but BlazeRush falls into the latter category for all the right reasons.

There are many intricacies that go into designing a racing game besides designing a bunch of tracks and filling them with cars. There are certain balancing issues to cater for, issues that multiply exponentially when the variation in tracks or cars are increased; there’s also the challenge of creating an engaging experience by introducing a number of different mechanics, versus not overloading the player with too many things to do. There’s also the most important challenge of all - making a game that’s as rewarding as it is fun. And that’s where BlazeRush shines.

 

It’s an arcade-style racing game that harkens back to the classic era of racers, such as Mashed or Micro Machines. It’s this combination of nostalgia and hectic gameplay that makes BlazeRush such a success.

At its core, BlazeRush is simple - drive to win. The ‘single player’ segment of the game is loosely constructed around a plot involving an unnamed corporation destroying various habitats, while the player and the rivals race illegally in this vast array of environments. While it isn’t fully fleshed out, it doesn’t really need to be anything more than an added bonus - a context for why the player is trying to beat the other racers.

 

The stages are ordered in such a way that each one introduces, and teaches, a new mechanic to the player in a range of circumstances. This involves everything from testing out new weapons - from the simply delightful chaingun to the deceptively difficult buzzsaw - to time-trialing new boosts, which vary between massive boosts that last for a second to moderate boosts that last longer. It’s balancing between these weapons and boosts where the game really shines.

There are a few different game modes that make up the ‘progression’ through the single player: good ol’ fashioned racing, time trial, head-to-head, ‘last man standing’ survival, and ‘King’ (where one must occupy first place for 50 seconds to win). A lot of effort went into ensuring that each vehicle was appropriately balanced for each weapon, boost, track, and even game mode to ensure a level playing field.

Of all the vehicles available, each has the same top speed and three varying traits: acceleration, handling, and mass. The acceleration determines how fast you start out of the gate, or how quickly you can get back in the race after spinning out; handling determines how fast you turn or how much you drift, and how easily you can regain control after being shot by a rival’s weapon; and mass determines how much these weapons affect you in the first place (so a chaingun will spin out hovercraft easily, but not necessarily a vehicle rolling on treads).

This balancing is superb because, by offering up those small subtle differences, winning requires quick player reflexes and skilled driving, rather than an outfitted turbo engine or gripped tires.

The aforementioned game types are a somewhat basic pick, but come heavily optimized for, and complimented by, the racing mechanics. Each stage teaches the player how to use a new weapon or type of boost, and allows them to progress through each type of game mode before introducing the next weapon. This ensures that the gameplay itself provides variation to the tracks and game modes.

The only downside is the lack of variation in tracks. The design itself changes in the form of jumps, obstacles, and new layouts, but in the end a lot of them are quite similar. The most refreshing change came in the boost time trials, where the track was designed so players had to time when and where to use their boost, how quickly to turn, and when to execute a drift that would cut out the boost and prevent them from flying off the edge.