Thank you, Curve Digital, for sending us your game to review!

It’s interesting how two games from the same genre can better suit some gamers than others. Last time I reviewed a racing game it was MotoGP 20, one of 2020’s latest and greatest motorcycle racing games. Indeed it was very impressive. I reveled in its value and high-quality workmanship, but because its gameplay was so close to real motorcycling, my inexperienced self couldn’t drive to save my life. I considered it a miracle to simply turn and not crash. Now, MotoGP 20 wasn’t bad. I still highly recommend it to motorbike fans and racing enthusiasts. I just didn’t enjoy it much personally. On the otherhand, Hotshot Racing comes along with its cheaper graphics and smaller content, and I had a grand ole time! Fancy that.

Hotshot Racing is, at its core, your basic racing game. Whether in singleplayer mode or in local/online multiplayer mode, you wait for the ‘Ready, Set, Go’. You zip around the track a few times. Yada, yada, yada. You cross the finish line, and receive your digital reward - if any. Still, anyone who loves these types of games wouldn’t need much more than that. Racing is its own reward. That exhilaration from speeding past your competitors while flying along a scenic route is a thrill that does not easily stale. That being said, racing games are a dime a dozen, so it takes a lot for a single game to stand out in the crowd. I for one think Hotshot Racing, while not the most polished racer I ever played, did plenty to etch its mark among its competitors. First of all, its sense of thrilling speed was never lacking. Something I’ve noticed in some racing games is that once you get its rhythm down, your senses start settling in, and you lose that feeling of momentum. Thus the speed part gets a little hampered. Not so with Hotshot Racing. Their controls and mechanics somehow managed to maintain that sense of high octane velocity throughout my play time.

You see, whenever you actively drift a corner in Hotshot Racing, you fill up a speed boost bar. You can fill and store up to four boosts depending on the car you’re driving. Thus, if you aren’t shy about swerving around tight turns, it’s extremely easy to accumulate speed boosts and whiz-bang past your competition at any point. The trick is knowing when to boost. Because heaven help you if you hit it then promptly ram a wall. You won’t wreck technically, but it’s unlikely you’ll recover fast enough to snag first place. There’s no special items to assist you. There’s no quick fix. You’ve gotta win Hotshot Racing by timing and skill alone, and by skill, I don’t just mean when to hit the boost button and when to drift. Maneuverability factors in too. If you tail the racer just ahead of you, you can gain a slight edge by slipstreaming. Slipstreaming is a real-world tactic racing pros use to reduce wind resistance on their cars. In Hotshot Racing, you can perform the same thing to gain some extra ground if you don’t have a boost to spare. Hotshot Racing’s gameplay does have a couple of drawbacks though. Drifting is difficult to control since it’s not one-to-one with how long you hold the drift button, and your A.I. competitors have a habit of ‘rubberbanding’ - as in they automatically speed past you no matter how much you outdistance them. Personally, I’d prefer tighter control and a less cheap ‘difficulty’ mechanic, but the game developers did a really good job with what they did do.

The unique highlight of Hotshot Racing, though, are its alternate modes. They’ve got ‘Barrel Barrage’, ‘Drive or Explode’, and ‘Cops and Robbers’ which all do a fantastic job at shaking up the typical racing formula. In ‘Barrel Barrage’ you collect and chuck dynamite at each other to see who finishes first or is still in one piece. ‘Drive or Explode’ is what it sounds like. You have to maintain a certain number of miles per hour lest you blow up, and that number climbs higher and higher the longer you race. The last one, ‘Cops and Robbers’, is somewhat similar to the classic tag game. You’re either a robber trying to avoid getting tagged by a police car, or you’re the police trying to steal the money back and turn robbers into officers. I had plenty of fun with these modes, and they really do boost the game’s replay value. However, I do have a bone to pick with them. The game fails to give you the rules on these modes nor instructs you on how they work. The only info you’re given is on the loading screen, but that’s not near enough time for anyone to read them. It took me several rounds of trial and error to figure them out. So devs, if you’re reading this and plan to update, please provide a means for players to learn the rules. You can’t really play a game you don’t understand.

On the negative side, the visuals of Hotshot Racing aren’t all that impressive. The scenery and especially the characters look like under-developed beta models. They’re blocky, ill-defined, and look a little weird in some cases. Plus, I noticed a lot of repeated set pieces showing up across different racetracks. It kinda detracted from each course’s ‘unique’ factor. However, what the game’s visuals lack in detail and design it well made up for in rich colors. Everything just pops and expresses an exciting atmosphere that befits the racing spirit. I’d even daresay its smooth blockiness can be nice in a certain childlike way. It’s like you’re surrounded by structures and people made from the texture of gummy bears. The frame rates didn’t drop during racing sessions either which helped further the feel of driving one hundred miles an hour. Very seldom did the visuals interfere. Sound effects were good too. I think the music tended to drown out the voice actors a bit, but it really wasn’t that bad. It was just something I noticed.

Hotshot Racing, I’m proud to say, is a very family friendly game. There are only a couple tiny things worthy of note. For one, I think I might have heard a couple uses of the word ‘h*ll’. However, because I listened to the lines in question during some high octane action, I’m not totally sure that’s what was said. For other points of interest, a couple of tracks bear a little casino theming, but there’s no real depiction of gambling nor any chance for the player to engage in gambling. It’s strictly a visual set-piece. Then there’s the game mode, ‘Cops and Robbers’, that I described earlier. It’s really just a fast-paced game of ‘tag’. However, it’s up to you whether you think the whole idea of evading cops is teaching your little ones it’s okay to do so.

Hotshot Racing is a largely average yet solid game at the same time. Its ability to maintain a high-speed experience via easy access boosts and fluid camera movement is very well implemented and exciting. Those inventive alternate modes are highlight features. Plus, there are lots of unlockable customization options for the cars and characters too. However, Hotshot Racing is held back by its lack of in-game instructions, vibrant but sub-par graphics; ‘rubberbanding’ A.I.; and near uncontrollable drifting. I guess on an objective standpoint the game’s good and bad points balance out to an average. However, despite its flaws, Hotshot Racing got the most crucially, important factors for any game right: moral cleanliness and providing oodles of fun. It’s not a perfect ride, but it did plenty for me.