Hotshot Racing on the NSW -- solid arcade racer w/ 60fps...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I've been playing this cool new arcade racer on the Nintendo Switch that goes by the name of Hotshot Racing and noticed that it has a solid 60 fps arcade-spec framerate. Upon looking at the Sumo Digital folks/namesake whom developed it, ah, they're no strangers to the console arcade racing titles that they worked on in the past including the PS2 & PSP versions of Sega Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast. Racing through some of the various HR tracks provided conjures up some cool memories of headiing on down to the local Funworks arcade center and spending some quality time with the famed Sega's Virtua Racing arcade game back in 1992 (it'd cost four tokens per credit just to play a single session of VR indeed).

Hotshot Racing is a modern-day Virtua Racing clone but all dressed up very elegantly with the usual low-res polygonal aesthetics for the year 2020. I'm impressed that Sumo Digital managed to capture the visual essence/sensation of all-out speed with the camera viewpoint that sits just above the front nose of any given car chosen (complete with slick polygonal speedline effects as well - how cool is that?). Too bad that the M2 developed Sega Ages port of Virtua Racing on the Switch doesn't have the original 4:3 screen presentation (like how it was in the arcades back in the early 1990s) -- instead we have to deal with the stretched out 16:9 screen aspect format at hand.

It'd be ace if Sumo Digital were to release HR as a true bonafide arcade racer for the family entertainment centers establishments in 2021 with the usual racing controls and haptic force-feedback thrown in for good measure (for an extra sense of realism/enhancement).

What are your thoughts/opinions of NSW Hotshot Racing?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Marc]

Absolutely loving it on hard difficulty, superb stuff. I believe there's also free DLC coming that includes new track and modes. Free or not, I'll be snapping it up. Also agree this would be brilliant in a big sit-down cab.

[Stevens]

It looks awesome. Does it have an OutRun esque single player mode?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

For Stevens,

It does have a single player mode but without a countdown timer and seven other AI racers at the start of a racing session (so you're trying to reach 1st place by the end of each race with however many user selected laps before the start of a race). You can even select an online race to join or host if so desired.

I'm sure whatever updates are released for it in the nearby future will make HR even better.

Hint: It's possible to rev your engine before the start of race and get a speed boost when it begins. Use it to your advantage to overtake your opponents/rival AI drivers.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BrianC]

I'm thinking of getting this, but is the rubber banding in single player as bad as the reviews say?

[CIT]

What are your thoughts/opinions of NSW Hotshot Racing?

Plays like OutRun 2 — so that's good.
Graphics are stylish, although I think they're a bit cluttered in some stages.
I can't say the 60fps are stable, the game certainly starts to stutter when I chain drifts. Not sure what it's like on other formats.
The rubber banding is indeed pretty obnoxious. Enemy AI is also very aggressive; some will like it, some won't.
The characters are really dull and lack any sort of personality.
There's also not that much in the game to keep you occupied beyond the grand prix mode.

Personally, I think it's a decent game, but it can't hold a candle to OutRun 2SP.

[BrianC]

I heard the PC version also has micro stuttering, so it's not a switch thing. I just bought the PC version, but I haven't played it yet.

[Marc]

What are your thoughts/opinions of NSW Hotshot Racing?

Plays like OutRun 2 — so that's good.
Graphics are stylish, although I think they're a bit cluttered in some stages.
I can't say the 60fps are stable, the game certainly starts to stutter when I chain drifts. Not sure what it's like on other formats.
The rubber banding is indeed pretty obnoxious. Enemy AI is also very aggressive; some will like it, some won't.
The characters are really dull and lack any sort of personality.
There's also not that much in the game to keep you occupied beyond the grand prix mode.

Personally, I think it's a decent game, but it can't hold a candle to OutRun 2SP.

Regarding the graphics, I'm glad it's not just me. It's fine most of the time, but it's aimed for such a specific style that it looks really odd to have so much going on at once, it's a world away from the almost clinical look of VR.

Rubber-banding is on par with the old Burnouts, the AI is absolutely hammering me on Hard, but I'm really enjoying it.

There are enough tracks that I do think a branching time-attach mode in the vein of OutRun 2 would have been nice. Though apparently there are new tracks and a new mode planned as free DLC....

[tomwhite2004]

Too bad that the M2 developed Sega Ages port of Virtua Racing on the Switch doesn't have the original 4:3 screen presentation (like how it was in the arcades back in the early 1990s) -- instead we have to deal with the stretched out 16:9 screen aspect format at hand.

https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page= ... 21&image=1

https://segaretro.org/images/9/9b/Virtu ... abinet.jpg

[CIT]

Regarding the graphics, I'm glad it's not just me. It's fine most of the time, but it's aimed for such a specific style that it looks really odd to have so much going on at once, it's a world away from the almost clinical look of VR.

To be honest, because of the lack of minimalism, the visual style reminds me mostly of Ring Fit Adventure — not Virtua Racing.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I heard the PC version also has micro stuttering, so it's not a switch thing. I just bought the PC version, but I haven't played it yet.

How is a game that's purposefully made to look like a low poly racer to run at 60 FPS not optimized to run at high speeds? Such a shame. It always seems like new games are focused on pushing graphics cards as much as possible, rather than being heavily optimized for even more modest cards so as to focus on speed.

Not sure what I think yet, I'm not crazy about nitrous-based games (Ridge Racer 6 is fun, but I prefer the non-nitrous races). I kinda like arcade racers without powerups...

[Ghegs]

Not sure what I think yet, I'm not crazy about nitrous-based games (Ridge Racer 6 is fun, but I prefer the non-nitrous races). I kinda like arcade racers without powerups...

Can I interest you in some Inertial Drift? The Switch version of that is 30 FPS unfortunately.

I've played both Hotshot Racing and Inertial Drift on PC and while Hotshot certainly has the visual appeal, the pick up 'n play feel, and it's apparently popular even with people who don't like racing games, I'm strongly of the opinion that Inertial Drift is the better game of the two, and the one with the long-lasting appeal thanks to the longer, more technical & challenging courses and how every car feels unique due to the great twin-stick mechanic, things I think Hotshot Racing kind of fails at.

I've written my thoughts about both on Rolling Start so I don't want to derail a Hotshot Racing thread more than that.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Hadn't heard of Inertial Drift, thanks. I'll check it out! The last arcade racer I tried was Ridge Racer V but for whatever reason it wasn't really clicking with me.

[BrianC]

Thanks for the recs. ID looks like a racer worth checking out.

[dan76]

I bought it and deleted it off my hard drive already. Terrible rubber banding is what finally killed it. That and the façt that it feels more like a bumper car sim than an arcade racer. Handling is floaty, get the slightest nudge and you can end up facing the wrong way, drifting is just like a thousand other racers - plays nothing like Outrun 2. A few reviewers have mentioned Outrun 2 and I can only think they don't know how to drift in that game. Outrun 2 has long bends you can drift around, adjusting as you go to find that perfect line. You can almost drift going in a straight line. This is the opposite.

I was hoping Sumo would build upon the Sonic Racing games in terms of drift and handling but this has been pulled way back. Tracks are all very short, and there's not much in terms of track design to tell them apart. Huge disappointment from me, I'd been looking forward to it.

Inertial Drift looks linteresting, but it's only one-on-one racing as far as I can tell. Might give it a go at some point.

[Marc]

Drifting isn't as refined as Outrun 2 for sure, but it's along the same lines. The AI can be pretty obnoxious though, struggling on hard but it doesn't always feel like my fault.

[Stevens]

Internal Drift with OutRun like course please.