Atari have been smashing it out of the park for the last few years.
A company and brand who have recharged themselves, making sure they fit with a modern gaming audience, aside from a flaky initial push with PONG Quest, pretty much everything they have touched since has turned to gold. Or at the very least, silver. The Recharged series of games are probably their highlights, but in and amongst those are Lunar Lander Beyond and more.
We can safely add NeoSprint to that list now too.
An evolution of the Sprint series of games that first appeared on the gaming scene back in the 1970s and 1980s, NeoSprint feels exactly like one of those classics. And we know that because back in the ‘80s we played the original games (and some clones) to death. It’s those same vibes that make us smile today, immediately feeling at home with the modern touches – and super lush visuals – that NeoSprint embraces.
A single screen isometric racer, NeoSprint puts you behind the wheel of one of any number of cars, tasking you with navigating the course ahead, beating all opponents to the finish line. Do so, you’ll earn leaderboard points, progress to the next track and take home the plaudits. The campaign brings together a few of those circuits into a championship table, rounding things off with a 1-on-1 duel against a long time foe. But neatly, whilst these guys inject a little bit of personality to proceedings, the very brief static screens and accompanying text never get in the way of what NeoSprint is good at – the old school arcade racing.
We’ve been shocked at how close NeoSprint feels to the similar racers we played as we were growing up, and whilst modern touches are aplenty, at no point has NeoSprint lost the characteristics or charm that we expect. And it feels great too, hammering the throttle, easing off for corners, drifting, drafting, braking, barging into opponent cars like there is no tomorrow. We’ve loved the change in elevation that the tracks bring, the jumps that are added, and, as a whole, have been appreciative of the smallest, most considered touches; the way track structures open up as you pass them is nice. And there are a couple of camera modes to enjoy too. For us, it’s all about focusing on the track, but if you prefer to get a little more up-close to your car, you can do so.
NeoSprint is helped by a variety of tracks, biomes and, probably most importantly, cars. A collection of items are ready to be unlocked as you race, with ‘prize boxes’ delivering access to bits and bobs as you go. And that means it isn’t long before you are happily jumping behind the wheel of a whole variety of different vehicles, each with individual acceleration, top speed and cornering (turn) stats. The car you find best suits your playstyle will probably differ from racer to racer, and indeed race to race, but if you want something fast down the straights, giving up cornering prowess, then NeoSprint allows it. Similarly, there’s the opposite available. For us? Well, straight down the middle, cars that are all-round and stable have been our preferred call.
For the most part, NeoSprint plays brilliantly, but just occasionally a little bit of lag and stutter has been noticed. There’s part of us that think this has been put in to embrace the retroness that powers NeoSprint, but then, perhaps not, maybe it is the odd visual oddity. Whatever, it’s hardly a big deal yet whilst we’re on the negatives and there’s some 8-player local multiplayer in place, we feel the omission of some online racing is a big hit.
Really though, aside from that, NeoSprint absolutely delivers on all fronts. The campaign is meaty enough, providing a good few hours of play time, and what is there works as a really nice test of any gamer’s arcade racing skills.
And when that ends, there’s plenty to involve yourself with. One-off Grand Prix races are easily obtainable, as are Free Races, Time Trials and Obstacle Courses. The latter has been a real joy too, with them working pretty much as a time trial, complete with medals to earn, switched up in that every obstacle you hit – cones, barriers, oil spills and so on – slam a dirty big time penalty your way. It won’t take you long to realise that occasionally, slow and steady wins this particular race.
There’s also a pretty damn comprehensive track builder in NeoSprint. Honestly, it’s not the be-all and end-all for us, mostly as our imagination falls way short of what is required for such a feature, but if you are intrigued by such a thing, you will discover some circuit building mechanics that make work easy. Whether you create a small, medium or large track, take it to a number of biomes, chuck in some jumps or keep things flat, the builder lets you get on with it, saving, sharing, testing your creation not just yourself, but with the online world. Expect to be met with a whole ton of brilliantly designed NeoSprint community circuits as the days, weeks and month progress.
As you may expect for a game that has the Atari branding front and centre, NeoSprint looks great too. There are still those retro vibes, but Headless Chicken Games have infused things with plenty of modern visual touches, with well detailed cars and surroundings helping to complement the different track types. And whilst the audio is neither here nor there, with engine whines accompanied by a decent backing track, that’s not particularly what anyone will be coming to NeoSprint for.
So, the best single screen arcade racer on the market? We think NeoSprint is just that. Ushering up memories from years gone by, twisting it with modern day touches, NeoSprint is a superb arcade racer. Some online head-to-head racing would be preferred, but include the various game modes, the easy-to-use track builder, and some classic racing action, and there should be no reason to not check NeoSprint out.
