Go Vacation might be more party game than a racing game, but when a quarter of the events it includes involve racing, I’d say it’s welcomed as part of Racing Month. This Wii title got ported to the Switch in 2018, and has provided me with a lot of fun across the five years since that release. And most of that has been down to the racing events that come as part of the package.
For a party game, it sure is no slouch when it comes to content. With over 40 events across four resorts, the game sees you wandering around these four resorts and taking on the events at them to complete the adventure guide. To start with, only the marine resort is available, but after completing a certain number of events, the other resorts unlock for you to visit.
As I say, the racing events are those that I’ve enjoyed the most when it comes to this game. They all have a very similar control scheme, so going between them is easy. It’s not just cars that are used in races, either. While that is the major focus of the city resort, the marine resort sees you racing with ATVs and marine bikes (jet skis) and then combines the two with some on-foot racing for a triathlon.
The mountain resort features off-road vehicles, but also allows for some horseback riding and kayaking. The snow resort allows you to rocket down the mountain in a snow tube, use skis or a snowboard to gracefully glide down it, and motor back up it with a snowmobile.
These events feature several styles of play, with all of them having either sprint racing or circuit racing among them. Off-road racing and snowmobile racing feature open racing, where the entire resort becomes the race track as you try to find the best route to the finish line. There are also challenge styles of play, with slalom and coin collect. Slalom pits you against the clock while following flags. Coin collect has you collecting coins in a set amount of time.
The city resort’s Motor Fest also features these, with street race and motorcycle race being the circuit race styles of play. The slalom challenge is handed to the motorcycles, while the street cars get something different. Oval race is exactly what it sounds like. A race around a NASCAR-style track. Number chaser is a non-linear race across the city resort to get numbered checkpoints before finishing.
All the linear tracks have nice routing that fits the terrain of the resorts, except for a few minor rough spots which are more a weakness of the physics. Those physics are loose, which means slow braking, wide turning, and easily getting air from the smallest of bumps. At least for those races with wheels and engines. ATVs also suffer with turning in general, with nothing between slight and full-lock. That becomes a problem if you need to make an S-turn and the ATV fails to note you’ve changed direction of turning.
There’s also the fact this is a party game. If you’re even a semi-competent driver, these AI won’t be posing any trouble except for at the very start. The challenges all have lenient completion goals, so those won’t be proving much of a challenge, though they are still fun to play. The best way of enjoying the races, as is the way of party games, is through multiplayer. That way everyone is on an even playing field, putting the skill of those playing to the fore.
The four resorts are fully explorable, and full of things to look at. To explore them, you have the option to go on foot, or use a mode of transport. Each resort has its own selection of transport options, with them all coming from the racing events apart from with the city. There, you have skates and a skateboard instead. After all, most of the roads for the city events are closed off for resort exploration, so it would be awkward navigating with the cars and motorcycles used for Motor Fest.
The skates and skateboard are used in trick-based events, with all resorts bar the mountain resort having some. The marine and snow resorts already had transportation capable of doing tricks with, leaving the city to find some. And what better than the most popular of extreme sports? Now, if only the implementation of the trick system was better. One of the downsides of it being a Wii game originally.
See, racing events you can avoid motion controls entirely, except for a shake to right yourself when fallen. But for trick-based events, that shake is needed all the time. To execute a trick, with the exception of spins, you need to hold down a button and then shake the controller. What makes the forced motion sting is that you can select a control type to use. Motion or full controls. If I’m selecting full controls then doesn’t that mean I’d like to avoid motion?
Despite that little annoyance, trick-based events also prove to be a lot of fun. Whether on a slope, an arena, or a halfpipe, gunning for the required points total is somewhat more of a challenge than with the racing ones. They can be a lot more competitive than the racing ones with friends, as well.
Mixed among the racing and the tricking are other events. These fill out the resorts with other activities to do, and are somewhat weaker. The marine resort mostly escapes feeling weak, as scuba diving and water gun battle are both fun activities to do. Beach volleyball and sky diving less so. The city resort is where that weakness is mostly felt, with mole panic, bucket ball, glass harp, and pie throwing being things barely visited. Same goes for power hitter, power boxer, and mini golf – which is an awkward experience.
Even with the duffers, I’m glad to have Go Vacation on the Switch. It might not have been used for massive amounts of multiplayer gaming, but it has given me a whole lot of fun. Not only that, but the idea of freely exploring an island full of events to take part in is the direction I wanted Nintendo to take the successor to Wii Sports Resort. This game answered that wish, and I honestly wouldn’t mind a sequel.
Images Taken From:
Go Vacation | Nintendo Switch [Undocked]
