Turbo Hatchback Time Attack is the second game from Grumpy Pizza, and aside from sharing its racing theme, this one is a lot different compared to Go Kart Island. As its name suggests, this is a game all about score chasing. Repeated runs to perfect the lines through its tracks so that the gold medal can be earned. It is a great one to spend time with. And considering progress from the demo transfers across, let’s start there.
During Steam Next Fest, the demo for Turbo Hatchback Time Attack released, giving access to the first two tracks of the game. A route full of cherry blossom trees, and some twisty roads on a cliffside. Driving through both, I got to grips with how things handled. What things to look out for on the tracks. And trying a few shortcuts that I felt would help cut a bit of time. With a whole lot of restarts across those few hours I spent on the demo.
There’s a balance needed when it comes to the boost meter. Drifting is the easiest way to fill it up, but that also stops the boost from being effective. Near misses with traffic, performing tricks in the air, and speed boosts and rings all add to the boost meter, too. The handling is tight enough that all this is easy to utilise when driving along these roads. But mastering them to shave off those seconds to get the gold is a different game.
Timing drifts to provide enough boost to get over some grass. Jumping and barrel rolling to take turns tighter than the road will allow. Threading the needle between two cars passing each other to save a second. There’s a lot of choices to make and risks to be taken to get the fastest time. Even beyond the gold if I wanted to, with each track having a leaderboard to show who the fastest people are.
Onto the full game when it released at the end of June, I gave the two races I’d played from the demo a run through again to get familiar with things. Then it was onto the rest of the tracks. A seaside resort, a snowy mountain, and even a neon city are just some of the other track themes of Turbo Hatchback Time Attack. Each has their own routes to tackle, facing the twists, turns, and other obstacles on the drive. Including a few sneaky jumps that might be a surprise first time.
The visuals have a retro feel, but that is to its benefit. Everything pops with vibrancy, making what I see easily readable even at speed. The speed lines added when boosting included. They’re not distracting, instead adding to the feel of speed. The HUD elements are also very sparse, with just time, speed, and checkpoints on the bottom corners. No splits popping up each checkpoint to distract from a run. The same goes for the music, which doesn’t shout about its existence.
Turbo Hatchback Time Attack is a great game of its type, getting me invested in getting those golds thanks to great handling. Nothing bad that ends a run is a fault of the game, instead being on my skills. It’s also nice that unlockable cars are included, so that despite the name, there’s more than just hatchbacks to drive. All vehicles handle the same, so there’s no advantage to later unlocks.
I am in love once again with a score chaser racing game, which means Turbo Hatchback Time Attack clearly gets an easy recommendation. For anyone who loves the technical elements of racing, this is one I am sure they will love, too. Despite splits not appearing during a race, it would be nice to see them at the end of a run. Seeing where improvement could be made.
Images Taken From:
Turbo Hatchback Time Attack | PC
