It should come as no surprise to find out that we’re dedicated gamers here at Tag Towers and in a regular new blog series, we’ll be taking a closer look at what titles the team are playing. First up: Senior Programmer Tom Kane...
So Tom, what are you currently playing?
I’ve put more than a few hours into Hot Wheels: Race Off, a stunt racing game on mobile. In line with the Hot Wheels toy brand it’s very physics-based, full of ramps and loops and features a pretty eccentric mix of vehicles. The game is free-to-play but has the usual range of IAPs to speed up progress if required.
What initially drew you to the game?
I’d heard that the developer, Hutch Games, had raised around $5million for the game and was interested to see what could be done with that kind of money. The investment shows in the production values as it’s a polished, stylized and visually impressive mobile title. The vibrancy and detail of the 3D artwork really brings the game to life and unlike some mobile titles that feel built to a “cookie cutter” blueprint, every track feels bespoke.
And what did you like about it?
It’s simple to control yet tricky to master and alongside the stellar production values and regular unlocks, this made it pretty moreish as I always wanted to see what was coming up next. There’s a lot more to do in the game than it may first appear so the completionist in me kept on returning to it. If you have friends who play it the leaderboards also provide a good social aspect to proceedings as you try to outdo each other with a few milliseconds off your best times.
How do you feel the game holds up in terms of long-term playability?
Overall it holds up well but I’ve now hit a wall as the choke points get more frequent and less fun to overcome. I’d have liked to see them build the challenge around bigger, more impressive stunts and making you feel empowered as a player, but instead the difficulty comes mainly from dodging more obstacles and having to work with unsuitable cars. Hot Wheels: Race Off still has plenty mileage however (excuse the pun) and if you're after a polished, playable racer on your mobile it fits the bill perfectly.