Not so ultimate
I love racing games. I love music games. I’ve got just about every big-name AAA racer installed on my Xbox and my PS5. I’ve also got those crummy plastic guitars and drums clogging up a corner of my living room.
So a game like Music Racer: Ultimate should be the perfect game for me, right? The marriage of music and racing, all in one cheap and cheerful package.
Except it’s not.
Game Information
Release Date: March 4th, 2022
Developer: AbstractArt
Publisher: Sometimes You
Availability: Microsoft Store, PSN, Steam, Nintendo eShop, Mobile
Music Racer: Ultimate feels like an endless runner that has been tarted up and stuck with a gimmick: race to your own tunes. Not just race to them, but race on tracks built by them.
The idea is that you import your own sounds via a WebDAV server – which isn’t all that hard to set up – and the game will build its tracks based on your tuneage. Naturally, I only listen to The Killers, and the dulcet tones of Brandon Flowers crooning “Moon River what you do to me” doesn’t really fit with the 80s neon lights how that the game delivers.
If you’re not bothered about your own tunes and just want to try the gameplay, I’m afraid there’s not much to say.
You move your car by shifting it between lanes to collect notes while avoiding obstacles. Collect, save, spend on new cars, repeat. And that’s it.
The gameplay itself really is like an endless runner in that you shift between lanes rather than having any fine control over your vehicle. Couple that with the camera angle being a touch low and it becomes difficult to know when to shift from left to right and vice versa, making it harder to collect those precious notes.
There are a few modes on offer but they’re hardly game-changers. Well, Cinematic mode does change the game in the sense that it stops being a game and more just a video of your car running a track while you swing the camera around. Hardly the pinnacle of thrilling cinematic gameplay…
In addition to being able to bring your own music into the game, there’s a search function that does not include The Killers, so to me it was useless, and there is a selection of pre-loaded songs to play, too. Again, none of them are The Killers, and I can’t say I enjoyed any of the tunes. I’m a very particular man…
Music Racer: Ultimate isn’t a must-play by any means and you won’t be missing out on the next great thing if you drive on by.
Review Disclaimer: This review was carried out using a code provided by the publisher. For more information, please read our Review Policy.
Primary version tested: PS5.
Summary - Bad
Summary - BadThe Good
- The idea is good but the execution is poor
The Bad
- Uninspired endless runner style gameplay. Not so much racing, more shifting from side to side
- In-built tracks are a chav's dream but my personal nightmare