In the sea of indie games that come to various gaming platforms every day, this one is marked as a roguelike adventure racing game - an interesting combination, so let's see what it is all about.
So, the game is inspired by the legendary Paris-Dakar rally, but you start from Brussels and the goal is Lome in Togo.
You, as the leader of the rally team, choose a driver and co-driver, keeping in mind that each of them has certain advantages and disadvantages. There is no best combination, it depends on your ability to manage the resources available to you.
You have to remember that in such a demanding race, every detail can be crucial to victory, and every mistake leads to giving up. Before the race you have the option to choose 3 pieces of equipment to take - choose wisely as there are no changes until the next stage.
I recommend taking extra fuel, spare parts and emergency kit at the start, as these are the things you will need most. Among the other equipment available to you are food, first aid and additional equipment for roadside assistance.
Satisfied with your choice and ready to race? So let's go then!
3! 2! 1! GO! The race is on!
You'll notice I haven't mentioned controls anywhere. Well, the interesting thing about this game is that it's actually not a race. At least not in the true sense of the word. Your vehicle is placed on a track and it moves in a straight line by itself, you choose whether you want to go slow, at a normal speed or go fast - which affects the wear of parts, driver fatigue and fuel consumption. At the bottom of the screen, on the left side, you can monitor the condition of your vehicle and how much fuel you have left, and on the right side, the health and fatigue of your drivers. If the drivers become too tired, there is a greater chance that you will crash somewhere. You can rest whenever you want, but then you use up food supplies and lose time. After a while, you reach the next point of the stage, where you can choose whether you want to repair the car, rest or fill up your supplies - it is important to note that as soon as you click on one option, you no longer have the option to choose anything else and there is no second thought, so before you click anything, think about what you need the most.
During the drive, you will come across various situations, such as crashes, trees on the road, animals on the road, flat tires and the like. Also, in the desert you will sometimes be attacked by bandits, and you can choose whether you want to run away or negotiate with them to let you go if you give them some of your supplies. Honestly, I always chose to run away, but it never ended well because I broke some part of the car and wasted time on repairs. Sometimes you'll get an opportunity to sponsor a shoot, which in turn gives you some supplies and more bonus points at the end, but it's a waste of time.
All events are manually generated, so you don't know what will happen to you and how to prepare, but as I wrote above, to begin with, choose the equipment I mentioned, and then supplement with food as needed. In most "races" you won't even need first aid and roadside assistance equipment. Eh, now, I say "race", and actually I mean a race, because there is only one. One single track, and your goal is to reach the end. You'll often fail because you'll run out of gas, wreck your car beyond repair, or your drivers will collapse from exhaustion.
However, occasionally the stars will be in your favor so you won't encounter bandits, or you won't have a flat tire twice in one stage, and the like. It is possible to reach the goal. I succeeded from the 16th attempt! And when you reach the goal, there is no waiting for the results and the announcement of the winner, because you are the winner! You will receive a table summarizing your points, enter your name and be placed on the list of lucky people who have accomplished this magnificent feat. Or you won't have enough points for the top 10, like me. But it doesn't matter. It is important to participate.
And now a little about the graphics. Retro pixelated, colorful, there is enough detail when preparing the vehicle, but when the race starts, there is not much difference. A row of trees by the road will replace sand, palm trees and stones. Asphalt will be replaced by an earthen surface. At night, everything is the same, except that it's night, so the lights on the car are on. But all this has absolutely no impact on the game. The background music is dynamic, but also monotonous and doesn't change - luckily the race lasts about 5 minutes so you won't get bored. There are very few sound effects and they do not convey what is happening on the road.
The announcement of the game emphasizes a great replay value due to the large number of combinations of drivers and passengers, and random events - but honestly, after I finally finished the race, I had no desire to try again. Only one route is too few, although there are not many differences in it, they could have put another one with other city names, purely for the feeling that you are playing a different race.
Overall, the game is not bad, but it won't keep you in front of the screen for long, once you manage to finish the race, you probably won't play it again. Unless you really want to be first on the top list, and even then I don't believe it's something you'll brag about.
A copy of the game was provided by publisher Black Smoke Studios
for review purposes
