Review: Super Night Riders

Title: Super Night Riders
Platform: PC, PS4 and Xbox One (reviewed)
Developer: neko.works
Publisher: neko.works
Release date: Out Now
tl;dr: Miss Rad Racer? Try this!
Price: $8 / Â£6 / â‚¬7
Family Focus: Click here for more information.

Super Night Riders has players in the boots of Alice, a beautiful and talented motorcyclist known as the Red Rider, as she races down various settings.

The game is a throwback to classic racers such as Rad Racer on the NES/Famicom and theÂ surprisingly deep Top Gear franchise on the Super NES/Super Famicom. The premise is really simple: reach the checkpoint before time expires.

The game features six races split into six stages. Each of the tracks’ stages feature a different backdrop: there’s the city, desert, Japanese decor, among a few others. In order to reach the checkpoint, players are required to drive at top speed while avoiding other riders. What makes this game so fun is that’s its easy to pick up and play. Simply hold down the gas button and press the brake one when you need to dodge rivals or to properly take a turn.

The main problem I have with this game is that there’s little to no margin for errors. Ram one or two opponents and players will fail reaching the checkpoint in time. As players progress through each of the races’ stages, it becomes more and more challenging to avoid others, so quick reflexes are a must. Thankfully, players can activate an Easy Mode to practice their racing skills, however the difficulty change is negligible. The game is also limited on the content with only six races, but even after mastering each stage, this can be an ideal game to relax when you have only a few minutes to play.

I absolutely love the game’s presentation; avery simple and effective user interface and very colorful. While the tracks stages are very similar to each other, only varying in night/day cycles, all of stages are beautifully drawn and have a very old school, 80’s-esque bringing back memories from a simpler time. The soundtrack, while limited, features more 80’s goodness with some new wave inspired tracks, giving the perfect old era ambience.

Super Night Riders is a fantastic pick up and play experience. The game’s challenge will keep players on their toes and the game’s presentation is fantastic, a real throwback to classic racers for older players to relive and new, younger gamers to experience. While the difficulty can somewhat lead to frustration, after a quick break, players will rush back to their controllers in order to keep racers. One of the best indie experiences this year.