When one developer is brave and ambitious enough to break new ground and does so successfully, others will follow; it's bound to happen, and that's exactly how an industry moves forward. Mobile games are no exception, and after the Russian open-world driving game CarX Street, which managed to consolidate that type of structure on iOS and Android, comes Static Shift Racing.
Of course, this is a project with substantially different prerogatives: created by a small Australian team, Timbó Jimbó, the title includes a small but freely explorable map as well as a limited fleet of cars, but at the same time tries to manage progression so that you can't unlock everything the pack has to offer after just a couple of hours. .
Is this a guesswork approach? We tell you in Static Shift Racing Review.
Structure: a small open world.
Static Shift Racing is a game open world driving, as written at the beginning, equipped with a very small map, which can be explored freely, but only at night. Progression is managed through a series of events: those marked with a yellow indicator are particularly quick to complete and consist of short sprints or drift challenges, while those with a blue indicator involve greater effort and consume a "ticket". .
Yes, the Timbo Jimbo title uses the now traditional freemium mechanism provided by the ticket consumption for each important event and its restoration over time or with the rewards obtained by completing each series. Many users look with annoyance at similar solutions, but it must be said that during our tests we never ran out of tickets, for one reason or another, and therefore we believe that the system has been well implemented.
It is possible to experience the open world of Static Shift Racing and physically reach the starting point of each individual challenge, or simply open the map, tap a marker and make a fast transfer (and free, unlike the aforementioned CarX Street - here's the review) to substantially speed up operations and advance more quickly, to unite different series and level up: you need to reach at least the fifth to start talking about updates.
Here this slurped progression On the one hand, it enhances the small rewards that are obtained from time to time, starting with aesthetic objects that can be used to personalize your car and that do not require a disbursement of credits that would make a dent in the savings we are saving. buy a new car; On the other hand, it seems to clearly contrast with what usually happens in the mobile sector and is confirmed as a resource intended to mask the limited content of the game.
Gameplay: Derapata mi amor
Under the profile of the game There is no doubt that Static Shift Racer manages to convince: the vehicle control is oriented towards an arcade approach but not too strong, the use of the brake remains essential and in the challenges based on drifting you have to continually act on the controls . to avoid hitting a wall, an eventuality that not only resets the maneuver's score but often forces you to start the race again.
Of course, it is strange that controls are touch only, without resorting to the accelerometer or at least an automatic acceleration system that would have made some situations a little less cumbersome. The layout from this point of view is very clear: two arrows on the left side of the screen to drive, while on the right we find the accelerator, brake and handbrake. As is easy to imagine, the latter causes the skid which must then be controlled with the steering wheel.
The game Bluetooth controller support and it goes without saying that in this way everything changes: although some elements of the interface still have to be managed via touch, once on the track it is possible to use the triggers to accelerate and brake (unfortunately without any vibration), the left joystick to drive and the main buttons to activate the handbrake and the eventual nitro, which is charged according to tradition by performing acrobatic maneuvers.
Unfortunately also in terms of variety The Static Shift Racer experience is limited: the types of events available are repeated over and over again, which inevitably leads to a bit of fatigue at some point. Multiplayer will arrive in an upcoming update, along with new cars and, hopefully, an expansion of the scenario that encourages us to explore it with enthusiasm instead of resorting to fast travel.
Technical realization: a beautiful sight.
There's something about the visual style of Static Shift Racing that really convinces: although many of the assets used for the scenarios are generic and widely seen before, the overall representation of the graphics It looks great and on the iPhone 14 Pro it moves at 60fps without overheating the device, which is very important these days. It's a shame that slowdowns occur in some situations.
It's probably the design of the cars, so few but so fucking Japanese and from the 80s, that makes the difference. As we drift through those ring roads we feel a little like we're in the pages of Initial D, accompanied by a colonna sonora composed of songs by emerging artists, ranging from metal to hip hop: the selection is not particularly rich, but listening to it is very pleasant.
Conclusions
Tested version iPhone digital delivery app store, Google Play Price Free Holygamerz.com 7.0 Readers (4) 7.8 your voteStatic Shift Racer is an open-world driving game that can boast a compelling system, especially if you choose to use a Bluetooth controller: the car control is solid, as is the drift management, and the cars feature a well-designed design. intriguing. very japanese In short, it is fun to face short challenges and little by little accumulate credits necessary for customizations, upgrades and the purchase of new vehicles, but after a few hours the production limits appear clear in the size of the map, in the fleet of vehicles . and in the available modes.
PRO
- Solid gameplay, especially with the controller.
- Stylistically it is very intriguing.
- Good soundtrack
AGAINST
- Small map, not very interesting to explore.
- Few cars, few ways.
- Quite slow progression
