Developer: Original Fire Games
Publisher: Square Enix Collective
Release Date: 27th January 2022
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
▫️ Code provided by the publisher ▫️
As a big fan of arcade racing, I’m always excited to check out new games in the genre. Isometric arcade racers, then, occupy a similar but different space, which I may actually like even more – and that’s where Circuit Superstars comes in. It isn’t just your typical isometric racer, however, as it implements a few levels of simulation as well – even if just on a basic level. Let’s look at how that works, shall we?
Ready, set, go!
Racing games are so often all about the numbers, including how many cars, tracks, and vehicle types it has, so let’s start there. Circuit Superstars features 12 different disciplines including Rallycross, SuperTrucks, GT racing, Eurotrucks and more. All of these handle completely differently and, depending on which category you choose, add more layers to the racing experience – but more on that later.
You’ll be racing both on and off the road on 19 tracks across 13 locations, though some tracks are definitely better than others. There’s one offroad track in particular that’s quite challenging, even on lower difficulty levels, and generally feels like the odd one out. It’s great with some variety, of course, but it’s hard to imagine most of the racing disciplines ever racing on it. Overall the tracks are good, however, even if I wish there were even more of them. That being said, familiarising yourself with the tracks is absolutely crucial for success here, so maybe less is more in this case.
Game modes
The first thing most will dive into is likely the classic Grand Prix, which has you pick one of 12 disciplines, as well as one of five available challenge levels, before jumping into a series of four races. Each race is anywhere from 5 to 12 laps long, depending on the selected category, but with laps being quite short, the game is very respectful of your time. I don’t believe any races have laps over a minute in length, and most are probably half that. There’s no progression here, however; you simply pick your discipline, difficulty, and car (from whatever you have unlocked) and go.
If you want to set up your very own tournaments either with friends or AI (or both), you can do so in Free Play Mode. You have decent control over how races go, and can mix and match 1-4 players both locally and online.
If you’re looking to compete, you’ve got a couple of options. The Weekly Time Trials challenge you to beat racers from all over the world in the fastest lap times, and if you’re looking for more heated action, you can jump into the online mode, which supports up to 12 players. At the time of writing (and with cross-play turned on), I’ve had no issues finding races to join, and lobbies have filled up just fine. I also only experienced very minor lag, though if you race with collisions turned off, even lag shouldn’t make everyone crash into each other, at least. If you’ve got collisions on, I wish you best of luck – just like in most online racing games.
Finally there’s the Top Gear Time Attack mode, which lets you race on the test track from Top Gear, which likely needs no further introduction. This mode was greyed out for me, however, so perhaps this is time-limited, since it’s all about competing with real-life racers and eSports players for the coveted pole position.
So what makes this one different?
Something that Circuit Superstar does, that I don’t recall seeing in any other isometric racers, is the added layer of simulation, namely in the form of pit stops and strategies. With certain racing disciplines you have to plan for pit stops, and what you need to get out of them.
In each of these races you need to worry about the car’s condition, tyre wear, and fuel. Depending on how you race and how aggressively you do your cornering, for instance, you may need fresh tyres before you need fuel, and each of these are replenished separately when you pit, so you could continue your race with half a tank but brand new wheels, or vice versa. It’s important, especially on higher difficulty levels, to know exactly how much you need to restore before continuing, or you will end up dead last real quick.
It’s a cool addition to the isometric racing genre, but still so basic that most players would be able to have fun with it – even if they would likely struggle on higher difficulty levels, just as I did. Let’s explore that a bit next.
Accessible but not easy
Circuit Superstars is quite accessible overall and allows for different ways of play. It’s by no means an easy game, however, where you’ll have to fight for pole position even on Amateur, which is the lowest difficulty setting. It’s all about mastering each track, which becomes increasingly crucial as you make things harder. Since your perspective is isometric instead of behind the car, you can only see so far ahead – so if you don’t know what’s coming up, things could quickly take a turn for the worse. See what I did there? Anyway…
Circuit Superstars is a challenging game. Even on amateur, my dreams of hitting that sweet top of the podium went away the moment I made more than one or two mistakes, and of course the higher the difficulty, the tighter this gets. This is why I previously alluded to “less being more” when it comes to the number of tracks. Since learning each track becomes absolutely essential, you probably don’t want too many of them.
Should your memory be even worse than mine, however, at least you’ll still have those short and sweet laps – and a Restart option that only restarts your current race, not the entire Grand Prix, which makes this considerably more forgiving overall.
The beauty of progression
Everything you do in Circuit Superstars feeds into your overall progression level, which is tied to all your unlocks. The more you race, the more you unlock, but before you fetch your pitchforks, worry not; all unlocks are purely cosmetic. New liveries, suit colours, and racer helmets, all of that stuff is purely cosmetic. Each discipline has one single car, so you never have to worry about whether your competition has a better ride than you. It may simply look cooler, that’s all.
And no, there’s no way to spend real money to look extra flashy. You’ve got to unlock things the old fashioned way; by playing the video game. Outrageous, I know.
Podium finish
Circuit Superstars is a pretty great racing title that manages a solid podium finish in the isometric arcade racing scene. I wish it had more content and was deeper in certain aspects, sure, but what you’re getting here is definitely worth checking out if you’re into the genre. Race on!
-K.A. Pedersen
