Cruis’n Blast is a fun and unapologetic arcade racing throwback

I’d be forgiven for not remembering the Cruis’n franchise. After all, it has been almost a decade and a half since the last home entry for the series. However, those who remember the arcade racing franchise probably remember the games fondly. Beginning with 1994’s Cruis’n USA, which was released in arcade games before being ported to the Nintendo 64 two years later, the series delivered nonstop thrills as he drove around various locations. Those tracks expanded beyond the reach of the United States with Cruis’n World and Cruis’n Exotica before the end of the 90s.

However, the 21st century has not been kind to the Cruis’n franchise. Failed attempts to modernize the overdone runner failed, as evidenced by Cruis’n Velocity in 2001 on the Game Boy Advance and the Wii abyssal title from 2007, simply called Cruis’n. The franchise seemed doomed to share the same fate as many of the commercial galleries where it started. That is, until 2017, when seemingly out of nowhere, a new Cruis’n title appeared in surviving arcades.

Developed by Raw Thrills, a studio led by industry star and original Cruis’n creator Eugene Jarvis, Cruis’n Blast effectively captures the spirit of those early games, but modernizes the visuals and feel of speed. to offer something that feels nostalgic yet eye-catching. While I’ve enjoyed jumping into the arcade version for a run or two during casual trips to Dave & Buster’s over the years, I’ve never really spent much time on it. However, Cruis’n Blast finally got a source port exclusively on Switch last week, so I decided to check it out.

I am pleased to say that this renaissance effectively captures the spirit of the Cruis’n franchise. A great sense of speed is just the beginning as you go, shoot, and speed through the game’s vast array of beautiful tracks. The surfaces aren’t the most detailed in any racing game, but what they lack in fidelity and resolution, they make up for in vibrancy. Around every corner is a dazzling sight or brilliant scene begging you to take your eyes off the road. Fortunately, the mechanics of Cruis’n Blast allow you to do just that with little consequence, as the title is all about keeping you moving forward. While this leads to a low skill ceiling, accessible play leads to a fun learning-to-play experience while learning the ropes along the way to unlock higher difficulties.

As fast as Cruis’n Blast is, it’s even more bombastic than any other game in the series’ heyday. Roads collapse as you plummet from towering heights, tornadoes absorb the landscape around you, dinosaurs roam free, trains derail, and aliens fly overhead as you race through the game’s electrical circuits. In addition to those important moments, you have other racers to compete with, in addition to chasing police officers. These other cars do little to impede your progress, and more serve as opportunities to create standout reel crashes as you ram them into handrails or obstacles. You can also launch off ramps and use the satisfying drift mechanic to earn a free boost.

The concern with many arcade games when they hit platforms where you don’t need to put quarters in a cabinet with the difficulty increased to 11 is how playable it is in the new format. To combat the lack of content compared to other racing games, Cruis’n Blast on Switch adds a lot to the package. The original arcade version features only five tracks, but the Switch version increases that number to 29 courses (though some are repurposed) and 23 vehicles. These vehicles range from licensed sports cars like Corvettes and GTRs to motorcycles, helicopters, fire trucks, UFOs, and even a unicorn. All cars can be upgraded through money earned during races, giving you a reason to go back and play the tracks.

However, even with these new additions, the offerings are relatively rare. You can play through the circuits of the Tour, which consist of four races, participate in a time trial or choose individual races on any of the tracks that you have unlocked. The courses from point A to point B are diverse and largely exciting, filled with those gameplay moments, momentum-granting jumps, and golden keys to collect, but many of the races are so short that you don’t even have time to fully enjoy them. . On several occasions, I was surprised to see the countdown to the end of the track appear on my screen before the race had reached the minute mark.

Perhaps the biggest boon for old-school Cruis’n fans is the ability to play split-screen multiplayer with up to four people. If everyone wants their own screen, you can also play through local communication using up to four different consoles and copies of the game. Unfortunately, online multiplayer is not an option, which would greatly increase the playability of the title.

Although the goals for how much content to expect in a video game have moved significantly in time since the series ‘peak, Cruis’n Blast is an exciting and fun throwback to the arcade racers who helped define the genre in the’ 90s. While I don’t anticipate spending more than a few hours playing solo, I hope I will have a few friends to join in the mayhem.

Cruis’n Blast launched on Switch on September 14.