With its buttery smooth, colourful visuals; bouncy synth, and simple control scheme, you may be tricked into thinking that Circuit Superstars will be a breeze on any of the difficulty levels available – this is not so, what awaits you is actually a series of Grand Prix across several vehicle types that will push your skills to the limit, and with both local and multiplayer options available, you and up to three other friends can jump in on the fun as well.
With quite a simple control scheme and tracks that lack the usual turbo boosts, item pickups and crazy jumps in games of this genre -the seemingly cartoonish top-down racer – Circuit Superstars makes itself stand out by being an incredibly pure racing experience that is fun.
It wasn’t until I’d completed a few laps that I noticed little touches that I wasn’t used to, such as various gauges in the bottom left that kept track of my car damage, fuel level and even tyre wear. I initially assumed that these were things that would come into play on higher difficulty levels or in some weird Le Mans-type heroic driving endurance experience that occurs late-game, but no – they are integral parts of each race, and absolutely make Circuit Superstars an original beast.
For instance, the first Grand Prix – of sixteen on offer, each in different vehicle types that feature distinctive handling – saw me not really being affected by these gauges, beyond my car getting a bit of a shoeing due to some impressively bad driving on my behalf, and thus barely croaking over the finish line in 6th place during one race, which saw my winning dreams come crashing down!
Fast- forward to the next Grand Prix, however – and not only am I having to get used to the driving style of the touring car that I’m now using, but the extra va-va-voom under the bonnet is caning my fuel, which means I’m going to have to plan in a pit stop at some point throughout my ten-lap race.
It’s incredibly exciting stuff to blast across that finish line first, not just because you’ve memorised the track and pulled away at the starting line and driven so unblinkingly perfectly so that no other racers have even been sighted through the race, but because you’ve dealt with tyre wear, handling changes, had some near crashes, perfectly planned your pits, and even utilised the on-track tyre marks to your advantage. Winning in Circuit Superstars isn’t just satisfying, it genuinely feels like an achievement to be proud of, and again – it’s fun.
The fact that this is the developer's first release is bewildering. They’ve not only created a rich experience in both single and multiplayer modes, but the game feels so expertly finely tuned and balanced. I usually have a racing game that I dip into for single-player action and an entirely separate one for when friends come over. I think this is the first time in a very long time that Circuit Superstars has given me both.
SUMMARY
A cracking release from an impressive company – highly recommended to all racing fans. No longer do we need to ask if people prefer arcade racing or simulation-based racing – they can have both With Circuit Superstars.
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