Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip Nintendo Switch Review 8.5/10 "This is a Terrific Turbo Trip To Take" 👍 @TinyTerryGame @SuperRareGames #IndieGame #GameDev

My evil, twisted and foul editor covered Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip on upon its PC release last Summer, and it also made his end of year list with the below comment:

"For a game that's around 4 hours long this kept me busy doing fun stuff in this open world platformer that has an awesome art style and a music sense that compliments the game perfectly. 

It's the perfect example of an indie game that benefits from not over stretching itself and making sure that what it does, it does it well. 

Go make friends with Tiny Terry and I promise you won't regret it!"

The game is centred around young Terry, who we initially meet as he stands in line at the ‘Job Application Centre’ where he is looking to get a car so that he can ‘go to space’, all completely normal and above board. Through a series of miscommunications – a throughline in the game – Terry ends up getting a job as a taxi driver… with no pay, natch.From there, the world, or rather – Terry’s world of Sprankeltown – is your oyster. You’ll find yourself meeting a cast of kooky and wonderful characters, driving (and stealing, but not!) bouncy cars, and getting into various zany mini-games and side quests as you soup up your car for its inevitable journey into space. 

All of this is soundtracked by some truly fantastic music that feels almost as jaunty and loose as the handling of the cars, it absolutely nails the tone of the game and is a highlight of the experience. As you dig for money, bash bins over and use a butterfly net to catch blueprints, leave your car and jump around the winding Sprankeltown to find turbo junk parts, there’s a real sense of exploration and fun tied to a unique sensibility and also quirky humour. 

I enjoy a game that can tickle my ribs, and the sense of humour used in Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip really clicked with me, from the awkward pauses in conversations to unspoken hints that terry may be a bit thick as well as the visual gags, the game is never more than a few minutes away from making you laugh. 

An early highlight for me was when the mayor began giving a huge speech as if to a gathered crowd, when in reality it was just Terry standing alone in an empty expanse, a speech that ends with the mayor taking questions, and upon answering Terry’s question – quite frankly, unsatisfactorily – he says that he has a prior engagement and must be off…before taking a massive deep breath and slowly floating away offscreen in total silence as Terry gazes on – brilliant.

It’s not all smooth sailing, though. The Switch is showing its age here and the frame rate is locked at 30fps and on occasion it can feel a little skittery, it’s a not a massive problem in games such as this where perfect timing isn’t of the essence, but when combined with a camera that gets a little too ‘swoopy’ in certain platforming elements, can be a mild irritation. 

The collection aspect can also be little tiring towards the end, and the more esoteric quests could do with a little more explaining, it also doesn’t help when you are forced to complete mini-games that go on longer than is fun – it can feel a little like padding in a game that works best when it’s breezing along.

SUMMARY
Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip was a gem to play, and has absolutely won me over, despite a few minor niggles. 

I was getting Anodyne 2 vibes in how the humour connected with me, and the sense of a truly unique world designed unto its own rules, a great little title – I’m looking forward to seeing what the studio brings us next!

8.5/10

🆒COOL🆒