I know you’re probably asking yourself, “Why is Travis reviewing Circuit Superstars?  I thought he only played serious racing games.”  Well, actually I play most all racing games but usually only report on the more serious sim racers, so when Circuit Superstars popped up for review I decided to check it out, and boy I’m glad I did.  I’m old/young enough to have come in on the tail end of the arcade scene, but I still have fond memories of many arcade racing games like Sega Rally, Daytona USA, Outrun, and perhaps my favorite, Super Off Road; the top-down racing game with three steering wheels on the cabinet.  One of my guilty pleasures is top-down racing games; a side-effect of playing with all those electric slot-racers growing up no doubt, and I’m always eager to check out any games that fit into the genre.  Sadly, the offerings have dwindled over the years with Mantis Burn Racing being one of the last newer top-down games I’ve played, and that was in 2016.

Developer, Original Fire Games has created something very simple, straightforward, unique, challenging, and completely addicting with their new racing game, Circuit Superstars.  It’s one of those games that is easy to ignore when browsing the Steam store with screenshots and a trailer that don’t do the game justice.  I was blown away within moments of my first race with all the graphical flourishes, the great car designs, multiple game modes, and a unique arcade physics system that worked seamlessly with responsive gamepad controls.

The amount of content is staggering starting with the Grand Prix mode that is home to the main single-player experience.  This mode contains a dozen racing events spanning multiple disciplines, surface types, specific eras of cars and even trucks.  You have five difficulty modes that you can choose for each event, and all are separately scored and rewarded with their own trophies, thus incentivizing lots of replays.  Each event contains multiple races on a series of tracks chosen from the 19 venues spread across 13 unique locations.  These tracks can be raced in reverse and some even feature layouts that are modified through strategic cone placement that block off certain paths.

If you just want to explore the content there is a nice Free Play mode and those looking to mix it up with other racers will find a robust online mode as well as a fantastic 4-player split-screen mode that supports Steam’s Remote Play Together.  The online mode lets you join or create your own lobby and Circuit Superstars supports cross-play with Xbox gamers, which certainly boosted the player count in lobbies days after launch.  It also helps that the game has been in Early Access since March of this year, so there was already a lot of awareness for its official launch.  Another fun perk of the online support are global ghosts that allow you to see how other top-players are driving and mastering this tracks.  This ties directly into the eSports integration for Top Gear Time Attack and other competitive game modes such as the Weekly Time Trials.

There is a simple Garage mode that lets you customize your car and driver with any unlocked assets you have earned while leveling up.  You also have a few standard liveries available to choose from before each race.  While you won’t get to appreciate much of the smaller details while racing from the top-view there are numerous camera angles to play with in the robust Replay mode.  The pit stop animations were unexpectedly awesome for such a simple arcade racer.

Of course any racing game comes down to physics and handling and Circuit Superstars does take a bit of getting used to with its ice-like tracks that require deft use of the throttle, brake, and analog steering to maintain that perfect drift line while maintaining optimum speeds.  A good example is the 60’s GP Revival where you are driving authentic cars from that era that will spin out if you mash the gas, especially in tight turns.  And the way the disciplines are presented, if you play them in their listed order you then move on to Muscle Cars and then Super Trucks.  By the time you get behind the wheel of a big rig you have likely already driven five other car varieties that in no way prepare you for the shift in momentum or the increase weight of your truck that reduces is stopping distance.  All of these subtle variations across the disciplines do a surprising job of keeping the game fresh and challenging.

The one thing I did notice was an overall lack of rumble support outside of driving on the actual rumble strips in the game or actually hitting another car or trackside object.  There was nothing to directly tie the car to the track or hint at tire grip or loss of traction, and 95% of the time I felt I was driving on ice, which made it take twice as long to master the drifting mechanic.  You will figure it out and it feels great when you finally do, but better rumble would have helped.

Circuit Superstars looks fantastic and has reasonably good sounds for the various engine revs.  The music is surprisingly great, the menus and UI are easy to navigate and races are fast to load.  I enjoyed the distinct trophies for each skill level ranging from Amateur to Superstar and the actual progression of AI difficulty as you climb this trophy ladder.  Circuit Superstars is a classic example of an arcade racing game yet it does demand a bit of skill and clean driving.  The AI can be unforgiving, so don’t expect to mash the gas and bounce off of guardrails and other cars and earn a podium finish.  You really do need to learn proper racing lines and finesse that brake and throttle to stay competitive, especially in the higher skill levels.  In the longer races you also need to pay attention to fuel and tire wear and pit when necessary.

The single-player portion alone is worth the cost of admission and the online modes have a lot to offer if you are good enough to compete with some of the insanely good players already setting impossible laps times.  I really enjoyed my time spent with Circuit Superstars and I plan to spend a lot more earning those final few gold cups, but anyone looking for a truly fantastic arcade racing experience should definitely check out Circuit Superstars now on Steam (and Xbox) for only $20.

MORE SCREENS

I’m a huge fan of all types of racing, and if you combined all the time I’ve spent in various driving schools and weekend race retreats I’ve probably logged more hours behind the wheel than I have playing the video games that mimic the sport.  Admittedly, all of my real-world racing has been of the four-wheel variety; NASCAR, Formula, Indycar, and Rally, and I can say with certainly that I have never once entertained the idea of straddling a high-performance motorbike.  After several hours playing RiMS Racing that opinion hasn’t changed.

On the surface RiMS Racing appears to be much like any and every other racing simulation you can play on PC and console.  You get all the classic modes, real-world venues, meticulously detailed career mode that puts you in charge of much more than just driving around a track, and all those other extras you associate with the sport like sponsors, liveries, and character customization.  RiMS Racing offers up the standard Career mode; the meat of this motorbike buffet, as well as Single race where you can customized every element of the race from bike, track, weather, track conditions, and rules.  There is a Private Testing area where you can customize your training and drive laps with no AI opponents and an Academy mode where you can replay challenges from the main Career calendar and try to earn Gold, Silver, and Bronze helmet rewards.

I knew I was in trouble when I crashed seven times on the single-lap tutorial, and then I realized most of this was due to poor controls.  90% of my video game racing takes place with my Logitech wheel and pedal combo while sitting in a racing chair.  This doesn’t translate very well to a motorbike game, so I ended up playing from a normal chair with an Xbox Elite II controller.  The problem that remains is the lack of variable input with the triggers used for braking and gas, plus the fact that by default you have independent brakes for front and rear; something you can combine in the options for simplicity.  I quickly learned that if you are mashing the LT while going into a sharp turn you are going right over those handlebars, and similarly, if you mash the throttle coming out of a turn you are going to wipeout.  There is so much finesse required for something as simple as brake and throttle and the LT and RT don’t seem to have an adequate range of motion to express that.

It turns out there are actual handlebar controllers out there for motorbike games such as this, and if you are the type of gamer who takes this niche sport that seriously then you should probably invest in one.  For the rest of us, you can muddle through the options and game assists and eventually find something that works, plus it doesn’t hurt to be using a controller such as the Elite II with additional buttons, as you will eventually want to split those brakes up for optimum racing and switch to manual transmission where downshifting proves to be more effect than braking in many instances.  I will admit that even after eight hours of playing this game I am still never totally comfortable riding these bikes.  There is always this uneasy feeling that at any moment I could apply too much brake or throttle and dump my ride.  Part of this is due to a lack of tactile feedback in the controller; something that could easily be remedied with haptics such as those in the DualSense controller for PS5.  Sure, you get some rumbly bits with an Xbox controller but nothing that informs your racing situation in real-time.

RiMS Racing delivers up eight superbikes that have been meticulously researched and collaborated on with their respective manufactures to create some of the most accurate and realistic bikes you can drive in a video game; a fact you quickly realize when you start to explore the interactive Pit Stops and incredibly detailed garage mechanic area…more on that in a bit.  And to experience these rides to their fullest, RiMS Racing offers up nine real-world circuit tracks and five road tracks that are reversible for a total of nearly 20 racing venues.

Diving into the career mode will not only present you with more than 70 seasonal calendar events, you’ll also be in charge of every aspect of your racing career as you explore your giant two-story facility that is home to Lodging, Management, Settings, Research, Calendar, and a Motorbike Stand.  The actual racing is handled through the Calendar that either has assigned events or lets you choose from a few options.  Events come in several flavors including; Academy events where you race for cash and helmet trophies, Brand events where you race for parts, Manufacturer events where you race for bikes, Cup events where you race for cash, Face Off events where you race for fame and respect, World Championship events which are the culmination of the other race events, Task events where you must complete various challenges, and Rest events where you just take the weekend off.  Your HQ is nicely laid out and reminded me of similar garage menu systems found in WRC and F1 racing sims.

One area of racing I have never cared enough to pursue beyond simple tuning configurations is the garage/mechanic elements.  RiMS Racing takes this to a whole new level and actually makes it fun.  At any point in a race you can pause the game and bring up a detailed status of eleven key components on your bike.  These are color-coded to show real-time wear and tear that can be addressed during pit stops or in much greater detail between events at the Mechanic area in your HQ.  Here you can buy new parts and sell off your used/old parts in what is perhaps one of the finest garage simulations I’ve ever experienced in a racing game.  It is so cleverly detailed and interactive right down to these mini-QTE’s where you spin the analog stick and perform simple button combo presses to remove and replace parts on your bike.

Other key areas of your HQ are the Research area where you can hire guys to research new tech to learn about parts or even learn about opponents’ racing setups – sounds a bit like spying to me, and even hire someone to track future weather and track conditions for upcoming events; again, very similar to the WRC and F1 tech trees.  There is also a Management area where you can unlock skills with Team Points to help you rise up through the career calendar.

RiMS Racing did have some performance issues; something I wouldn’t expect from a new release running on my particular setup using an RTX3090 card.  As trivial as it sounds, the splash screens during the loads are low-res and frankly a bit ugly with blurry images and jagged edges; almost as if it was a 1080p image being stretched to a 4K space.  Eventually the game switches to in-game graphics for the final part of the pre-race segment and things get better, but once the game was in motion there was plenty of poor performance in both dropped framerates and visible stuttering.  I was running with all options set to their highest settings and even after dropping to 1440p I still had performance dips with multiple bikes on screen or on more complex areas of some tracks.  As I was wrapping up this review I did read somewhere that playing the game in Borderless Window mode can fix this issue.  I haven’t tested myself, but it seems odd since dedicated Full Screen is always supposed to offer the best performance.  Clearly something needs to be patched or updated.

Some other visual observations included the poor perception of speed.  I even left motion blur active in hopes it would help, but I invariably was always going too fast into turns causing me to drift wide or turn too tight and flip the bike.  What looks and feels like 40mph is often 80-90mph.  I ultimately relied way too much on the color-coded drive line and even that wasn’t entirely accurate as my momentum would often send me into the gravel pits.  Other issues included some very long load times; some well over 30 seconds and this was with the game installed on a Samsung SSD drive.  At least it appears to be loading in the entire track because any future restarts or resets are near-instant.

Visually, the game is quite stunning, both in the HQ and all the racing bits including the TV-style presentation.  Weather effects are fantastic with realistic water on the pavement as well as drops and streaks on external camera views or on your helmet’s face shield.  You have six race views ranging from chase, fender, handlebar, and inside the helmet; the latter even realistically muffling the engine and track noise.  You get some great reflections in your side mirrors and some really immersive screen space reflections on wet tracks.  The audio is also quite nice with realistic engine noises and a phenomenal soundtrack that I typically don’t care about, but this was really good.  It also has a streaming option to filter out licensed tracks if you decide to broadcast your gameplay.

Races generally have 10 bikes and they all look distinct and are driven with reasonably intelligent AI.  There is also support for online PvP and local shared/split-screen racing, but I didn’t really get into those modes.  I might report back later if I do, and there is anything worth mentioning.  I was just happy to get a podium finish after a few weeks into my career.  Thankfully you can adjust the overall AI difficulty any time between races and you can always go into driving options and adjust a variety of assists to create something playable and hopefully winnable.

Much like F1 and WRC, RiMS Racing isn’t for everyone.  It’s a hardcore realistic simulation that asks you to do a lot more than just drive, and when it does come time to actually race you’ll find that having half the number of wheels can make the experience twice as challenging.  Aggressive throttle and brake might work with auto racing, but motorbikes require much more finesse just to stay upright let alone actually win races.  This is a whole different world of racing, and if you think you are prepared for it then it doesn’t get much better than RiMS Racing, especially if you love tinkering about in the garage.

F1 racing is without a doubt my favorite type of racing out of all the sub-genres, both in real-life and in videogames.  The official F1 racing game series has always been known for bringing that added level of realism to the experience, both when driving and recently, all of the behind the scenes business elements required to keep a car on the track throughout a season.  Every year this series gets better, both visually and in the exhaustive amount of detail that goes into creating a high-functioning simulation, and with a new year comes a new installment, and F1 2020 had me once again climbing into my bucket racing seat and calibrating my Logitech racing wheel.

It seems that every year I say “this is the most realistic F1 simulator out there”, and even though I didn’t review last year’s game I did play it and I would have said it then, but I will say it now about F1 2020.  The one big missing element with this franchise has been the lack of personal investment, but with the addition of the new My Team mode you now get to create a driver, choose your sponsor, build your car, hire a team, and manage every aspect of your racing career in and out of the garage.  If you’re a solo racer and don’t want to be bothered with the business side of racing you can also enjoy the standard Career mode or take part in the Grand Prix, Championships, and Time Trial modes.

Those looking to test their skills against human drivers will find a robust multiplayer offering with Weekly Events, Leagues, Ranked and Unranked matches both online or local using split-screen and LAN games.  There is also a nicely integrated eSports section so you can follow the various league events.  F1 2020 is all about choice.  Every bit of content you could possibly want is available and it’s all scalable to a large audience of varied skill levels.  You can go hardcore simulation or start tweaking a number of assists and difficulty sliders to turn this into an arcade experience.

Diving into the 10-year career mode was a surprisingly fluid experience with great instructions and pop-up tips to ease you into both driving the car and managing all the garage and business elements.  It was nice that they allow gamers to experience the F2 Championship as an introduction to the main game to come.  You can choose a short version or the full F2 experience or skip it entirely and go straight to the F1.   The game features all the official teams, drivers, and 22 ultra-realistic recreations of real-world tracks from all over the world including two new ones; Hanoi Circuit and Circuit Zandvoort.  In addition to current content that is updated regularly throughout the season you also have historic classic content to relive those special moments.

I spent way too much time stressing over all the little decisions just getting started.  What engine should I put in my car, what sponsor should I sign with; picking a teammate, trying to answer questions during a press interview…there is so much more to being a pro racecar driver than just driving.  But despite the initial stress, all these micro-decisions helped to create an unexpected bond with my team that made me want to be a better driver both on and off the track.

Once on the track it’s all about driving, although there is still a bit of systems management at play depending on how you have the game customized for accuracy.  In full sim mode you’ll need to worry about tire temps and wear, engine wear, fuel consumption, charging your ERS battery and so much more.  Conversely, you can turn on the new Casual driving mode and throw caution to the wind, banging your way around the track at full throttle – a definitely plus for the kids, especially in the new split-screen mode.  Your choice of controller also factors into the difficulty, and while I totally recommend a wheel/pedal combo – even a basic one – for the most immersive experience, F1 2020 is totally playable with a gamepad.  You just don’t get that added level of precision with steering and brake/throttle; something easily seen in replays as your car steers in more jerky movements and your wheels spin when applying too much gas using a gamepad trigger.

I was eager to try out the online aspects of F1 2020 and while the net code, matchmaking lobbies and other systems are all fairly stable I found that the community was lacking or at least sporadic during my month of gameplay.  You really have to seek out the proper modes and likeminded gamers to race with otherwise you get some crazy kid who has no intention of taking the game seriously and bangs his way around the track.  I still dip into the multiplayer menus once in a while but I mostly stick with the single-player experience.  It’s far more rewarding with all sorts of badges to earn or just going through my library of racing highlight videos.

The presentation for F1 2020 is nearly flawless with stunning video and incredible audio that will scale with your PC.  I had just upgraded to a 2080ti so I was able to run the game at 1440p with all the settings cranked and locked at 60fps on my ultra-wide ASUS screen.  There are lots of options for tweaking the graphics to get the game running smoothly on nearly any modern system.  The car models, pit crew animations, track scenery, and weather effects are simply incredible.  There is also great lighting and shadows and expert use of motion blur to enhance that sensation of speed. There is fantastic audio with realistic engines, music, crowds, commentary, and radio chatter from the pit.  Every part of the audio and visual experience is designed to totally immerse you in the experience of being an F1 driver.

Once again Codemasters has improved upon their iconic racing game, adding even more realism and choice to how you approach and play their game.  F1 2020 is the culmination of many years of development across numerous installments that have come before it, and with new hardware on the horizon for PC and console I can easily see this franchise climbing ever closer to perfection in 2021.  But until then, if you are looking for the best F1 racing experience in town, this is it.

I was curious to see how this year’s WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship was possibly going to top last year’s installment, and while this is arguably more of an extended-feature edition there is enough new and upcoming content that serious rally racers will want to sign on for a new year.  As I stated last year, I play dozens of racing games every year, and I also drive these cars in real-life and nothing comes close to the level of complete and total immersion you will find in WRC 9, not just in the actual driving of the cars, but in every facet of what goes on behind the scenes of a professional race team.

For those who place value on stats welcome back more than 50 teams from all the WRC categories with all the current season liveries including fan-favorites Toyota Gazoo Racing, M-Sport Ford and Hyundai Motorsport.  Play as numerous racing stars in the Season mode or create your own driver to seek fame and fortune in the elaborate and lengthy Career mode.  As always, you also have Quickplay, Training, a test area to test your setups, and 50 unlockable Challenges that will test your proficiency with specific cars, earning you gold, silver, and bronze medals.  There is no shortage of racing in WRC 9.

Career mode is the cornerstone of the content allowing you to start in the lesser leagues and make your way to the WRC or just jump in.  In career mode you not only have to worry about what happens on the track but also manage your crew and team behind the scenes worrying about things like fatigue, mechanics, business agents, and even a meteorologist to predict the weather for your next event.  Keeping your staff healthy and happy is just as important as navigating the massive R&D tech tree that lets you customize your career by spending points earned through leveling up while racing.  It’s an amazingly intricate and often overwhelming multi-layer system that’s running behind the scenes and all visualized quite nicely with a fun and detailed isometric view of your racing HQ.  Of course if you’d rather not worry about all the non-racing stuff you can just jump into the Season mode for pure racing and none of the paperwork.  WRC 9 also offers up a nice set of multiplayer options including online events, split-screen local play, and daily, weekly, and special challenges. Some are available for a limited timed only, encouraging you to check in with the game regularly.,

There can be a lot to micromanage if you want there to be.  You can populate your own race calendar with specific events, but make sure to put in “rest days” so your team can recover.  You have to maintain a staff of six professionals, often with backups in case someone decides to take off right before a big race.  You get to affect manufacturer reputations and setup season and short term goals that all factor into rep and team morale.  Your race results will all factor into money, XP, reputation, and morale and if you’re rep drops too low a sponsor could drop you.

While much of this sounds the same as WRC 8 there is quite a bit that is new including three new rally championships in three new countries; Kenya with its stunning diversity of scenery and technical difficulty, New Zealand offering some of the most twisted gravel tracks in the game along with stunning coastal views and of course, Japan offering high-speed asphalt racing and crazy hairpin turns through small towns.  Naturally, you get the other 13 countries that are already part of the championship, all offering their own unique visual presentation and specific technical driving elements that can all change based on time of day and type of weather.

The underlying physics engine is as advanced as it gets with plenty of setup options allowing you the ability to setup variations for race surface, temperature, weather, etc., and then save those settings to test or keep as presets for future use.  Lots of player feedback from last year went into many of the changes we’re seeing in WRC 9, making this a game that is truly for the fans.  As I mentioned last year, WRC is a hard core simulation and as such does not play as well with a gamepad, and that is even truer this year as the driving mechanics have gotten even more realistic with mass transfer and tire grip playing much bigger roles in car handling.  Yes, you can struggle to play the game with a controller but you will never feel comfortable or in tune with the game until you switch to a wheel/pedal combo.  And it doesn’t even have to be a fancy or expensive setup; just something that offers a sweeping analog range of motion for steering and some nice travel distance for braking and throttle.  Given the crazy RPM’s of these mighty cars and the general lack of traction on these off-road tracks trying to use triggers for gas and break is a recipe for a wipeout.

Before each race you can dial in the difficulty on a percentage scale and to be even remotely competitive (and enjoyable) you’ll probably want to put that slider between 75-80% difficulty if you persist in using a gamepad.  You can also tweak the level of damage effects and toggle perma-crash for each event.  Reckless driving is discouraged not only with potential time penalties between rally race days while you repair the car but also the fact you have to pay for repairs after each event with your earnings…team salaries too.  Lose too many races and you could go broke.

Also new to WRC 9 is the highly requested Clubs mode that allows gamers to create their own groups with their own tournaments, members, and leaderboards.  You can choose up to eight stages in any of the countries with cars, categories, and conditions to create your own custom championship then either offer it to the public or invite your own friends for some private racing action.  Also look for lots of future extended content coming in regular updates to keep the game fresh.  A newly designed Finland is due to arrive shortly with six new stages and Portugal is two months out, not to mention new cars, teams, and game modes.  One of my most anticipated new features is still months away but will allow an online co-pilot to call out the track and pace notes in what promises to be one of the coolest co-op modes in racing history.  Best of all this is all free content and not reliant on a season pass or special edition of the game.

WRC 9 has never looked better or more realistic; something you can appreciate in the new Photo mode that allows you to setup and take stunning screenshots of your favorite cars in your favorite locations, or maybe you just want to document that dented fender for insurance purposes.  When played on a large screen from the cockpit view with a wheel and pedals the level of total immersion is unparalleled.  The tracks and environments are photo-real and the lighting effects for nighttime and extreme weather racing events can be terrifying.  The way the light reflects off fog, snow, or sheets of rain is eerily realistic; both visually and how it impacts the road surface and the way your car handles.  WRC 9 demands a pretty hefty PC to recreate all this realism and my RTX2060 Super was definitely struggling in places, but I was able to maintain a locked 60fps at 1440p with just a few tweaks to things like lighting and shadows, textures and particles, draw distance, vegetation, crowd density, and water quality. Your choice of camera can also impact your performance, as driving behind the car (shame on you) takes more horsepower than the hood or cockpit cam.

Between the time when I started this review and now I had the chance to enroll in a week-long rally driving school in New Hampshire to get a feel for what these cars are like in the real world.  Before that I had driven NASCAR, Indy Car, and Formula F1 and I can say that rally is unlike any other type of racing; a fact that this game clearly communicates through stunning visuals and incredibly realistic physics and driving mechanics.  While I would never discourage anyone from playing this game just please go into it knowing that this is a hardcore simulation that rewards patience and dedication and punishes casual racers who are coming to sightsee while crashing around corners.  For those up to the challenge grab that wheel/pedal combo and become one with the machine and the road.  WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship has once again set the standard for reality racing.