Electro Ride: The Neon Racing Review

Nothing screams '80s like crazy neon graphics, synth music and blocky cars. Electro Ride: The Neon Racing is exploding with retro '80s feel. Will this game feel like an arcade racing classic you have played in the past? The game features Story Mode, Quick Race which has Time Attack, Last Remaining and Ghost Mode challenges, and a Split Screen option to play against a local opponent. The track locations in the game are really unique compared to other racing games I have played. Electro Ride has you racing in locations such as Warsaw, Prague, Moscow, Sofia, Berlin and Varna. 

At the start of Electro Ride, you begin your racing circuit in Warsaw with a classic boxy '80s European car. The game features a lot of cars inspired by real vehicles from the USSR, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Germany. So it’s neat being able to drive these “new” classic cars. As a warning, remember that these cars, especially the first one, definitely do not have anything like traction control because it feels like you are always driving on ice. The controls are insanely sensitive so it doesn’t take much to go into a spin or flip your car. At least if you do happen to make a mistake and flip your car or drive off the track, just hit the Y button, your car will be reset on the track. This first car shutters and shakes so hard it makes you think you are driving during an earthquake or there is something seriously wrong with this car and it is going to die or explode at any moment. Just a warning, if you are someone who gets motion sick easily, this shaking might bother you. At the beginning of the story mode you see a guy standing by the car with a wrench. I’m assuming this is the driver: based on how the car drives I question his knowledge about cars.

This game does have a unique boost system that I have not seen before. While driving there are three different colours of stars you can grab that will change the colour of the neon on your black car. If you drive over the boost panels that match your neon colour you will get a boost. As long as one of your competitors isn’t using the same colour and uses them all up. Though if that does happen, that wouldn’t be the worst thing because driving on the boost panels makes your car shake and stutter more because of the increased speed so the vehicle is even harder to control than usual. During racing I found that I did better if I just avoided the boosts so I would drive on the wrong colour on purpose just so I wouldn’t get the boost. Driving off the track or flipping your car takes more time to get reset on the track than just driving normally. Each vehicle you unlock has its own stats for Acceleration, Top Speed and Steering. So you will have to experiment to find which car works best for you. For me steering is very important especially when your opponents are hitting you trying to make you go off the course or smash into the wall. 

The visuals in the game are really unique. You are always driving at night or in the dark but this really shows off the neon lighting on the cars and track. I love the blue, purple and pink colours and the whole '80s feel of the game. Making the cars all black was a really good idea, it shows off the neon so nicely and gives it a real classy feel. You would think all the neon colours would be too much, but when counterbalanced with dark colours like black it really just makes the neon pop. 

The visuals and synth music are my favourite parts of the game. Unfortunately the racing itself wasn’t amazing or anything special, especially from the beginning. Plus the car constantly stuttering and shaking gave me a bit of motion sickness at times. The first few races are incredibly difficult, and may turn a few people off of the game. If you stick with it and are able to advance, you will start to unlock better vehicles, which will make your racing career a lot easier and instead of just getting frustrated you can enjoy the synth music and bright neon lights.