Make Way Review

What do you get when you combine Ultimate Chicken Horse and Super Mario Maker with their ability to create your own levels, plus a racing game with toy cars? There is a game called Make Way where all the people playing select track pieces for the finished course you will all be racing on. Developer Ice BEAM has created a top-down, multiplayer racing game that is a great party title to play with friends and family. Want to keep the course less challenging? Select one of the straight-away pieces. Think the track should have a lot of curves and sharp turns? Pick a corkscrew piece or a ramp to add extra excitement. Once you have selected your one piece, snap it to the track, and away you go.

The game supports up to four players locally or online, but even when you only have two people playing, you only select one track piece. There is the option to play on your own with bots, but it's not as entertaining as playing with others. Once everyone has theirs placed, you will race that section of the course; the end is the first checkpoint. When all the racers have tracked the finish line, it is build mode once again, and all competitors pick another segment to add to the existing course that has been started. The game will continue looping in this fashion, creating checkpoints, until the winner is determined by whoever gets the required number of points; with four players, it was 3000, but with two racers, it was 4000 to win.

There is no death in Make Way. If you happen to fly off the track, you will restart at the next checkpoint and continue to race with the others. The points you earn in each section of the course will be added together to get your grand total and to determine the winner at the end. There are bonus points available for underdogs or winner bonuses to help give everyone a chance at getting some kind of score. Even if you fall into holes, shoot off the track, or ramp, you still feel like there is a chance of making some kind of comeback.

There are 25 different vehicles to race, including cars, trucks, station wagons, and even alien-like crafts. However, you don’t have to be concerned that you are picking a lemon of a vehicle; they are all exactly the same; as their only difference is the skin. So just pick the one that you think looks the coolest or the silliest. One of my personal favourites is Grandpa Joe’s truck. This old pickup even has pumpkins in the box bed; nothing is more embarrassing for your competitors than being passed by an old beater! In the beginning, there are only six vehicles available to select from, but as you race, you will unlock other ones to expand your garage.

Make Way offers a variety of modes to play: Race has no weapons or hazards on the track, just “friendly” racing with walls turned on to keep you on the track. Be aware that even when there are walls, you can still fly off the sides and be destroyed. Classic has weapons available to be picked up and shot at your friends; there are also hazards on the track, like explosives, that can easily blast you off the race course. Walls are placed on the corners to keep you on track. Chaos is exactly what this next mode is, its name is incredibly accurate; there’s a tonne of weapons to pick up, and hazards are everywhere. There are no walls anywhere to help you out, so if you get close to the edge, it will only take an opponent bumping into you to send you off the course until the next checkpoint. Custom lets you set all the rules for your course. Want to have weapons and hazards? You can turn them on. Along with allowing people to take shortcuts to changing the environment behind your course, there are five different locales to race in, including Arctic Tundra, Rocky Canyon, Leafy Forest, City Skyline, and Volcanic Domes.

The look of Make Way is really great and simplistic. The vehicles look fun and brightly coloured, and the wireframe design look of the track pieces you are selecting in the building mode really made it feel like you were creating a blueprint for this crazy race track. The music is upbeat and high-energy, fitting the chaotic action of the races. To go along with the simplistic design, we have simple controls that are super easy to learn. For race mode, all you need to know is how to steer, hit the gas, and reverse. If you are a fan of drifting, use the shoulder buttons to help you take the corners. For classic mode, just add in Y to use weapons you pick up along with the base controls, and you are good to go. There is nothing too advanced here!

I can’t believe how addictive Make Way is. It is the perfect racing game for people who don’t normally play a lot of games in that genre. I’m not the best racer, but due to the random nature of this game, I never felt like I was at a horrible disadvantage. Getting points for each little section was very rewarding, and it was a great idea to not only get points on completing the full course, especially when they are difficult with crazy loops, boosts, and ramps waiting to catapult you off the track. Every time that you complete a race and a winner is crowned, you will earn points towards unlocking new items like new vehicles, rising barriers, or drawbridges. The more pieces you get, the crazier the courses you create will be. No two courses that you build will ever be the same, giving Make Way a huge amount of replayability.

Make Way is one of the most fun and ridiculous games I have ever played with my family. It was simple enough for everyone to enjoy, and the unique courses that we were able to create were awesome. Though, if you are playing Chaos Mode, it can get frustrating and super challenging at times. There’s nothing like a corkscrew piece that leads you directly to a ramp that will send you flying off the course if you're not careful. There were a lot of times when no one could reach the chequered line, so we would need to replay that section again. Being able to jump right back into the race as soon as someone reached the checkpoint was a nice touch. It sucks when your vehicle is destroyed and you need to sit out for the rest of the race! I highly recommend this party game, and I would definitely add it to my list as a must-play for any game night or get-together. Everything about this game is awesome!