Old School Racer 2
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Riddlersoft Games
Published By : Riddlersoft Games
Category : Platformer, Racing
Release : Jan 18, 2019

Old School Racer 2 on the Nintendo Switch was a game that, for me, transported me back to my days in high school, hiding in the computer lab and playing any sort of flash game I could find. The ones I tended to flock to were exactly like this one : platforming games on the back of a bike. Get over some hills, bumps, and obstacles to make it to the end point without crashing.

What this game does is take that simple flash-style formula, and expand upon it to make it a really fulfilling gaming experience. With the alternate vehicles, collectible tokens that are required to open up challenges and tournaments, as well as making use of the games new morphing features, there’s a lot that Old School Racer 2 has to offer.

The base game itself is pretty straightforward. You’ll be plopped onto a map that opens progressively as you beat levels. What’s great too is you just need to complete them. Not against a clock, not with a certain amount of collectibles…just get from the start to the finish and you can make it to the next level.

However, it’s all the extra things that the game offers which will require you to do more, if you so choose. Each level has three tokens hiding (which can be collected over multiple runs). Snag these, and you’ll unlock challenges and tournaments over time. The challenges will pit you on a level, this time against a clock, and if you beat the time you’ll earn an upgrade for your vehicle to make it faster and handle better.

The actual levels of the game start off pretty straightforward, but will slowly introduce you to new mechanics that will ramp up the challenge. Some may help you out, but others may hurt you just as much. One of these mechanics is morphing. Certain levels will have specific areas where the level itself will actually change on the fly. A section of the ground will all of a sudden move : maybe upwards to create a new hill/jump for you, maybe sideways to create a new surface above or below just where you were. There’s even points where you can control this yourself, manually morphing the level at a forked path to choose your own way.

Another mechanic that Old School Racer 2 will throw at you, is one that’s a staple in a genre like this : gravity manipulation. Occasionally, you’ll see a mass of what looks like yellow orbs, floating in a direction. This is your indication that the “ground” is about to be redefined. The controls will retain what they originally were, so it’s respective to the rider and not the orientation of the screen. Master these mechanics, as well as the quad and buggy vehicles that you can drive in addition to your bike, and you’ll race through the game in no time.

I think this is a really fun title. It’s a style that’s been around for a long time, and it’s one that has many appearances on any and every platform. But, while it may lack in originality, it livens up the genre making it feel fresh and incredibly difficult to put down. Race on over to the eShop and snatch a copy before it morphs away! (It won’t…but you still get it nonetheless).