Have you ever wondered what Mario Kart would look like if it was inspired by Mad Max? Look no further than BlazeRush, a wild arcade racing game developed by Targem Games. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, it should. They developed the popular, multiplayer, combat car game Crossout. With a title like that under their belt, it shows that these developers understand what makes a good car-focused game, and BlazeRush is no exception.
Otherworldly Racing
Let’s start off with the futuristic, yet old setting you’ll be racing in. The environments range from overgrown grassy temples, to frozen industrial ruins. You’ll see this presented in the background and on the walls surrounding each track. There’s not too much going on in terms of detail, but it’s just enough to immerse you in the setting and to keep you focused on the race at hand.
Unlike Mario Kart, the tracks you race on are floating. I found that this design helps to keep your eyes on the track, since there will be a lot to focus on and watch for. There will be randomly placed jumps, tight corners, and even missing chunks of track segments to avoid. You also have to watch for the falling item pick-ups that will be vital to your success (more on that later).
Adding to the worn and dilapidated atmosphere of BlazeRush is the game’s explosive sound design and effects. Rockets, gatling guns, jet boosts, etc. all have tangible and gritty sounds that transform the feel of every race. If the weapons manage to find their mark, cars will explode in fiery detail, leaving trails of smoke all over the track. It makes for some great, “OMG!” moments, and trust me, you’ll be saying that a lot. Plus, you’ll be headbanging to the game’s electric soundtrack throughout as well.
Modes, Modes, and More Modes
BlazeRush nails the overall otherworldly feeling it’s going for, and the gameplay compliments it well. To start, you’re given the choice of two different modes. The first one is called Adventure and is where you’ll be spending most of your time in the game. Adventure consists of three game modes including Races, Survival, and King of The Hill. These levels each have their own unique challenges and subgoals, such as getting first in races or scoring the most points in certain objectives.
By completing these levels and depending on how you do, you’ll be given two things: Points, which are used to unlock more cars, and Cups, which are used to unlock more levels in Adventure. There are over 200+ Cups to earn in Adventure mode. It took me around a couple of hours to get up to 100+ cups. At the same time, I also unlocked a large quantity of cars by scoring a lot of points in the levels. This method of unlocking things is perfect for BlazeRush, since it provides a decent challenge for those looking to one hundred percent the game, while not being too restrictive for players who want to hop in and simply do some races.
The other mode you can pick is called Tournaments. This is where you can set up your own custom matches against AI or your friends on a local or online network. In Tournaments, you’re given the choice between four different game modes. These include Races, Survival, King of The Hill, and BlazeBowl.
Races mode is what you’d expect: a straight racing game. You compete with up to 8 other bots for first place, all while dodging and attacking your opponents.
In Survival mode, you have to keep ahead of a giant car-mashing machine that slowly gets faster and faster as time goes on. If you are the last one to survive, you earn 4 points. The round will then repeat until someone earns at least 15 points.
As for King of The Hill mode, your goal is to stay in front of the pack. By doing so you will earn points every second, and you win by gaining 50 points.
BlazeBowl mode is one of the later added game modes, which has you playing a Rocket League-like football match.
My favorite game mode has to be Survival. Don’t get me wrong, races are fun and all, but it doesn’t compare to the exhilarating challenge that Survival provides.
Engineered for Destruction
BlazeRush features a nice chunk of wild racing machines. These come in three categories: normal cars, tracked cars, and flying cars. Each of these have their own traits that affect how you use them in a race. Flying cars, for example, have a lot of speed, but are a bit harder to control and are weaker to damage. Tracked cars have much better handling and stronger protection, but suffer from lower acceleration. Normal cars fall into a mix of the two.
On top of this, each car has its own levels of acceleration, mass, and handling. This means that no car will feel the same. My personal favorite is Rex. It’s a chunky but sleek looking flying car that has some powerful acceleration to boot. Overall, the diversity of cars available is impressive.
You’re going to need a lot more than just your car to win races though. All along the track, there will be various pick-up items that you can use to shoot, boost, and blast your way to first place. However, the items won’t be sitting on the track. Instead, the items will drop just a few feet from your car as you race. What’s more, these items will spawn at an increased rate behind, and therefore unavailable to, whomever is in first. This helps to keep the races not so one-sided and to keep everyone together, which makes for an engaging and extremely fun experience.
The items come in various forms that can help to either hinder your competitors or push you ahead. There are gatling guns, missile launchers, and even a sonic blast weapon that can push cars off the track. Alongside the weapons are boosts that you can use to give yourself an edge if you’re falling behind. These items, alongside the unique cars, work to make each racing experience all the more enjoyable and engaging, especially if you have friends to compete with.
Checkered Flag
The only gripe I have with the game is with its camera. Instead of going for a third person chase camera, BlazeRush maintains a consistent third person overview camera that tries to keep its focus on all the racers. In my first few races, I actually found myself enjoying the camera perspective. It lets you see all the chaos that unfolds during the races. However, when I started to get better at the game, the camera started having issues focusing on everyone, since I would be too far ahead for it. This meant that I couldn’t see what was in front of me, and it kept trying to yank everyone behind me forward. Don’t get me wrong, I still prefer this type of camera positioning, but it’s just something you have to get used to if you find yourself far out in front.
As far as the game’s content goes, there is a fair amount to unlock for a game of this size, but once you get every car and unlock each Adventure level, there isn’t much else to do except partake in some custom races. Personally, I still enjoy the game despite this limitation. It’s the perfect arcade racing game that offers a lot of replayability if you want to take your mind off things and play some quick sessions with your friends.
