Victory lap

Sometimes a game comes along and really impresses me with how polished it is. With Circuit Superstars it was even more impressive considering it came from a small team comprised of only three main developers.

This top-down racer is part of Square-Enix’s Collective publishing arm which puts out titles from smaller teams. So far the movement has produced mostly mediocre titles, but with Circuit Superstars I initially thought the game came from a bigger team. The polish here is just that high. This game harkens back to the early arcade days with it’s top down perspective, but the depth found within will impress even the most die-hard racing enthusiast.

MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99

Circuit Superstars feels small at first glance, but once I got into the game I unraveled a massive collection of race types and cars. The game is broken down into various styles of racing with a hefty career mode. I loved that I was not forced into the same machines for each outing. Taking trucks off road or pulling tight corners with Indy cars all feels great. The history of vehicles in this game is extremely impressive. Each one handles differently too. This game is just packed with minute details that impressed me at every turn.

Racing these machines is what makes this game so much fun. Every car has a weight to it and slides around corners making the simplicity of it all extremely fun to master. The main career mode is broken down into championships with increasing difficulty. It does a fantastic job of ramping things up just when I was getting the hang of the tracks. Playing this game is just a pure joy and reminds me of classics such as Super Off-Road or R.C. Pro-Am.

The visuals are also well done. A slick menu system combined with truly superb track design make this game feel like it had a much larger dev team than it does. The siblings at Original Fire Games have truly made their assets optimized. The frame rate also holds up extremely well. Granted I was playing on an Xbox Series X. This is just a level of polish I am not used to seeing from such a small team.

Multiplayer is where this game shines though. I managed to get a few split screen races in with my son, but the real thrill comes when getting an online match going. The issue with split screen boils down to the view. Needing to see ahead to take turns is a must, and slicing down screen real estate hurts that experience. Online is a different story, but as I expected with a game like this, the online community is brutal. I was having to pull every punch to not finish dead last. Still I had a blast and it helped with my overall understanding of the systems. The game is just fun all around.

Circuit Superstars is one of the best surprises I have played all year. It punches above its weight in almost every category. I simply had a blast every time I jumped in. There is also plenty of depth and content to make the minimal price of entry easy to recommend. If you enjoy racing games, especially competitive ones I cannot recommend this game enough. It is the true definition of an indie darling.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Great driving and physics
  • Tons of modes and tracks
  • Vehicle variety
Bad
  • Online is empty most times
7.5
Good
Written by
Ken is the Editor-in-Chief of this hole in the wall and he loves to troll for the fun of it. He also enjoys long walks through Arkham Asylum and the cool air of Shadow Moses Island. His turn-ons include Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft.