Review by Jon Donnis
80's Overdrive is the type of racing game that was mainstream in the 1980s, and long before 3D graphics were even a thing, you had 2D Pixart graphics, which cleverly created the illusion of driving, going around corners and so on, so in 80's Overdrive we have a game that takes you back in time to when 8 Bit and 16 Bit consoles ruled the world.
Here is a quick clip of me playing the first track in the game, watch and make sure to like and subscribe https://youtu.be/WiH9_5gWDDw
The game itself has all the usual modes, a career mode whereby you race to earn money, use that money to upgrade your car or buy new cars, and then race and try to win in harder races with tougher opponents. There is also Time Attack mode which I would call "Outrun mode" whereby you try to get as far as you can, and each time you play you will get a bit further as you will have upgraded your car, there is even a clever create your own track generator, whereby you choose how many turns a track has, how many hills, and so on, it is a clever and simple to use idea and best of all when done you get a code, which you can share with friends who have the game, they can then enter the code on their console and drive your track. There are 8 distinct visual themes for the races too. And special missions to get money if you are running low on funds. And even police that will appear and try to stop you.
The cars are your classic 80's Supercars, now unfortunately the game doesn't have the name rights, but we can all guess what they are by the way they look and the crafty names.
Just like similar games from the 1980s, you also have some classic synth style music tracks, 18 in total,
The Good
This game is a great throwback to some of the great racing games from the 1980s, it really would fit in well with the likes of Outrun.
The Bad
I think any retro style game can sometimes be a hard sell to someone younger, the nostalgia factor is always a big thing with such games.
Overall
I like this game, it is fun, easy to play, has some cool music tracks to listen to, and has enough gameplay to keep you coming back.
I score this game a retro 8/10
By Jon Donnis
80's Overdrive is out now on all formats
