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Horizon Chase 2 is here to fix your old new racing game


The image for the article titled Horizon Chase 2 is here for your new old racing game fix

Picture: Aquiris Game Studio

Last Friday, Brazilian developer Aquiris quit Horizon Chase 2 on Apple Arcade. This is the studio’s first true successor for 2015 Horizon Chase, a popular arcade racer that was originally released for mobile devices but has since come to every game platform. A sequel has been a long time coming, but Aquiris has eased the wait with years of support and expanded touching dripping with nostalgia.

Horizon Chase 2 feels like a winning lap for one of the few series that keeps the flame of old school racing games. It’s not too different from its predecessor, in that it still has the gameplay and general feel of the sprite scalers of the pre-polygon era, like Run out, Super Monaco GP and most of all, Top gear.

The most profound difference is in the design of the track. While the first one Horizon Chase focuses on recreating a flat view of the race on a Sega Genesis or a Super Nintendo with sparse 3D content and lots of flat shadows, Horizon Chase 2 features richer, fully-built 3D environments that bridge the gap between the series’ inspiration and the wave of titles that will follow, brought about by things like Ridge Racer and US Daytona.

Credit: Aquiris Game Studio

The second group contains racing games that I personally grew up with, so it’s fun to watch Horizon Chase evolved in the same way that technology was allowed in the 90s. Rest assured, though – Horizon Chase 2 still play like Top gear, with fake handlebars on the rails that subtly lead you into corners. It lacks the physical freedom I personally enjoy, but it’s perfectly suited to a mobile context where precise analog control isn’t something most gamers have access to.

Key Extras for Horizon Chase 2 is online multiplayer. You can now party with your friends and take part in the game’s Playground mode, which will plunge your team into a field of AI-powered competitors for a quick race. or challenge multi-racial tournaments. It’s an inclusion that Aquiris is particularly excited about, judging from my conversation with General Manager Nando Guimaraes.

“We have seven years [since Horizon Chase’s release] with longtime players give us some feedback and insights,” Guimaraes told me. “We follow them on our channels and over the past seven years they have asked for a lot of things that we thought were great to get. And we’ve always tried to provide those, but the reality is one – two – we can’t offer it directly. Horizon Chase. “

The image for the article titled Horizon Chase 2 is here for your new old racing game fix

Screenshots: Adam Ismail

Guimaraes says online multiplayer is most easily claimed. The ability to customize cars on a more granular level is also inspired by popular demand. “We have specific, individual upgrades for each of these vehicles and Horizon Chase We had one for all of them. “

Those are notable Day One additions, but Aquiris is planning similar support to continue to draw players back to the original. Horizon Chase and Horizon Chase Turbo, to give the sequel a similarly long shelf life.

“New cars, new customizable parts, of course new tracks, new countries to play in. [in] and new mechanics. And, if we’re lucky, why not get an extra IP like Senna Forever and do something great [as the license]. ‘ Guimaraes laughed. “I wouldn’t say ‘greater’ because, you know, that’s a national hero. Senna is for us the number one hero in Brazil.”

The image for the article titled Horizon Chase 2 is here for your new old racing game fix

Screenshots: Adam Ismail

Guimaraes added that Aquiris will continue to experiment with tweaks to Horizon Chase formula. That could mean new camera perspectives – like Senna Forever there has been – or even more profound change. The studio isn’t ready to give specifics at the moment, but only because I know them maybe be heard, I think a Run out-style mode with branching paths will prove a sure shot. Or maybe a Super stable– attractive two-wheeled TV series?

One thing that hasn’t changed is the soundtrack. Horizon Chase 2 marks the return of Barry Leitch – the famous Scottish video game composer. gave Top gear its characteristic. A score so famous in Brazil, it could bring fans of the entire event hall to their knees. Aquiris asks Leitch to contribute Horizon Chase, And he’s back with this one, too.

“Barry Leitch – he has to be there,” Guimaraes tells me. “It’s the law. If you want to do something in that style, you have to have Barry Leitch on board. And he’s just pure charisma, isn’t he? That Scottish accent, whenever he comes into meetings with us, he just lifts the spirits. Right now on Discord, people are asking ‘will you release all the music and songs of the game, because we want to hear it?’ And then out of nowhere – he didn’t even talk to us – Barry Leitch just went there and sent all his music from the game! “

Immediately, Horizon Chase 2 is exclusive to Apple Arcade. That changes in 2023, when Aquiris will bring it to PC and consoles. At launch, the game hit 60fps on my iPhone 11 Pro and M1 MacBook Air, with sporadic drops. I asked Guimaraes if studio would look for even higher frame rates on devices that can handle them, like iPhone 14 Pro with 120Hz ProMotion display.

“That’s what we wanted to do,” he told me. “I can’t promise right now because it’s a technical issue for us. It is running on 60 frames [per second] and then 30 frames, but to get to 120 frames and use all of ProMotion, all that Apple really offers is work that we want to do. I just can’t tell exactly when.”

New modes, such as one where you're tasked with breaking every tile on the track, offer a breakthrough in the racing action.

New modes, such as one where you’re tasked with breaking every tile on the track, offer a breakthrough in the racing action.
Screenshots: Adam Ismail

There are some issues that need to be resolved. For example, controller compatibility in certain menus proved a bit buggy when I was playing on my Mac. However, the pure arcade racing magic shines and Horizon Chase 2 likely to become my mobile racer of choice in the near future. If its predecessor is any indication, it will only sweeten with age.



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