Topic: 80's Overdrive Discussion Thread

80's Overdrive came out today on the Switch. Another arcade racer that has been on the 3DS for awhile now (I don't know much about it on 3DS as I no longer own a 3DS). Having just started Horizon Chase Turbo this game did pique my interest when someone mentioned it to me.

Anyone pick it up yet? What are your first impressions of the game?

Played this for about an hour and my initial thoughts are it's ok. It's not a bad game but I find Horizon Chase Turbo a much better game. For one thing 80s Overdrive just doesn't have the sense of speed that Horizon does to me it feels alot slower. Also 80s does feel alot more like Outrun then Horizon does so there's that. Overall not bad for $10 and a brilliant arcade racer just not as good as Horizon to me.

Thanks for your impression, @Tasuki

@Tasuki I'm still considering double-dipping, but I have a sense, from your description, that the lack of 3D vision is kind of taking away of the sense of speed that is definitely there in the 3DS version, so if that's true, then that's a real shame.

@ThanosReXXX Hmmm that might be a good point and I didn't think of that of course as I said I never played the 3DS version. Don't get me wrong I am not disappointed by it and it's a great game just not as good as Horizon Chase Turbo in my book and that comes from the lack of speed.

@Tasuki I'll probably still get it on Switch anyway, seeing as I hardly ever play on my 3DS anymore, and I'm a sucker for arcade racers...

@ThanosReXXX It's only $9.99 as well at least, anymore and I probably would just say pass on it. Still I play the game at night in bed I will undoubtedly log alot of time into it.

@Tasuki So... I just went ahead and bought it. Haven't got time to play it right now, though. Maybe tomorrow, and when I've spent a decent enough amount of time with it, I'll give my own verdict on how it holds up vs the 3DS version.

@ThanosReXXX Sounds good. I look forward to it.

It is very slow. That was my first impression too having never played it on the 3DS.

That said as a massive fan of Outrun - I THINK I prefer it to Horizon turbo as having to remember where the refills are on the track annoys me a bit.

Will play it a bit more when I’ve finished playing with my new GPD XD+

@Tasuki So, after having spent quite a bit of time with it yesterday evening, the final verdict is in...

Yes, it is DEFINITELY slow, or rather: slower than Horizon Chase Turbo, and it also seems to be slower than the 3DS version, but I am almost certain that this is due to the lack of the 3D effect, which as somewhat of a neat side-effect also creates more of a sense of speed, due to it drawing you into the screen more.

I simply took the first vehicle, and grinded that almost to the max, and only then did I start to get some sense of speed in this version, but still it's slower than Horizon Chase Turbo. I think that the difference in graphics, so 2D sprite vs actual 3-Dimensional graphics probably also has to do with this.

There are a couple of things I seem to have forgotten, since it's been quite a while that I played the 3DS version, and that is some of the more annoying mechanics of the game, such as the nearly inescapable cop cars, and the whole refuel/repair thing, which was never a thing in the games that this game is supposed to be inspired by, but all in all, I still enjoyed myself playing it, so I suppose that you still get your money's worth for what it costs, meaning I'd still recommend this game to fans of the genre that have already played all the other similar games out there.

@ThanosReXXX Also I can't help but notice how the vehicles look and move in 80s Overdrive. They look flat like cutouts or something and they way they move is like on rails like side to side which natural cause me to crash into them alot cause I misjudge their movement. It seems that the movement and how they look would make sense in a 3D game.

@Tasuki Good point. That might actually also add to the 3D immersion. As does the shaky turbo-boost effect. But yeah, crashing into other vehicles is a regular thing. With the non-competing vehicles, it's just a matter of watching their movement patterns, and with the opponents, it's all about passing them from a larger distance or if that's not possible, try hitting their noses, so they're bumped backwards, instead of when you hit them from behind, and they're boosted forward.

@ThanosReXXX Right. I also haven't got to cops yet so I can't comment on them. Overall though the game is different enough from Horizon Chase to give me enough of variety in the two racing games. I am pleased with the purchase and would recommend it to others especially for the price.

@Tasuki Yeah, absolutely. Completely agreed.

@ThanosReXXX Sorry to quibble, but if memory serves me correctly, the first Lotus game had refueling.

@gcunit Well, kind of. But it was a pit stop, in game, not a menu thing that you might forget...
And on top of that, in Lotus, it didn't cost you money, only a bit of time.

Oh, and no need for sorry's.

@ThanosReXXX That's the thing with Horizon as well the fuel thing is weird as well in that you just pick up fuel canisters around the track, not an actual pitstop like Top Gear. I kinda like the pitstop as that added a bit of strategy to the game.

@Tasuki Well, at least in Horizon Chase Turbo, it's less intrusive, in my opinion, because of it being in the game, and not an extra menu option that you need to remember after having finished a race. Or worse: that you sometimes don't have money for, after having been a bit too enthusiastic with car upgrades...

@ThanosReXXX That is true. I don't mind having to refuel between races that's fine but the fact that it's down in the corner can cause you to miss that detail especially if this is your first time playing it. The only reason I knew about it is because I had to repair my car and saw the fuel next to repair. Which that brings up another question why not just add fuel to the repairs??