If there's one type of game the Switch needs more of, it's racing titles. While Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is arguably the only racer you need on Nintendo's hybrid device, if you're looking for something that can provide a more authentic racing experience, the options are few and far.
With arcade racers like Need for Speed on hiatus and more premium racing experiences tied exclusively to other platforms, the pickings for Switch owners are slim right now. Microids' Gear. Club Unlimited - originally released on mobile and then Switch - sits somewhere in between these types of games, serving up a casual arcade-like experience in the guise of a more serious racer. Ultimately, though, it falls short of matching the best racing sims on the market.
In a recent interview with Miketendo64, Gear.Club Unlimited 2 developer Yannick Berthier said how the team had listened to player feedback about the first game and made serious improvements to the cars and physics simulation in the sequel:
"We listened to what players had to say and aimed to create a far more realistic game. There is more subtlety, detail and individuality in the way the cars behave. Our car designers and engine programmers greatly improved our physics simulation in order to create sensations that would have been impossible in the first Gear.Club game."
Berthier went on to admit the team had "little idea" what Switch players wanted when they released the first game on the platform and said the feedback has helped them concentrate on providing the most advanced experience possible:
"To be honest, releasing the first Gear.Club Unlimited on the Switch was a leap into the unknown. We didn’t know if players would like our more motorsport-oriented approach to racing, on a console that is more used to playing cartoon/arcade-style games.
Their feedback was fantastic, however, which encouraged us to continue down this path. We, therefore, decided to concentrate exclusively on this platform to get the most out of it and give Switch players the most advanced experience possible."
Are you interested in playing more realistic racing games on your Nintendo Switch? Will you be picking up the Gear.Club sequel when it arrives on 4th December? Tell us below.
[source miketendo64.com]
Comments 38
A more realistic experience designed for the ground up for the Nintendo Switch could fill a gap that no other game does on the platform. If Gear Club Unlimited 2 fits the bill, it should perform well and i’ll give it a go.
I did not bother with Gear Club Unlimited 1 because it was a mobile game at its heart. Wasn’t interested.
I enjoyed what the first game was so I will at least look into this one and do some homework to see if it's for me. More like Gran Turismo is what I'm looking for. It doesnt have to have 800 cars. Just fun and realistic experiences.
People are quick to dismiss this game due to the first one basically being a port of a mobile game while ignoring this one is built from the ground up for Switch.
@Rika_Yoshitake - Well we are living in a world where several people think Ultimate is a port of Smash 4, so this... This isn't unbelievable of how people act.
That being said, for a mobile game port the game was decent. Not great, but definitely not terrible. And hopefully this can produce a new franchise of realistic racing that I can play on a Nintendo console, because the rivals are both pretty exclusive or owned by EA.
@Rika_Yoshitake
For that reason, for me, it is still totally ridiculous, but FULLY RIDICULOUS catalog the games in that way, they are video games anyway, but, oh well..., that is the problems of those people with those ideas ...
As mentioned @Paraka, hopefully the best for this game that is giving opportunity for a new car racing franchise (sim racing, in this case) on the Nintendo Switch
Maybe it isn't a great idea to release this game 3 days before Smash Bros Ultimate...
@westman98 I liked first ome so ill probably pick this up, but yes very unfortunate they're releasing it same week as Smash.
I had the first one and from what Ive seen on YouTube of the second the handling looks to be very similar
I have v rally 4 on pre order hoping it will be better however if not Ill just have to ebay v rally and may end up with gear club 2
I just got Forza Horizon 4 for $30 on PC.
No way I'll play this at home now. And spending another $50 just to play a racing game on my commute is not worth it.
Well I could be interested if they do this right.
If this game does not have online multiplayer then I'll just hold out for VRally 4.
@LightyKD It sounds like you can create a club, invite members, and race other clubs for points to move up the leaderboard.
Enjoyed the first game as a racer for quick gaming sessions (although the load times were loooong). Looking forward to this almost as much as V-rally 4, but at least we know Gear Club is gonna run well...
Don't forget how awesome Fast RMX is. Just fired it up last night, it whips.
This does look pretty good,I will be all over this at launch.
@westman98 Releasing games close to Super Smash Bros is a great idea. Visibility close to this game on the different eshop pages will be pretty high at that time.
Yeah Mario kart 8 is absolutely not the only game you need. The game you need comes out next month ' Horizon Chase Turbo '. I have been palying it for monbths on PS4 and fully recommend it. Assuming the Switch port doesn't suffer issues this will become the best racer on the system.
Wow, not only do you not mention who conducted the Interview, you don't even source them.
@psychoBrew Are we talking live racing or ghosts. I have the first game for Switch and in that one, you can only race against ghosts.
I wasn't impressed with the trailer so hopefully this develops well
The first game was ok. I'll wait for reviews before investing in this one. Hoping for better handling and more dynamic camera angles and a good replay feature.
Would really like Raw Thrills to have an agreement with nintendo to bring Cruisin Blast to the switch. Play this fantastic game regularly at my local arcade.
Really hope this is good. I like their approach and just hope they’ve been able to realise it. I also hope that if it is good they’re rewarded with good sales. Switch is selling to adults and there should be a market there.
Selfishly, though I have all the Forza Horizons on XB1X Id really like a good portable driving game.
Wasn't there going to be a new Ridge Racer for Switch or was that just a rumour with a dodgy 'work in progress games' list to back it up?
I would take a port of the PS3 game Ridge Racer 7 right now.
@Wanjia Given the Switch controllers don't have analogue triggers I don't think you have to worry too much about them going full sim on us.
I'm a big fan of arcade racing games that have set tracks rather than an open world. These days you seem to only have the choice between sims, open world arcade racers and kart racers.
Ridge Racer 7 on PS3, that I mentioned in my previous post, was the last game to truly nail arcade racing for me.
I hope it’s good I’m also looking forward to v rally and also hope that is good
I didn’t like the mobile flavor but I don’t want realistic. I want arcadey
Thank you for covering our interview. We greatly appreciate the support and the coverage. ☺️
I'm hoping this improves over the first, which, it should. The first was built for mobile after all where as this one is actually built for Switch.
@Agramonte
This is the 3rd article and 3rd time you've posted you're not going to buy this game. If you're not interested, why so much interest in telling the world you're not buying it over and over again. I would assume if you're not interested you wouldn't give it a second thought. I've made less comments about some games I was buying. I don't mean to be rude, but this is an honest to goodness observation. I certainly wouldn't go to PushSquare 3 articles in a row and tell everyone I'm not buying Spyro when I can play DKC Tropical Freeze or Mario Odyssey. If I'm not interested then I just let it be after the first time.
This game has been on my radar since the first trailer. If they can deliver, I'm there.
For those of you who talk about sim games and analogue triggers on Switch: look at MotoGP - it can be done and can be done great.
I will wait and see as the first in addition to a mobile port was too expensive. If this does sim well I will probably give it a go on sale
I sure do love the dev’s attitude. I’m hoping for an experience closer to Gran Turismo as well and they seem to want to improve. The first one was fun for what it was. We’ll see how it reviews.
I was impressed by the trailer but actually viewing recent gameplay on YouTube it was a little underwhelming... Im not expecting Forza but surely they could add a little bit more life and excitement to the environments, you get more thrills with the Asphalt series of gameloft games.
The tracks from what i can see looked a little staid and dead.
Main issues with the first game; long loading times and short races. Seemed you spent more time in the menus or looking at loading times then actually racing.
@LightyKD Online multiplayer isn't available Microids scraps that feature yet again.
@SHULZ021 thanks for letting me know. Guess I'll be waiting for Gear Club 3 at this point.
@JaxonH Just like people said a few times they will buy it. No difference.
I do not see a problem If someone goes on PushSquare and says they have no intention of buying FallOut76 for $60 when they can get ZBOTW for $44 to play at home.
If anything, shows they value their gaming time (and money) and rather play the best game available to them when they home.
@Agramonte
That's because they're interested and want to further discussion about a game they're actually interested in.
If you're not interested, then saying it more than once serves no logical purpose, as typically people aren't interested in perpetually discussing games they have professed to have no interest in.
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