As summer break comes to an end, so too does the extra amount of time that kids have to spend playing video games, with screen time undoubtedly becoming limited as school starts back up. Luckily, IceTorch Interactive has released Tiny Racer for Nintendo Switch, which provides quick playthrough opportunities whenever players might have a second to spare. Tiny Racer doesn’t bring anything new to the genre, but can offer up quick and fun racing challenges for younger gamers especially.

Hold The Wheel & Drive

In Tiny Racer, players get behind the wheel of, well… tiny race cars. These MicroMachines-like vehicles take on race tracks that range from canyon-lined mountains, a beach-style bathroom, a child’s block-filled playroom, and even the kitchen table, which makes sense given the golf ball-sized vehicles.

Gameplay in Tiny Racer is pretty straightforward. Players choose from an assortment of vehicles, such as sports and muscle cars, vans, and SUVs. The three game modes available include Arcade, Time Trial, and Tournament, with the latter being the mode in which players can unlock new race tracks (of which there are 15 total). A local multiplayer mode also allows players to compete against one other player. Unfortunately, at this time, online play is not an available feature.

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Really, that’s all there is to it. New players can pretty much jump in and immediately start racing without any sort of need for a tutorial. There’s no fancy in-game mechanics; just accelerate, turn, stop, and reverse. A respawn button also exists for when players fly off the course or get stuck in various spots around the track, both of which happen quite frequently, so the respawn button is a welcomed feature.

Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Available for $10, Tiny Racer obviously a robust racer with tons of customizable options or weighted game physics. But really, it doesn’t need to be. The visuals are innocent and inviting, and the audio is fine. The controls feel good enough - loose enough for new players to get a quick feel for the game, and refined enough to allow more hardened racing veterans to take their racing skills to the next level. Honestly, the only thing missing from Tiny Racer is online multiplayer. Given that there is only so much content that players can experience on their own, the ability to compete online would give the game a bit more replayability - and would be a great online game for younger kids to play against friends remotely, considering social distancing practices that are still in place throughout much of the world.

Ultimately, though, Tiny Racer succeeds in being a solid racing title, especially considering that the game is only $10 on the Nintendo eShop. The game doesn’t set the racing genre on fire, but is a great game to snag for younger gamers or for those just in need of some quick and unassuming MicroMachines-style races.

 

A Switch copy of Tiny Racer was provided to TheGamer for this review. Tiny Racer is available now for Nintendo Switch.

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