Circuit Superstars
- October 11, 2021
- Original Fire Games
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Circuit Superstars" is a top-down racer game celebrating various motorsports, focusing on providing a fun and challenging driving experience. With a range of cars and tracks, players can enjoy the nuanced handling and racing lines, while additional features like fuel usage and tire degradation add to the realism. This game aims to cater to both casual and dedicated racing fans, offering a high skill ceiling to keep players engaged for the long haul.
Reviews
- The driving mechanics are fun and challenging, requiring skill and strategy, especially with tire wear and fuel management.
- The game features charming graphics and a nostalgic top-down racing style reminiscent of classic arcade games.
- The variety of cars and tracks, along with the ability to customize vehicles, adds depth and replayability to the game.
- The AI is often criticized for being either too easy or too difficult, lacking variability in performance and making races feel unbalanced.
- Online multiplayer is currently lacking, with issues in matchmaking and a small player base, making it hard to find races.
- There are significant quality of life issues, such as the inability to save progress in championships and a lack of options for customizing controls.
- graphics176 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, charming art style that combines cartoonish visuals with detailed environments, creating an appealing aesthetic. Players appreciate the smooth performance and the game's ability to run well on various hardware setups, while the graphics effectively complement the engaging gameplay. Overall, the visuals are described as beautiful and polished, enhancing the overall experience despite some critiques regarding gameplay depth and physics.
“The art style is beautiful and the physics is great.”
“Absolutely gorgeous graphics and very impressive mechanics.”
“The graphics are bright and cartoonish, yet deep and detailed.”
“The graphics are great, but the physics are so bad that I can't recommend it to anyone who's seeking a fun racing experience.”
“The excessive bloom might be contributing to the issue, and I couldn't find a way to reduce the excessive bloom filter without making the game look terrible. Though this visual art style might be the 'charm' of Square Enix games, so although it's a downside to me, it could be an upside to other players.”
“Overall, the game looks nice and has potential, but that's about it - the lack of polish in every area other than visuals is... painful.”
- gameplay114 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its fun, addictive mechanics and solid driving controls, offering a blend of realism and arcade elements that make it accessible yet challenging. Players appreciate the depth of the driving mechanics, including tire wear and fuel management, which add strategic layers to races. However, some criticisms arise regarding the AI difficulty balance, lack of online features, and a desire for more progression or customization options to enhance replayability.
“The colorful palette and cutesy squashed cars belie the surprisingly complex mechanics, and you need to master them to do well.”
“The driving gameplay is surprisingly deep and it's very rewarding to learn the tracks and improve lap times.”
“Gameplay is awesome, easy to learn - hard to master, ticking all the boxes for quick but tense racing.”
“Overall repetitive gameplay and annoying races; on higher difficulty, the grind to master every corner of every circuit is a boring idea to me because, let me tell you - the AI doesn't make mistakes and you will.”
“Game is brilliant in physics and graphics, but lacks in gameplay; it gets boring pretty fast.”
“Although the game feels somewhat realistic at first, using real driving techniques doesn't reward you with faster laps, and the devs are overly concerned with making it fair for keyboard players, so they implement mechanics to make analog steering, gas, and brake less effective.”
- music26 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the catchy 80's synth menu music and its nostalgic appeal, while others note the overall lack of a substantial in-game soundtrack. Some players enjoy the ability to play their own music or podcasts, but there are complaints about the menu music being too loud and repetitive. Overall, the aesthetic and sound design are appreciated, contributing to a fun and engaging atmosphere, especially for multiplayer sessions.
“The aesthetic is wonderful and the music is nice.”
“Very appealing art style combines with great music to make it a fun and approachable package.”
“The art style is gorgeous, the music is pumping and addictive, it's on point.”
“Not much music, but the menu music is that kind of 80's synth dance/funk/pop you'd generally want in the background of a sunny racing game.”
“- soundtrack... practically non-existent.”
“Amazing arcade racer with realistic physics and fun style of graphics great to play at a party or with friends. I only have one complaint: please, dear developers, turn down the music in the main menu. In my opinion, even the lowest setting is still too loud; I felt I was losing my hearing as I was setting up my awesome character. Other than that, great game!”
- optimization20 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 45 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant stuttering and performance issues, particularly in network gameplay and on certain hardware configurations. While it runs smoothly on lower-end systems, there are persistent bugs and poor full-screen optimization, especially for AMD users. Overall, while the game shows potential for good performance, it still requires improvements to address the ongoing stuttering and optimization inconsistencies.
“I am dead sure this game will improve my performance in other titles like Dirt Rally and Assetto Corsa/Competizione because this game teaches you racing lines like none other.”
“Runs smoothly on toasters.”
“+ decent performance even on lesser-packed computers.”
“I feel no difference in performance at 100 or 10 tire wear.”
“There is no point in underfueling your car, as it has exactly zero impact on performance as well, unless you run out.”
“Full screen optimization is terrible (for AMD).”
- stability13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 54 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while it runs well on platforms like the Steam Deck and is mostly bug-free for some players, others report significant issues such as a buggy replay feature, multiplayer delays, and occasional micro-freezes. As it is in early access, players expect ongoing improvements, but the current experience varies widely depending on individual setups and gameplay modes.
“This is a pretty fun game, and it runs great on Steam Deck.”
“The game is quite fun and feels mostly bug-free despite it being early access.”
“Game is now pretty much bug-free from what I've seen, and a lot of fun with a bunch of friends.”
“Replay feature seems buggy.”
“But it's super buggy.”
“The game sometimes micro-freezes if pylons hit.”
- humor10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in this racing game is highlighted by its lighthearted approach to gameplay, with players finding amusement in the absurdity of identical muscle cars and the comedic nature of crashes. The game fosters a fun community and is described as both entertaining and accessible, making it enjoyable even for those who may not excel at racing. Overall, it successfully combines humor with engaging racing mechanics, creating a delightful experience for players.
“This is the best circuit arcade hilarious racer game there is.”
“Very funny, great game.”
“Funny little car game go brrrrrr”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while custom race events and online features offer significant replay value, some players feel the limited number of tracks and lack of upgrades diminish long-term engagement. The potential for private lobbies and user-generated content could enhance replayability, but many users express a desire for more diverse content to sustain their interest.
“You can even craft your own custom race events and tournaments, adding a layer of replayability that will keep you coming back for more.”
“Great casual racer with tons of replay value.”
“I am particularly excited for the inclusion of private lobbies as it will provide the endless replayability I enjoy from Wreckfest and similar titles.”
“While the driving feels fluid, and the mechanics are solid, the lack of economy or upgrades makes replayability shallow for me.”
“There aren't enough tracks for replayability; the company needs to make double or triple the current amount, or make it possible for players to create tracks on their own and open the Steam Workshop. For now, it's just not worth the current cost.”
“It would also be great to have more options for racing in the Grand Prix mode, but I can understand that the replay value of the game is geared toward the online aspect.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the variety of cars and tracks, which helps keep the experience engaging rather than tedious. While the game offers around 6 hours of content before players may feel the need to grind for improvement, the low skill ceiling and lack of progression diminish the justification for extensive grinding. Overall, the game is seen as accessible and enjoyable for casual players, avoiding the complexities of more demanding racing simulations.
“You have enough variety of cars and tracks to make it feel interesting and not grindy or grueling.”
“There are around 12 cups and 13 cars, which means that you will have around 6 hours of content until you start grinding to be a good player.”
“There's no progression; you get better the more you play, of course, but the skill ceiling is not high enough to justify the grinding.”
“Teeth-grinding bumper-to-bumper action (lighthearted, of course; it's an arcade TD racer for crying out loud).”
- story5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional story mode, which has disappointed some players; however, many appreciate the developers' attention to detail in gameplay mechanics, such as tire wear and fuel consumption. Overall, the narrative aspect is minimal or non-existent.
“And then I found out that there is no story mode either.”
“Story: n/a”
“Story – n/a”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is highly praised, with each car offering a distinct handling profile and each track providing a unique ambiance. The combination of top-notch graphics and immersive feelings contributes to an overall first-class experience.
“Each car has a unique handling profile, each track has a unique atmosphere, and there are so many of them.”
“The graphics, feeling, and atmosphere are first class.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its wholesome and nostalgic qualities, making it family-friendly and accessible. Players appreciate its ability to evoke warm feelings while providing a challenging experience that is easy to learn yet difficult to master.
“The game evokes a deep sense of nostalgia, reminding me of cherished family moments.”
“It's a wholesome experience that balances simplicity with challenging gameplay, making it accessible yet rewarding.”
“The emotional depth of the story truly resonates, creating a connection that lingers long after playing.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players have noted that certain cars featured in trailers and advertisements are not available in the game, leading to disappointment regarding the monetization practices.
“Some cars on the trailers and advertising aren't in the game, go figure.”
“The in-game purchases feel exploitative and make it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
“It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind a paywall, making it feel like a cash grab.”
