Horizon Chase Turbo

A thoroughly enjoyable arcade racer with an eye on the past, Horizon Chase Turbo does a commendable job of reinvigorating 90s arcade racing in a way that nobody else has really bothered to do.

84%Game Brain Score

music, graphics

story, monetization

91% User Score Based on 1,263 reviews

Critic Score 77%Based on 19 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $19.99

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About

Horizon Chase Turbo is a retro-style racing game with fast-paced action and a nostalgic aesthetic. Players compete in various tracks around the world, avoiding traffic and collecting power-ups to gain an edge. With its split-screen multiplayer mode, Horizon Chase Turbo brings back the classic arcade racing experience, providing hours of fun for up to four players.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+11

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,282 reviews

music175 positive mentions

monetization5 negative mentions

Horizon Chase Turbo is a nostalgic love letter to classic arcade racing games like Top Gear and Outrun, featuring vibrant graphics and an engaging soundtrack.
The gameplay is fast-paced and addictive, with a variety of tracks and cars to unlock, making it enjoyable for both casual and hardcore racing fans.
The game supports local multiplayer for up to four players, enhancing the fun and competitiveness among friends and family.

The AI can be frustratingly aggressive, often blocking players and causing collisions that lead to significant speed loss, which can feel unfair.
Some players find the requirement to collect all tokens and finish in first place for maximum points to be tedious and grindy.
The game lacks online multiplayer options, which limits competitive play compared to other modern racing games.

music
315 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
43%
2%
The music in the game is widely praised for its nostalgic and energetic quality, primarily composed by Barry Leitch, known for his work on the original Top Gear soundtrack. While many players appreciate the catchy and upbeat tracks that enhance the racing experience, some note that the limited number of songs can lead to repetition over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's charm and appeal.
- “This game is a love letter to classic arcade racers, with gorgeous graphics, a fantastic soundtrack, and gameplay that's both challenging and rewarding.”
- “The soundtrack is phenomenal; I bought the soundtrack separately because I like it so much.”
- “The music is amazing, reminiscent of many arcade games, and the gameplay is simple and addictive.”
- “The music is slightly repetitive.”
- “My only real complaint about the game would be that there weren't enough music tracks - around 20 tunes on over 100 racing circuits, some repeating a lot more than others - but that's a small 'complaint' indeed.”
- “Audio wise it's passable - the music is generic and the sound effects aren't anything special.”
graphics
285 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
48%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, low-poly aesthetic that effectively blends retro charm with modern design elements. Reviewers appreciate the colorful visuals and smooth performance, noting that the art style evokes nostalgia for classic arcade racers while maintaining a clean and appealing look. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, enhancing the gameplay experience without the need for ultra-realistic detail.
- “The graphics are a visual feast, striking the perfect balance between retro aesthetics and contemporary design.”
- “Horizon Chase Turbo is a fantastic old school arcade racing game with a very simple control system, lovely soundtrack, and beautiful art style.”
- “The graphics fit 100% to the idea of the game.”
- “Some of the levels can irritate your eyes due to how the visual effects are set up, and frankly, I find visuals to be a cheap lazy means of making a racing game challenging.”
- “The game uses an art style and color scheme that is so inoffensive, it feels like a government-sponsored advertisement instead of a passionately crafted video game.”
- “Instead of finely crafted pixel art backgrounds and cars, you get flat pictures with haphazardly put together geometric shapes that seemed to have been drawn on some basic, free to download image editor; almost as if the developers think that the graphics of such arcade races were slapped together in about 10 minutes with no regard for art direction.”
gameplay
197 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
64%
5%
The gameplay of "Horizon Chase Turbo" is a nostalgic homage to classic arcade racing games, featuring simple yet addictive mechanics that prioritize speed and fun over realism. While the game offers a variety of tracks and cars, some players find the core gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, with certain mechanics, like collision penalties and AI behavior, causing frustration. Overall, it successfully blends retro aesthetics with modern graphics and sound, making it an enjoyable experience for both new and veteran racing enthusiasts.
- “This game is a love letter to classic arcade racers, with gorgeous graphics, a fantastic soundtrack, and gameplay that's both challenging and rewarding.”
- “Horizon Chase Turbo is a very enjoyable game for those who search for an arcade racer that has both nostalgic and modern feel at the same time, bringing classic visual, sound and gameplay elements up to modern standards, adding more mechanics and higher quality sounds and graphics, while maintaining the stylistic rendition that made those games stand out at the time.”
- “Bright, stylized visuals that leave you with warm fuzzy nostalgia, polished gameplay and smooth performance; it's simple but challenging, highly addictive, and oddly satisfying to play.”
- “Incredibly polished game, but extremely shallow and repetitive gameplay.”
- “The only issue I found that tarnished my experience was the overly punishing collision mechanic which seems to unfairly penalize for the slightest of infractions whilst your competition gets off without a scratch.”
- “The gameplay can be considered somewhat repetitive, because it's the same core gameplay loop over and over on different cars and different tracks.”
optimization
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
37%
15%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised, with many players reporting smooth performance across various platforms, including the Steam Deck and high-refresh-rate monitors. However, some users have experienced performance degradation over time, particularly during races, leading to stuttering and frame rate drops. While the visuals and gameplay are often highlighted as strong points, there are notable concerns regarding bugs and inconsistent performance during extended play sessions.
- “It was very well optimized.”
- “Excellent performance on the Steam Deck with minimal battery impact.”
- “Bright, stylized visuals that leave you with warm fuzzy nostalgia, polished gameplay, and smooth performance; it's simple but challenging, highly addictive, and oddly satisfying to play.”
- “Stupid fun, but had some odd performance issues where the game would progressively run worse over the course of a race.”
- “I'm not gonna lie, the game is very fun to play, it reminds me of the game Top Gear, this game is awesome, but not just me, as everybody else is having bad performance after some time as you go through the laps. I have a 144Hz monitor and it's incredible to play this game at a high frame rate, but when the FPS drops, the fluidity goes together.”
- “The end result is an uninspired game that hinges on boring gameplay, repetitive races, fake difficulty, and terrible performance.”
replayability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
38%
19%
The game offers significant replayability through its seamless matchmaking, diverse content, and competitive elements, encouraging players to return for both short and extended sessions. While the main campaign is relatively brief, additional challenges and unlockable modes enhance the experience, making it appealing for both casual and dedicated players. Customization options for local multiplayer could further elevate its replay value.
- “The seamless matchmaking and straightforward interface make it easy to dive into the action, fostering a sense of friendly competition that adds replay value to an already content-rich game.”
- “A fun and sometimes challenging racer that can be played in longer sessions or in bite-sized chunks, with lots of content and replay value to keep you coming back.”
- “Incredible retro arcade-style racer with Outrun/Chase HQ/Burnin' Rubber vibes, highly recommended for anyone who grew up playing those games in the arcades, a super good value package with a lot of replay value.”
- “The main campaign can be completed in less than 10 hours (if you are persistent) and the extra challenges add immense replay value that sometimes seems a bit repetitive.”
- “The only thing I'd wish for is the ability to make custom tournaments for local multiplayer; they already have 100+ maps, so customizing a league instead of the pre-made tournaments could add more replayability on the couch.”
- “A well-made love letter to Outrun and Top Gear fans with lots of unlockable modes for added replayability.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players enjoying its funny speech bubbles, humorous car names, and entertaining dialogue reminiscent of classic racing games. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke laughter through absurd situations, such as AI cars behaving comically during races. However, some players feel that frustrating gameplay mechanics can detract from the overall enjoyment, despite the humor.
- “Congrats to the makers of this game as they captured the spirit of the Top Gear series and added their own twist, making Horizon Chase Turbo a great game with humor.”
- “The cars are humorously named tributes to iconic real-world cars, with differing performance stats that can be paired with a multitude of driving styles, along with numerous livery choices for each.”
- “I literally saw an AI car tumbling after crashing into a pole and still being able to stay in front of me; I actually burst out laughing at that one, that's how ridiculous it was.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
The game's story is minimal or non-existent, with players noting that it lacks a traditional narrative and focuses instead on gameplay and atmosphere. While it offers extensive content for completionists, the emphasis is on racing mechanics rather than an emotional or complex storyline. Overall, the experience is more about the gameplay than the story itself.
- “Also, it has a lot of content if you are a completionist and will offer hours on end of achievements and miscellaneous stuff to do after you finish the main story.”
- “It doesn't aim to be an all-encompassing triple-A title with an emotional story or advanced mechanics, but focuses entirely on creating a specific atmosphere and aesthetic in a simple but tight game.”
- “The game is all good, end of story!”
- “☑ no story”
- “- no story (expected)”
- “With Horizon Chase Turbo, you will have a good car racing game, excellent soundtrack, and without microtransactions, complicated configurations for the cars and pointless story, and any other garbage from other games...(anybody said 'NFS Payback' maybe?)”
monetization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
22%
56%
The monetization aspect of the game is largely praised for its absence of microtransactions and in-app purchases, providing a refreshing experience for players. However, some users express frustration with the presence of full-screen advertisements promoting DLC, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the game is appreciated for its straightforward approach to monetization, focusing on gameplay rather than aggressive sales tactics.
- “Luckily, you can't buy points with real cash, and there are no microtransactions or obstructive timers - which is refreshing to see in a game like this.”
- “With Horizon Chase Turbo, you will have a good car racing game, excellent soundtrack, and without microtransactions, complicated configurations for the cars, and pointless story, and any other garbage from other games.”
- “Every time you start the campaign, you'll be greeted with essentially a full-screen advertisement for 'buy our DLC'.”
- “Even with the annoying advertisements for the DLC baked into the game.”
- “With Horizon Chase Turbo, you will have a good car racing game, excellent soundtrack, and without microtransactions, complicated configurations for the cars, and pointless story, and any other garbage from other games... (anybody said 'NFS Payback' maybe?)”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with most players reporting smooth performance across various platforms, including Steam Deck, Linux Mint, and Mac. However, some users have encountered occasional freezing issues, particularly during loading screens and tournament selections, as well as rare bugs that can disrupt gameplay. Despite these minor setbacks, the game is largely considered bug-free and enjoyable.
- “Runs great on Linux Mint.”
- “Runs great on Mac.”
- “Fun game, somewhat basic, runs great on the Steam Deck; worth picking up for some quick races.”
- “The only downside, and this is very rare, is that I've experienced a few instances where the game freezes for about 5-20 seconds.”
- “The only few things worth criticizing are the global rank times filled with cheaters, a weird bug when picking a tournament (it occasionally boots you directly to the car select screen instead of tournament select, and if you pick a car, the game freezes, so just back out from that menu if that happens) and some races having a difficulty spike, namely the adventures and the hardest tournaments (but it's an arcade racing game, so that's to be expected).”
- “But at least I can play; sometimes the first race loading screen freezes, but will eventually respond... most of the time.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be boring and tedious, often describing it as a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment. Many feel that the repetitive nature of the gameplay, combined with poor visual design and vehicle interactions, leads to a loss of excitement and a slower pace in an otherwise entertaining racing game.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Boring and tedious.”
- “Ironically, this tedious grinding only slows down the pace of this otherwise entertaining, high-speed racing game.”
- “The game is bad as many have pointed out it has unfair visual perspectives as well the other vehicles push back is terrible and the pickups are too blended in the background, too similarly colored, small, and placed too close to obstacles on roadsides, making for a frustrating, tedious game.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, often feeling nostalgic and reminiscent of their childhood experiences with racing games. The combination of tight controls, immersive atmosphere, and impactful music enhances this emotional engagement, with specific songs evoking powerful feelings, including tears of joy. Overall, the game successfully creates a heartfelt experience without relying on a complex narrative.
- “Playing this at 120 fps on my PC literally made me feel like a kid again, but this time what I imagined was real.”
- “As you play the game and hear the music, you will find that all the songs are mixed in one way or another, all but one, and when I heard that one song play, it almost made me cry because it was just that good.”
- “Horizon Chase Turbo is a game that gets me very nostalgic and somewhat emotional, because 20 years ago, when I was a kid, my dad came to me with two games: Moto Racer and Need for Speed II.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its vibrant and nostalgic aesthetic, creating an engaging environment that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the balance of challenge and reward, likening its atmosphere to classic titles like Super Mario 64, making it accessible even for those who typically do not enjoy racing games.
- “I don't come back to many racing games outside of Mario Kart, but this game provides the perfect balance of reward and challenge, and to top it off, a bright, awesome atmosphere. Highly recommended for any gamer; if you have never found yourself enjoying racing games, please do give this one a try.”
- “Wonderful nostalgic atmosphere, straightforward gameplay and controls.”
- “It doesn't aim to be an all-encompassing triple-A title with an emotional story or advanced mechanics, but focuses entirely on creating a specific atmosphere and aesthetic in a simple but tight game.”
- “I love the atmosphere and environment of the map.”