Horizon Chase 2 is a sequel to the 2018 release of Horizon Chase Turbo, which received very positive reviews from players and reviewers. I will admit when approached to review this game, I had heard of Horizon Chase 2 as a game but had never played it before. Arcade racers are fun to me, but I don’t normally get that adrenaline rush I crave. So, did this arcade racer manage to get my blood pumping?
Prior to starting the game, I had a few expectations of what it would provide. The first expectation was that It would at least play like a kart racer. Again, I had never played the game, so I opted to go in blind to review it with fresh eyes. This most definitely helped me find a sense of feeling within this game and realize that I was thinking wrongly.
Race Across the World
I frequent the Asphalt series from Gameloft on my phone, and I really like those games, so I was hoping to find some kind of familiarity here. And surprisingly, I did! The game plays and handles like a mix of Asphalt and F-Zero due to the game’s simple objective of going fast and avoiding others and obstacles. It makes you go fast and race at a very high, sometimes blinding speed, like in Asphalt, while bringing together the tight turning controls from games like F-Zero. You can also apply some racing skills and techniques from other games, like Gran Turismo 7, to the game while racing to sometimes give you a competitive edge. It’s a game that, in graphical style and quality, is far removed from reality, so seeing and feeling such tight handling that can be achieved in real life at times was nice to keep the game grounded in reality in that respect.
My second expectation was regarding the stages, as I was curious if they would be up to the quality found in Ashplat and Disney Speedstorm. This was met and exceeded, with stages often surprising me. Each level of each stage contains as much beauty as the world of Art of Rally, and that is no understatement as Horizon Chase 2 uses a similar low poly art style yet has its own distinct coloring and art flairs. While I was playing this amazing, tight, and brightly colored game, I felt Horizon Chase 2 most definitely was made to stand out on its own and bring some fire into the arcade racing scene. However, I feel like I am playing a modified version of another arcade racer in the best way, with some of the best aspects of beloved titles brought in to make a great experience.
To go even further into the game, I would like to talk about the game’s World Tour mode. This mode takes you on a journey around the world on a fast, blurry, yet beautiful whirlwind of a trip. You start in the United States and then proceed to move on to Brazil, Morocco, Italy, and two other countries. I would have to say that this is where the game shines, acting as the main draw. Every stage featured in this game has its own vibrant feel to it, from Vermont to Via Della Torre. I found that every track feels and looks its own, and that is amazing.
When starting in the US, you hop from Florida to Vermont and, lastly, to California. When you go to Brazil, you work your way from Olinda in the Northeast of the country to São Paulo in the Southeast of the country. As you get deeper into the mode, you see that you are going across each country and visiting some of its most iconic and/or beautiful places. While this sort of mode is fairly common for racing games to do, Horizon Chase 2 always presents the design and art teams an opportunity to go crazy a bit creatively and make things more stylized and attractive to the human eye. The teams took their time not only researching each area but also took time to put their flavor of love into each stage and environment.
Activities that can be done in World Tour are limited to two modes, but honestly, for Horizon Chase 2, what is normally a low number is a big positive that serves in its favor. This is because the two modes are a race that admittedly will vary from race to race and a time trial. The game itself is already fast and chaotic, and the races themselves take no more than two or three minutes. So, these modes encourage in-and-out rapid gameplay that goes from activity to activity. Races vary from 1 to 5 laps, and each track has collectible tokens on them, meaning if you collect all of the tokens for that race, you get bonus points and more upgrade parts for your vehicle. As mentioned, the tokens are for each individual race, meaning after the race, they reappear, and you can go back and grind tokens, encouraging player replay.
Pedal to the Metal
As for the time trial mode, players are fighting an uphill battle against the clock. The timer is counting up and players must race around the map as many times as deemed by the conditions, while they are racing they must collect clocks to lower the timer. This means that in order for a player to get a medal, they must reach the lowest possible target time. Normally, I do not like time trials as they really do cause me some anxiety, but in Horizon Chase 2, the time trials really became a mode I sunk an hour into easily. The mode is fast and more chaotic even though you are racing against nothing, which was unexpected but not bad. The fact that a time trial is more blood-pumping than a race at times is great; it encourages switching and trying out new ways of play, as well as helping a player improve their driving skills.
It’s worth noting that I was not able to access the online mode or features during the review period. Although that is the case, Horizon Chase 2 features Online Races and Online Leaderboards for each individual track and activity. I expect these to operate as any standard online race would.
Thankfully, Horizon Chase 2 lived up to my expectations, and some were even surpassed. As a newcomer to the series and a person who would consider themselves a racing game fan, playing this game for the first time felt like a steady breeze when you roll a car window down, so I would say an ecstatic yes regarding whether I recommend this title or not. It is very beginner-friendly and simple to catch on to, so at that point, it’s all about racing hard.
Horizon Chase 2 is a title that most certainly lives up to the number in its name. It is a strong sequel to a strong game. From its action-packed races to blood-pumping time trials, if you call yourself a racing gamer, then this game has a thing for you. I can see myself racing online against others and trying to win as hard as possible. I highly recommend picking this game up when it comes out for PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S, or if you have an iPhone, I suggest checking it out on Apple Arcade.
Epic Games provided Final Weapon with a PlayStation 5 copy of Horizon Chase 2 for review purposes.
