The second review title from 17Studio, this time it’s Draw Rider Remake for the Nintendo Switch. I’m not one for mobile games, which this clearly is. However, like ivy, it grows on you but a little better than said vines in that you want to spend time with it and not want to stop it from strangling your cherry blossoms. Venting? Oops, soz.
This side-scrolling 2D racer doesn’t appear to have received that much attention, which might be for one simple reason: it doesn’t look very good. A stick figure on a bike, or car, or… well, anything else for that matter, reaching the finish line as fast as you can to piss off strangers on the internet… Oh, but don’t be so hasty. It’s much more than that.
On the first attempt, that is, an hour or so of gameplay, I was a bit “meh”. Hey, I’m being honest here. However, I have an impeccable reputation on the interwebs as a credible voice for game reviews, so, let’s have some integrity here. With that in context, I kept returning to Draw Rider Remake to get in some more practice each evening and found myself enjoying it more.
Draw Rider Remake Switch Review
It’s a simple premise, as stated, and you have to reach the end of a track within a set time limit to earn gold, silver, or bronze. Alternatively, you can stack it and fill the land with an excessive amount of claret – this is a bloody game when you hit the deck, and quite frankly, it looks stupid. However, the visuals are quite charming and have that same feel as 10 Second Runs – it’s about the gameplay, innit?
As a physics-based game (keep your vehicle upright to avoid your stickman exploding in a pool of blood), navigating the terrain and positioning your… vessel… in mid-air is critical and will decide whether or not you’ll make the leaderboards. Once again, it’s a very, very simple premise, but the sheer volume of levels, vehicles, customisation and more is incredible for this indie title.
Perhaps what appeals most about Draw Rider Remake, besides the (mostly) enjoyable physics and variety of tracks, must be the built-in editor where you can create and share your own tracks. Nintendo fans are already accustomed to Mario Maker 2, so why can’t they make a stick version of Excitebike?
Verdict
Anything else that follows in this Draw Rider Remake will be filler. There’s no story or complicated controls to learn – you’ll be riding in no time. It depends on whether you have the cojones or flappy bits to go the distance and compete with the vast number of tracks (not including custom ones).
