Trackmaster PC Review: Even A Taxi Driver Won't Remember These Routes

A procedurally generated racer has a lot of appeal to it, so why aren’t there enough of these around? It’s not my job to investigate, but it is to provide game coverage, and Trackmaster falls into this category.

Out now on Steam, it’s a racer for up to four other players online where no track appears to be the same. Surely this works in its favour as there’s no way other players can get the upper hand on a course they’re overly familiar with – it’s doubtful it’ll appear again!

But how about the lone wolf who wants to race against bots or enter a tournament or two for some trophy pickups? While it’s totally playable as a one-player, it’s not that type of game and is best played with others, or if solo, expect it to be more about time challenges.

Trackmaster PC Review

Trackmaster, from Master Technologies, may be a multiplayer racing title, but if you’re expecting Mario Kart or similar, you’ll be out of luck. The same fun of racing other players and shafting them by knocking them off a track is here, but the one-player mode is quite limited.

Granted, that’s not the mission statement for Trackmaster as it’s essentially a party game. However, as I spent most of my time playing on my own, not having anyone else to play with, it makes sense to write about that experience too.

First impressions were a typical one: presentation. Though the car models are decent enough, as are the actual courses, the lighting and choice of colours were garish – so much so that I thought it was a glitch. Considering I’ve never had to adjust my monitor for an individual game other than in-game parameters, it wasn’t on the to-do list.

That said, it was hard to make out objects on the track resulting in avoidable crashes and racing across some of the open terrains and with their contrasting textures forced me to switch to a monitor preset as it was pretty awful. As long as the colours don’t clash too much, Trackmaster is well presented, but it did feel like playing an N64 on a broken TV at times.

Getting Back On Track

The assets available in the game are somewhat limited so you will encounter a lot of familiarities. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Though tracks do resemble one another, they are never the same as the last and a subtle change to a bend or the placement of an obstacle is a welcome one.

Playing on your own is a pig at first as the number of obstacles are excessive. You can’t hack it through hoping to set a reasonable time without applying some strategy. Again, this is a good thing as you need to pick an unorthodox racing line; not catered to the corners but more so to avoid crashing.

However, there are also situations such as jumps that will launch you in the air and drop you into a location you can’t get out of. This forces a respawn, and you’re placed back at the most recent checkpoint likely to repeat the same mistake.

That element was frustrating, as was toppling over the edge of a track to respawn once more. It’s not an automatic process and gives a false illusion you can correct your mistakes, but the solution is always respawning. 

Getting A Handle Of It

Toppling off the edge is annoying, but that’s mirrored when knocking another player off. I can only imagine the abuse they are shouting as they have to restart. I’m not usually vindictive like that, but Trackmaster makes it accessible and, don’t tell anyone, fun.

And on the point of toppling off, it’s not necessarily because of the handling – that side of things is very good, and the cars handle well. The physics side comes into play as understandably you can’t redirect your car mid-air. The key to success in this game is planning – more so than most, simply because of the frequency of obstructions.

For a game that isn’t in Early Access, I wasn’t sure why there’s such a Discord prominence. I’m still in the dark about the platform, liking my own company, not being distracted by angry gamers, or following that rabbit hole of debates online.

But the Discord feature is on the front screen and takes up a bit of real estate and somewhat embedded into the game. It’s a little in your face, though being ignorant to the platform, maybe this would be a highlight for others in connecting?

Local Play And 90s LAN Parties

It’s a big ask, but a split-screen option would have been nice for local play. Not everyone has a LAN setup, but more and more people run their computer through a large enough screen – even the telly. Again, that’s a preferential thing, as is the game’s music – I hated it. Sorry, but it felt out of place in the game and was irritating that I had to mute it. The vehicle sounds are very good, which is more important!

I’m on the fence with Trackmaster. If I could round up enough mates to play, this would be a lot of fun, but I feel with my generation (read: ‘older’), local play would be better with a few beers and laughing at the mate who gets enraged. In Trackmaster’s defence, I don’t know many people that would connect their PC in the lounge (I do, and have hosted games this way).

For the most part, this was a solo experience for me, and I’m not really into marginal gains in time trials and what-not. Also, the frequent respawning isn’t the same when you’re on your own and gets irksome. Even having someone spectating whether giving a pointer here and there or even laughing at your misfortune would take off the edge. Have a look for yourself on the Steam page.

Trackmaster Review Summary

So yeah, on the fence really. The car models are good, and the handling and multiplayer aspects are fun. Regardless of repeated assets, the random tracks are a highlight and a big selling point. It seems a petty thing, but for me, the colours and lighting were hard work, and it could have done with an option to race against bots. Should this happen in the future, Trackmaster would have a broader appeal.