Animal Crossing: New Horizons December Update Brings Snow, Toy Day, and More

animal crossing new horizons december update

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has managed to sustain (and grow) a massive playerbase ever since it launched in March, and a lot of that is down to the constant seasonal updates the game keeps receiving. Recently, Nintendo launched the game's Winter update, and in a new trailer, they've detailed some of the things players can expect from the December update specifically.

Your island will be covered in snow once the update rolls around (if you're in the northern hemisphere, that is), but there will be plenty more new things to look forward to as well. There will be new bugs, new fish, and more, in addition to new items to purchase, as well as Christmas celebrations on Toy Day. You will also be able to exchange gifts with your neighbours. Get a look at all of it and more in the trailer below.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.

Daemon X Machina Developer Hiring Staff for "High-End" PS5, Xbox Series X/S Games

Marvelous First Studio

Marvelous First Studio, a subsidiary of Marvelous Inc, has several new projects in the works. It's currently looking to hire staff for planning and development of "high-end games" for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Action games and RPGs are among those new projects, with a "completely new large-scale RPG" also being mentioned.

As it stands, Marvelous First Studio has a fairly impressive resume. It developed Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star and Fate/EXTELLA Link for XSEED Games, Soul Sacrifice and Soul Sacrifice Delta for Sony and God Eater 3 for Bandai Namco in the past. More recently, it worked on Daemon X Machina, a mech combat title for the Switch (which later came to PC).

Time will tell how long it takes for these projects to release but it should be interesting to see what the studio has cooking for current-gen platforms. For more details on open positions, check out the developer's site here. Stay tuned for more details on upcoming releases in the meantime.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light Out Now on Switch

Fire Emblem - Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Fire Emblem fans who have waited to play the original version of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light can finally rejoice. The Famicom title has been localized and released for the Nintendo Switch in the West. Check out the launch trailer below to see it in action.

Along with over 50 characters, and several different units and classes, the port offers save states and a rewind feature. So if you're anxious about permanently losing any units, this should make things easier. The game is currently available on the eShop for $5.99 but also has a physical retail version, Fire Emblem 30th Anniversary Edition.

It offers a download code, replica game box, instruction booklet, collector's box, a mini Nintendo Power collectible, deluxe art book and map. Of course, given how valuable it is, the chances of actually acquiring the same are slim. Either way, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is available to purchase until March 31st 2021 for Switch so act fast.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond Receives New Gameplay Footage, Single Player Campaign is 10-12 Hours Long

Medal of Honor - Above and Beyond

The Medal of Honor franchise is one of many legacy EA properties that haven't enjoyed the best of times these last few years, but it looks like it's line for a solid comeback soon. The Respawn-developed VR exclusive Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond launches very soon, and ahead of its release, Oculus Studio has shared some new information on the game.

Over on Reddit, a thread was recently published detailing some of the modes players can expect in the VR first person shooter, along with various clips showing each of them off. In addition to clips from the single player campaign, also highlighted were the main menu area of the game, small arcade-like objective-driven challenges, the quartermaster area with its firing range, the museum where you can check out easter eggs and cutscenes from all the missions in the game, and the score-driven survival mode. 

In a comment, it was also confirmed that the game's single player campaign will be roughly 10-12 hours long (at least that's what Respawn Entertainment are aiming for), but with the survival mode and other content added on top – not to mention the multiplayer component – that number will likely go a lot higher.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond will launch for PC on December 11.

Twin Mirror Review – Caught Between Excellence and Mediocrity

The psychological thriller video game genre might not ever have the mass appeal of more popular action-oriented titles, but when done right it can really hit home with players who give it a chance. Games like Detroit: Become Human and Life is Strange have more than demonstrated the heights a narrative-driven adventure game can soar to when handled well. Seeing that Dontnod Entertainment developed the latter, you would think they would have something spectacular in store for fans of these sorts of games with Twin Mirror. Yet, while I enjoyed most of my time with it overall, I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I told you it surpassed their previous games.

Being from West Virginia myself, I can personally attest to the accuracy with which the old mining town aesthetic of Basswood was created here. Everything, from the vast wooded hills down to the cracked pavement of old roads that aren't traveled enough to warrant regular repair feels right. This makes Twin Mirror's outdoor areas its most interesting by far to me. The town of Basswood is full of faded buildings, dusty windows, grass and ivy creeping up from under old concrete, and the occasional well-intentioned graffiti. The town, like so many others from the region, genuinely feels like it harbors memories of a happier time but now barely clings to the last few threads of its former vibrancy.

"Being from West Virginia myself, I can personally attest to the accuracy with which the old mining town aesthetic of Basswood was created here. Everything, from the vast wooded hills down to the cracked pavement of old roads that aren't traveled enough to warrant regular repair feels right."

Adding to the authenticity are Basswoods citizens; all with their own idiosyncrasies and quirks that take generations of life in a small, isolated town to form. The characters and setting were clearly created with a deep understanding of and sensitivity to the real issues that many towns like Basswood deal with. The dying coal industry, the opioid crisis, and how the former feeds into the latter are depicted without lazy stereotypes but instead, thoughtful nuance. Individuals are different, but the town's troubles weigh heavily on everyone making some more closed-off and bitter than others with short tempers and long memories. The folks that Twin Mirror's protagonist, Sam Higgs, talks with are all consistently well written and acted.

The only thing holding them back is their less-than stellar facial animations and somewhat mediocre amount of detail, both of which often rob the story's more significant moments of the impact they were going for. A slightly more than excusable amount of texture popping and many objects, when held, awkwardly clipping through characters hands only add to the cracks of Twin Mirror's otherwise well-executed gameplay and cutscenes. These visual hitches shouldn't be a deal-breaker for anyone who enjoys a good story, but they do create a lower ceiling for the atmosphere than it deserves.

The soundtrack, while not outstanding, does help save some of the moods that the visuals seem determined to undercut. Whether it's the impassioned orchestral chord progressions that accompany uncovering a major plot point or the light-hearted bluegrass playing in a humble coffee shop, the music generally gets it right.

Sam Higgs ends up being a far more interesting main character than he appears at first. He's a flawed guy who has a tendency to give into impulse, and a bad habit of asking imposing questions when it's not entirely appropriate. It's a great personality type for his chosen profession in journalism, but not so great for getting along with everyone in a small town. The game often reminds you of Sam's checkered reputation in the town with folks seeming divided on him due to the critical nature of a scathing article he wrote about Basswood's last remaining mine failing to follow regulations. You can tell this weighs on him with every shop he enters, not always knowing if he's walking into a friendly or hostile environment.

twin mirror

"Sam Higgs ends up being a far more interesting main character than he appears at first. He's a flawed guy who has a tendency to give into impulse, and a bad habit of asking imposing questions when it's not entirely appropriate. It's a great personality type for his chosen profession in journalism, but not so great for getting along with everyone in a small town."

Some characters genuinely love Sam and are excited to see him again and some have an axe to grind. Some characters have personal history with Sam and some only know him from his work. These dynamics constantly come into play with how Sam's newest investigation unfolds and is made all the more intriguing by an imaginary alternative version of himself that helps him sift through stressful situations despite many of their exchanges becoming a nuisance to Sam at times. This alter-ego character ends up being one of the games' most interesting and perhaps illustrates Sam's delicate mental health better than any other aspect of the game. It all adds up to a finely told story that gets its hooks in quick despite mostly being a bit of a slow burn and definitely on the predictable side.

I do feel a game like this is best experienced with as little plot knowledge as possible, so I won't go into it much more than that. But suffice it to say, if Sam's return to his hometown to attend an old friend's funeral went perfectly as planned, we wouldn't have much of a reason to play a game about it, would we?

While it is obvious that most who remember Sam have their reservations about him, how much he offends or pleases the people of Basswood on this particular visit, is often up to the player, as there are a lot of dialogue options that can nudge most situations into different directions. It's standard fare for Dontnod games and the genre generally. Some choices are more consequential than others and it's generally illustrated to you when you are about to make a particularly monumental choice. They're done well enough that you'll be more motivated to give in to the experience and see where your instincts lead you than trying to figure out the game's inner-workings, which I suppose is the point of this type of game. Characters are all nicely catalogued for you in status menus that lets you keep track of Sam's relationship with them. It's fairly inconsequential, but it's there if you want it.

The dialogue and exploration segments are just the bread of Twin Mirror's gameplay sandwich though. The meat is mostly made up of puzzles where Sam must assemble important past events – or plot new ones – by analyzing evidence and piecing possibilities together to see how scenarios might play out. These investigative sections are mostly pretty fun to complete. While games like Detroit: Become Human arguably did them better, Twin Mirror does do a better job with them than I expected it to. The way Sam considers each possibility you construct with evidence around him makes his train of thought amusing to unfold, even when your first few hypotheses are wrong. Some of these segments are more interesting than others, but they're generally well-done and kept me invested in discovering and understanding the scenario instead of just trying to guess the correct combination of things to complete the section.

Twin Mirror

"The dialogue and exploration segments are just the bread of Twin Mirror's gameplay sandwich though. The meat is mostly made up of puzzles where Sam must assemble important past events – or plot new ones – by analyzing evidence and piecing possibilities together to see how scenarios might play out."

Sam's abstract mind palace is also a clever method of illustrating the connection between his memories, his mental state, and the present situation. Unlike the real-world event construction segments, the mind palace segments are much simpler to play through, and mostly amount to just very well dressed-up exposition. They shed light on the present by showing you something relevant from the past. The mind palace rarely gets more involved than that outside of a few minigames and a longer section towards the end. If these were presented in a different way they could have easily felt like padding, but given the clever nature of personifying Sam's abstract thoughts, which is just as thought provoking as it is visually striking, it's hard not to appreciate these sections for what they are.

Walking down intensely reflective platforms as shards of Sam's memories materialize is quite eye-catching when contrasted with the benign, grounded locations of Basswood. Going between the two is an effective tug of war that keeps Twin Mirror interesting. The mind palace, combined with other interesting illustrations of Sam's surprisingly entertaining investigative sections make the gameplay of Twin Mirror a worthy companion to the well-told story.

Twin Mirror is a game that has a lot to say about small towns, mental health, and the value of truth over popularity. It's just a shame it doesn't present those ideas with less technical issues or let them breathe a little more than the short 7-ish hour campaign allows. If you're already a fan of narrative adventure games like this, I'd say you have more reason to check it out than not. But given Dontnod's past work on great titles like Life is Strange and Vampyr, you also wouldn't be wrong for finding Twin Mirror's uneven presentation and smaller scope a little disappointing. That said, it's still a mostly well-told psychological mystery that, despite its flaws, plays well and manages to deliver a story worth experiencing for fans of the genre.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

DOOM Eternal Switch Port Effort Was On "Another Level" Compared To Previous Projects, Says Dev

doom eternal the ancient gods

Earlier this year we got the sequel to 2016's DOOM, the pseudo-reboot of the legendary series, with DOOM Eternal. It came out for most major platforms and was supposed to come out at the same time for the Switch, but was ultimately delayed on that platform. There was a long time of silence on that version of the title, making some wonder if it had been canceled, but it re-emerged as a digital only release that will launch tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see what state it will be in, but whatever it looks like, it seems it was quite the challenge to get there.

Speaking with NintendoEverything, Senior Producer Cody Nicewarner and Lead Engineer Travis Archer at Panic Button, who is handling the Switch port, revealed bringing the title to Nintendo's hybrid has been quite the feat. They compared it to their other Bethesda projects (they've handled all of the previous ones), and said this was on another level and one of the reasons for the lengthy delays was translating the ambitious project.

"When we took on the project we knew that DOOM Eternal was going to be a large undertaking that would require every ounce of experience we had. We've obviously had previous experience working with the idTech engine to bring games like DOOM (2016), Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood to Nintendo Switch. But DOOM Eternal is on another level entirely. Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin have both talked about DOOM Eternal being one of the most ambitious projects in id Software's history, and we couldn't agree more. Faithfully recreating that ambition for Nintendo Switch players took a little extra time. We're confident it will be worth the wait!"

DOOM Eternal did have a lot more going on at an even faster pace than the 2016 title, so it's not hard to see how it could be quite the challenge. We know a little about the Switch version, but we won't get to see it in all its glory until tomorrow, December 8th, on the system so stay tuned. The game is currently available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia.

Monster Hunter Rise Teases Old And New Monsters With Concept Art

Monster Hunter Rise

Next year will once again see people on the hunt with Monster Hunter Rise. The game will once again find the franchise on the go with Nintendo hybrid console, but no matter where you can, or can't, take the games, it's all about one thing: the monsters. It's kind of right there in the title. Since announcing the title earlier this year, Capcom has done a good job teasing various aspects via concept art. Now we have more focused on monsters, new and old.

In a series of concept art pictures we get a look at two familiar faces: Tetranodon and Aknosom. There is also a third monster, one that is a tease for a new monster, but instead of traditional concept art it's Producer Yasunori Ichinose's more…crude rendition. Alongside this, there's also a brief look at the Stinkmink, which ties into all of this as it's used as bait that forces them into attacking you.

Monster Hunter Rise is set to release on Nintendo Switch come March 26th, 2021.

PAX Announces Dates For 2021 Shows, Planned As In-Person Events For Now

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Outside a few exceptions very early in the year, pretty much every major video game conference and convention was canceled this year. Some were just outright axed, while others moved to a digital event of some kind. The Game Awards 2020, for instance, will be the final major gaming event of the year and is all digital from various places. The question now is what 2021 looks like and whether those events will have the chance to take place. Well, one place is trying to be optimistic that they will.

PAX has announced their dates for their next shows coming in 2021. That's PAX West for June 3rd-6th, PAX East September 3rd-6th and PAX Unplugged  December 10th-12th. There's also a PAX Aus, but they are no dates for them at this time. As they mention, for now these are planned to be in-person events but also say it could change depending on where things are at.

Right now there is some optimism with talks of a COVID vaccine, but as we enter the new year, the virus is still ravaging certain parts of the world. America (where all of these events will take place, outside PAX Aus) has really never recovered, various parts of Europe are seeing a second wave and even some parts of Asia are still having issues. Whether we'll be having full in person events next year is anyone's guess, but here's hoping at the very least.

10 Things We Want To See In Starfield

Bethesda Game Studios' space opera open world RPG Starfield – their first new IP in many years – was leaked long before it was officially announced, which means this is a game we've been hearing about and looking forward to for a while now. Given Bethesda's excellent track record with RPGs (barring some recent stumbles), it stands to reason that it's also a game that many are more than a little excited about.

We don't know much about Starfield yet, but as is the case with any major upcoming release, we all have our own wishes and expectations for what we want to see in the game when it releases. In this feature, that's what we'll be talking about.

SEAMLESS OPEN WORLD

Seamless open world games have become an industry standard over the course of the last console generation, to the extent that even wishing for an open world game to have a seamless map seems kind of pointless. Bethesda, however, seem to be stuck in the past in this particular area. Even in their more recent games like Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, exiting and entering buildings or certain towns and cities would take players out of the map and into a loading screen, and that sort of transitioning seems more out of place than ever in contemporary open world games. Bethesda have claimed that their engine has received its biggest ever overhaul for Starfield's development, so hopefully, that will lead to a seamless open world- or at multiple seamless maps that will cut down on load times within themselves, even if the game needs to load while jumping to and from said maps.

MULTIPLE DIFFERENTIATED PLANETS

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Given its sci-fi space opera setting, there are certain things that people are not only expecting from Starfield, but pretty much taking for granted. To be more specific, multiple explorable planets scattered across a large galaxy is something that you'd expect a space opera game to have, and that stands true for Starfield as well. Of course, we've had games such as the original Mass Effect and Mass Effect: Andromeda that have allowed players to travel to several large and explorable open world planets, but hopefully, Starfield will do that better than those two. Crafting immersive and dynamic open worlds is something Bethesda specializes in, and our hope is that they will be able to do that on a larger scale than ever in their next game- so that the multiple planets in Starfield are not only large and interesting, but also varied and meaningfully differentiated from each other.

AN EMERGENT, SYSTEMIC WORLD

skyrim special edition

More and more, open world games have started relying on emergent and systems-driven gameplay loops. While that's not something that's necessarily a new thing in open worlds, it has become much more common of late. Bethesda, of course, has been doing this for a long time, and it's expected that Starfield will continue in that vein. So what exactly are we hoping for in this area? Well, improvements, more than anything else. The systemic worlds of Skyrim and Oblivion were staggering achievements for their times, but as Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 have shown us, that stuff just isn't quite as impressive in a world where deeply emergent games such as Breath of the Wild and Metal Gear Solid 5 exist. Bethesda need to emphasize that systems-driven approach the way they always has, but they also need to up the ante and take it to heights they haven't touched before.

BETTER STORYTELLING AND PRODUCTION VALUES

As far as storytelling is concerned, Bethesda's RPGs always suffer from strange inconsistencies. While they are masters of building expansive, incredibly immersive worlds full of rich lore and history, when it comes to actual plot and active storytelling, their work is far less impressive. Fallout 4 suffered from this issue- hell, even Skyrim, which is one of their best games ever, suffered from this issue. What Starfield needs, then, is to have a better, more engaging story- but more importantly, it needs to tell it well. Bethesda's janky style of storytelling needs to improve. It needs better animations, better voice acting, better production values, more cinematic cutscenes- that sort of thing.

MORE TECHNICAL POLISH

fallout 76 wastelanders

You knew this was coming. It's impossible to talk about the things we want to see in a future Bethesda game and not bring up the technical side of things. It seems like Bethesda's games have suffered from technical jank and issues for as long as they've been around, and though such issues were excusable in games like Oblivion and Skyrim, that sort of stuff just doesn't fly anymore. The likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have shown us that it's entirely possible for games to be massive and still be extremely polished. Bethesda need to play catch up here, and they've got a lot of ground to cover. The litany of technical issues in Fallout 76 was its undoing (well, partly, at least), and Starfield needs to be in a much more polished state even when it launches.

A RETURN TO MORE EMPHASIS ON RPG MECHANICS

As one of the biggest and most prominent developers of hardcore RPGs, Bethesda always have to live up to lofty expectations as far as the core role playing mechanics of their games are concerned, but lately, it seems like they've been falling short of those expectations. Most notably, though they had been trying to streamline their experiences more and more with each new game, with Fallout 4, it seemed like they went a bit too far. Choice and consequence mechanics lacked the sort of depth you expect from games in the genre, dialogue choices were painfully limited, progression elements had been stripped down a bit too much, and other misguided attempts at making the game leaner and meaner resulted in what was, by and large, a disappointing role playing experience. With Starfield, Bethesda need to go back to doing what they do best- creating deep, mechanically dense role playing games. They do still need to appeal to a larger market, so we doubt they'll ever do something like, say, Morrowind ever again, but they could at least go back to the level of Skyrim.

BETTER MELEE COMBAT

skyrim special edition

This is an issue that Bethesda's games have had for a long time. Hell, combat in its entirety tends to be problematic in BGS games, but melee combat in particular is usually far from satisfactory, in both Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. Given Starfield's nature as a space-faring sci-fi game, it's likely that melee combat won't be as much of a focus. Then again, we could always get weapons like laser swords or giant energy hammers- and if that does turn out to be the case, those weapons need to be actually fun to use, which would require a major reworking of how Bethesda usually handles melee combat.

Oh, and speaking of laser swords and energy hammers…

WEAPONS THAT LEVERAGE THE SCI-FI SETTING PROPERLY

Fallout 76 Season 1

There's several reasons to be excited about Starfield's sci-fi setting – and we've spoken about a few of them here already – but one that might potentially impact gameplay in a very direct way is the kind of weapons that setting could pave the way for. Starfield is going to take place in the far future, where interstellar travel is possible, even common, and technology has reached new heights. Often, even in spite of being set against similar backdrops, games tend to take the easy, boring route with weaponry. With Starfield, things will hopefully be different. Having your regular military weapons – your assault rifles, machine guns, semi-automatics, shotguns, and what have you – is fine, but we want more on top of that. We want unique, far-flung weapons that offer something different and bring exciting new things to the table, that truly leverage the game's futuristic setting. Perhaps we could even have weapons in our arsenal that are built completely on alien technology- that certainly sounds like something a Bethesda RPG would do.

SHIP CUSTOMIZATION

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Given all the interstellar travel we'll most likely be doing in Starfield, it's sort of a given that you'll also have your very own spaceship at your disposal. And though it's entirely likely that that's not something the game will put much focus on, we certainly hope that's not the case. Having your own ship that you can upgrade, customize, and expand over the course of the game is something that would add greatly to the experience, and would feel right at home in an RPG, especially one made by Bethesda.

FACTIONS

skyrim special edition

Given Bethesda's history, this one is almost guaranteed to happen. It's more of an expectation than a wish, really. You can pick up any Fallout or The Elder Scrolls game made by BGS, and you'll find a world that is populated by tons of factions with their own unique stories, characters, questlines, and goals. That the same will be true in Starfield isn't something we have any doubts about. Our hope is that how you align yourself (or don't align yourself) with these factions and how their stories play out depending on the choices you make will end up having a tangible, permanent effect on the game's world, and even on the main story. Side quests having a great impact on the main story is something that RPGs have been doing more and more of as time has gone on, and using its factions as the engine to drive to kind of choice and consequence loop would make a lot of sense for Starfield.

Best Racing Games of 2020

The thrill of competition, the rush of high speed, the satisfaction of a hard-earned victory- the racing genre captures and combines some of the best things we love to see in a video game, and 2020 was a solid year for racers. With several games tackling different subsets of the genre and appealing to various crowds, and many of them actually managing to stick the landing, there was no shortage of good racers to dive into this year, and here, we're going to highlight what we feel were the best ones. In this feature, we'll be listing what are our nominees for the best racing game category, before disclosing GamingBolt's winner.

NOTE: The nominees and winner were decided by an internal vote held among the entire GamingBolt staff.

THE NOMINEES:

DIRT 5

Codemasters have long been the masters of the rally racing simulation space, particularly with their DiRT series, but with DiRT 5, they decided to do something little different. Choosing to let DiRT Rally be the subseries to carry that hardboiled style of authenticity forward, with DiRT 5, they went in a much more explosive and arcade-y style than they have with a DiRT game in some time- and the results were excellent. From its meaty career mode to its excellent track creator and editor, from its bombastic weather mechanics to the sheer blissful drivability of its vehicles, DiRT 5 is a game that excels on many fronts. If this indeed is the two-pronged future the DiRT series is headed in, we can't wait for it to take its next steps forward.

TT ISLE OF MAN 2

tt isle of man 2

With the first TT Isle of Man, developers Kylotonn successfully delivered a solid, if uneven, racing simulation game for bike enthusiasts. With its sequel earlier this year, they did what any developer should ideally do with a sequel- build on the strengths of their first outing. TT Isle of Man 2 once again captures the speed and the thrill of the sport with near-perfection. It's a game that makes smart and iterative improvements in a number of areas that all combine to deliver a decidedly better and more balanced experience. Sure, it still feels like it's at odds with itself at times, in terms of its tone and its drive for authenticity, while the game has no shortage of technical issues- but it's a solid sequel that spells exciting things for the series' future.

INERTIAL DRIFT

inertial drift

With most major developers and publishers in the industry having almost entirely stopped making attempts to develop new, high-budget games in the arcade racing genre and instead focus on sims, it has fallen to smaller devs and indies to pick up the slack where the former is concerned. By and large, they've done a solid job, and Level 91 Entertainment's Inertial Drift is yet another example of that. It's a rare example of a game that is built on a unique and exciting concept, and actually manages to do justice to it with good execution. With a focus completely on drifting, a sense of speed that is unmatched in most other games of its kind, tight controls, and a highly stylized visual style, Inertial Drift is, without reservations, one of the best racers we've played in recent years.

NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT REMASTERED

need for speed hot pursuit remastered

Though the Need for Speed franchise has had its ups and downs in recent years, many would argue that it put out some of its best games under Criterion's stewardship. Arguably the best game in the series over the last decade or so got a remaster this year, and though Hot Pursuit Remastered isn't particularly impressive as, well, a remaster, more than anything else it demonstrates the timelessness of this classic. High speed thrills, tons of visual spectacle, exciting chases, and more come together in a racer that adopts a back-to-the-basics approach that we hardly see in AAA racing games anymore. Criterion are back in charge of Need for Speed now, and if they can put out anything that even comes close to Hot Pursuit in terms of quality, there's going to be quite a lot to look forward to.

ART OF RALLY

art of rally

Art of Rally is a game that's slipped under the radar of most people this year. But while its seemingly low-budget style might seem off-putting to some at first glance, it's actually what made this one of the most compelling racing games of the year. Its striking visual aesthetic helps it stand out right off the bat, while it uses its top-down perspective to deliver racing that is simultaneously simplistic, challenging, and all-around engaging. Best of all is how meditative the game feels, thanks to not only its aforementioned visuals, but also its excellent soundtrack. All in all, Art of Rally is truly a hidden gem.

MOTOGP 20

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Italian developers Milestone's love for bikes and motorcycle racing sims is well-known to most who follow this subset of games, and they are, by far, one of the most prolific studios in the industry. MotoGP 20 was of multiple games they've released in 2020, and also one of their more impressive outings in recent years. It builds on its predecessor's depth with new systems and features, it strikes a more rewarding balance between being approachable and being authentic, and it adds more bells and whistles on top to bring about a marked improvement in presentation. It's not the most revolutionary sequel, but games of this kind often tend to be iterative- and if that's what you expect going in, you're in for a good time.

AUTOMOBILISTA 2

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Automobilista 2 wasn't the most high profile release in the racing genre this year – far from it – so you might be forgiven for not knowing what it is. But if you have been lucky enough to play the game, you'll agree that it's one that deserves far, far more attention. It's a game that racing sim purists owe it to themselves to try out, whether that's because of its excellent visuals, its tight driving mechanics, its authentic physics engine, a good collection of classic vehicles, or any number of other strengths. Automobilista 2 still has room for improvement, especially where content is concerned, but even in its current state, it's easy to recommend to enthusiasts.

NASCAR HEAT 5

NASCAR Heat 5

NASCAR Heat has been a pretty inconsistent franchise in the past, but it has, to its credits, made some improvements in recent years. NASCAR Heat 5 continues that trajectory. The game feel here has improved noticeably over the previous game, the sheer number of cars and tracks on offer is hard not to be impressed by, and the game also makes some important quality-of-life improvements. The distinct lack of innovation and the underwhelming visuals and presentation are still disappointing, but hopefully, the next NASCAR Heat game will try and address those issues to deliver a more well-rounded experience.

PROJECT CARS 3

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After delivering two pure, unadulterated simulation experiences with the original two Project CARS games, Slightly Mad Studios veered into new lanes with the third installment in the series, offering an experience that instead tries to offer more of a balance between an arcade style of racing and the pure simulation the series is known for. The results certainly divided fans, but viewed on its own merits, there's little doubt that Project CARS 3 is a really good racer. There's a ton of content, the driving controls like a dream, the production qualities are top notch, and there's an impressive level of customization on offer. Is it the true-blooded Project CARS successor many may have wanted? Perhaps not- but it's still a damn fine game.

PACER

pacer

The anti-grav racing space has been depressingly silent in the absence of F-Zero and WipEout, but even though those two megatons have sort of disappeared off the face of the planet, several indies have stepped up to fill the vacuum. R8 Games' Pacer is another such game, and though it cannot stand toe-to-toe with the aforementioned genre giants, it's more than good enough to whet your appetite for now. It's got that sense of speed and solid track design that is so crucial in games like this, while a wide range of customization options and a consistent rush of adrenaline are also peppered on top to make for a solid if uneven experience.

F1 2020

f1 2020

To anyone who has little more than a passing, casual interest in racing games, Codemasters' F1 series can seem quite daunting, what with its uncompromising focus on authenticity and realism. And surely, that's a fair criticism for the series for a certain sect of the audience- but then again, the very point of these games is to deliver the most grounded and realistic simulation experience they possible can, and F1 2020 does that masterfully. The fundamentals here are as strong as ever, but thanks to upgrades and improvements both big and small, they shine even brighter than in previous years- which is an impressive accomplishment in and of itself.

WRC 9 

wrc 9

Credit where credit is due- developers Kylotonn definitely struggled with their handling of the WRC license for a while there, but as time has gone on, their efforts have progressively grown more impressive. With each new entry, they have been making notable improvements, and WRC 9 not only continues to do that, it delivers what is easily the developer's most well-rounded package to date. It's got really well designed tracks, the driving is more mechanically solid and satisfying than ever, the visuals have been polished to a great degree, and its content offerings are hard not to be pleased with. As opposed to its predecessor, it's an iterative upgrade rather than a major leap forward, but several improvements come together to make WRC 9 the best WRC game in years.

HOTSHOT RACING

hotshot racing

If nothing else, Hotshot Racing deserves points for uniqueness, and how it boldly breaks from the genericism and traditional approach that so many racing games take these days. But as good as its low-poly visual style is, there is thankfully a lot more to like here as well. Hotshot Racing is a classic old-school experience that will surely appeal to anyone who yearns for the simplistic high-speed racers of the good old days, and it constantly tickles your nostalgia bone. It does lean on that strength a bit too heavily at times – often at the expense of other things – but its pros easily outweigh its cons.

MARIO KART LIVE: HOME CIRCUIT

Mario Kart Live Home Circuit

Speaking of uniqueness- who would have expected that Nintendo would release a new Mario Kart game for the Switch this year, and that it would be… whatever the heck Mario Kart Live is? One of several games released in quick succession to celebrate Mario's 35th anniversary, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit isn't the next mainline game in the series we've all been waiting for, but it's still a solid stopgap, one that offers something not a lot of other racers do. It combines actual RC karts with AR gaming in a way that is unique on paper, and actually really well executed in practice- and that combination in and of itself deserves a lot of props.

RIDE 4

ride 4

We spoke earlier about how prolific of a developer Milestone is, and that, combined with the fact that they're quite consistent with their output as far as quality means that it shouldn't be much of a surprise to see two of their games being mentioned here. 2018's RIDE 3 was an impressive game, and a solid improvement over its predecessor, and the very same can be said about RIDE 4 as well. Absolutely brimming with customization options and driveable bikes and with a solid selection of modes and tracks to dive into, RIDE 4 is certainly not lacking in content, while several small but smart improvements and some larger ones also work to make this a much more fleshed-out experience than its predecessor. It may not be a game for everyone, but for those who have an interest in the motorsport, RIDE 4 is irresistible.

WINNER:

F1 2020

f1 2020

If there's one annual franchise that keeps on improving upon itself year over year and hardly seems to take any wrong steps, it has to be F1. Every year, Codemasters put out a new F1 game that seems like the pinnacle of its genre, but time and again they keep touching even greater heights. F1 2020 is, in no vague terms, a stellar game. It improves upon its already excellent predecessor in several meaningful ways, thanks to a combination of iterative upgrades and major new additions, while its production qualities have honestly never been more impressive either. Like with every F1 game, it's hard to imagine how Codemasters will top F1 2020 with their next game- but as is the case almost every year, we wouldn't be surprised if they manage to do just that once again.