It’s called Horizon but it’s neither the glamorous festivals in Forza, nor Sony’s gorgeous open world action adventure. It’s the sequel to the retro-style racer Horizon Chase Turbo, initially an Apple Arcade exclusive and now finally landing on other platforms too – including Xbox. Let’s check out Horizon Chase 2, shall we?
It’s like a Passing Breeze
The aforementioned Horizon Chase Turbo was an interesting game. Somewhere between classics like Pole Position and OutRun, it offered a 3D racing experience, yet with a distinctly old school feel. With the car feeling very much on rails, the players mainly had to ensure that they stick to the most optimal side of the track to avoid other cars and to stay on the asphalt, rarely applying brakes as the wide turns and easy controls ensured a pretty approachable experience for anybody. The objective of the races, too, was something out of an arcade game from the 90’s at best: in short, 3 lap or so races, start from the back of the field and climb up all the way into the lead. But with more modern (yet still intentionally retro-themed) visuals, it felt like a best of both worlds, combining arcade memories with newer sensibilities.
I’ll be honest, I’ve found that game to be a little bland at times, with rather repetitive races and with track designs that rarely offered much challenge. Don’t get me wrong, the game was fun, but I didn’t feel like it did much to inject fresh blood into the already crowded space of retro indie racers. Fast forward to late 2021, when a surprisingly amazing Senna-themed DLC vastly evolved the game’s style and formula, not only making the gameplay stand out more from its peers, but also throwing in an emotional and cool story, alongside a vastly improved visual variety and more. And then, in 2022, a proper sequel called Horizon Chase 2 appeared, first as an Apple device exclusive, then an Epic Games Store title on PC, and finally on our consoles as well.
The classic “bigger and better” approach
This numerical sequel takes everything that worked in the first game’s formula and just… improves upon it nicely. The handling feels snappier and more satisfying, with the actual track designs that no longer feel as flat and repetitive as they did in the first game – a lot more uphill and downhill segments, more varied turn shapes and so forth. Visually, too, the game takes the international approach of the Senna Forever DLC from the first game: Horizon Chase 2 brings us through festive streets in Brazil, the history in motion that is driving hillside Italian roads, or a just good old trip to the Americas for some… cruisin’ USA.
In some ways, the game formula has even been simplified – in fact, the entire fuel management aspect has been removed. Yet, the intensity of the races doesn’t really faulter, because as said the tracks are visually captivating and much more diverse in terms of geometry. Indeed, the usual arcade formula of starting last and having to catch up all the way to the lead in mere 2 or 3 minutes makes each race feel a crazy rush – crashing into walls or opponents negates important seconds that are sometimes needed to overtake the last elusive car.
Upgrading through and through
The game’s campaign doesn’t waste players’ time with a story, it just makes them run through the aforementioned biomes in a series of increasingly tough challenges. Most of the time it’s simple races through various biomes, with increasingly convoluted and difficult tracks, in either simple races starting from the back or time trials. Before long, the difficulty pretty much imposes the player to become familiar with new cars and their upgrades, as each vehicle presents all kinds of linear performance boosts that can be bought. Some of the later time trials are, quite simply, impossible to compete in with an unoptimal car, so get upgrading! On the flipside, the game isn’t too deep on visual customization, with only a few colour and skin options available for each car plus a solid selection of rims. Still, each skin looks pretty good, and there’s even an exclusive Xbox-themed decal if you play on Microsoft consoles.
Much like in the first game, pretty much whichever mode you play, tracks are littered with useful collectibles. These can range from simple tokens that can then be spent on car upgrades, all the way down to entire turbo boosts or segments of one, which then need to put together to gain yet another bar of boost. These happen with the press of a simple button and give a ludicrous speed boost, so it’s up to the player to individuate where’s the optimal place to do it. In time trial events, there’s even segments of the road that give said boost, so it’s better not to waste one of the limited consumables right there, as players usually get somewhere between 3 and 6 in total every race.
My house, my rules
The game’s campaign isn’t enough for you? Don’t fret, because there’s plenty of other things to do. Horizon Chase 2 offers a brand new tournament mode, akin to Mario Kart’s 4-race cups to be clear, in 3 different difficulties. There’s free races with even local multiplayer up to 4 people. And, in a franchise first, there’s finally online multiplayer in the mix, too! It’s a surprisingly well-made and interesting multiplayer suite as well, with matchmaking crossing every continent and platform (full crossplay, yay!), and even special challenges with modifiers to boot, such as finishing an event with the best time and using at least 8 nitro boosts.
Horizon Chase 2 is also an absolute stunner of a game, visually speaking. I mean, it’s not a terribly advanced game from a technical point of view, with intentionally low-poly models, but everything about it just feels so stunning. High resolution, stable and high framerate (only 60fps on Xbox Series X, no 120hz support), beautiful lights shining through in the many colourful stages, rendering everything so vibrant. Driving on a dam with the bright sun lighting up every piece of glass renders the place so vivid, so alive, and it’s generally a very spectacular game – much more so than the previous episode.
Old school doesn’t mean outdated
Horizon Chase 2 is a brilliant sequel to an already fun retro-themed racer. Gorgeous visuals, much-improved track designs, better handling, a more interesting progression and even a brand new online mode with cross-play to boot. It may lack the cinematic story presentation of the first game’s Senna Forever DLC, but other than that, this sequel is the best the series has ever been, and it’s a pretty much essential buy for fans of old school racers.
Horizon Chase 2
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Gorgeous retro graphics with a modern touch
- Brilliant gameplay loop
- Plenty of content
- Online play is a blast and there's even cross-play
CONS
- Not terribly varied
- Campaign could have dared more
