Hot Lap Racing Review | Nintendo Switch

For a good long while now, Nintendo has not had a simulation-type racing game that is exclusive to their system like Xbox and Playstation do. Xbox has Forza and PlayStation has Gran Tourismo—both of which are excellent racing franchises in their own right. While yes, the competitors have no answer to Nintendo’s Mario Kart.

There is nothing like it out there, but that is a couch-friendly arcade game, and there has been a gap in the racing simulation market for the Nintendo Switch for a while now. Enter Zero Games Studio’s Hot Lap Racing which aims to fill that hole in the hybrid home console. It claims to bring Nintendo Switch owners a “simcade” racing experience.

 

Zero Games Studio is an indie game studio based in France and they have made a diverse selection of games in the past. It is commendable to see an indie studio make a racing game when the scene is filled with big leagues like Polyphony Digital, Codemasters, and Playground Games.

In the past, they have made Classic Racers Elite, which appears to be like Hot Lap Racing, but on a smaller scale. This is to say, though, that Hot Lap Racing isn’t this studio’s only racing game and they have some experience under their belt.

Hot Lap Racing lets you play Formula 1, Classic Hatches, and GT Supercars in races—it seems like Gran Tourismo and F1 in one package, but before you do these fun races, you must go through the in-game tutorial to get your license to play the Career mode. Tutorials are always appreciated, but this one was frustrating to get through. It seemed like what Hot Lap Racing asks from you is too specific and the directions are unclear.

The tutorial puts you on a racetrack that has gates you must pass through and you must follow the specific instructions above it. This is okay, but the gates themselves are inconsistent. You must turn and accelerate at their respective gates as soon as you reach them, but you must brake a ways back before you reach the brake gate. Plus, having just the tip of your car go past the gate means you failed that specific gate.

From the perspective of the player, this can be frustrating. Not only is this keeping me from taking part in the real races, but it also doesn’t do its job well. It doesn’t create a good first impression if the tutorial is a slog to get through.

 

Plus, the Nintendo Switch lacks analog triggers meaning that you don’t have the same level of granular control in your braking and acceleration. The tutorial could be revised by making the action gates more consistent or changing the way the brake gate appears so players are appropriately prompted to brake before reaching the gate instead of letting them find out by messing it up.

For the races themselves, though, you are pitted against several other cars, and the controls are your usual: ZR to accelerate, ZL to brake, and you have the option to shift gears up and down with the A and B buttons, but you don’t really have to pay attention to that from my experience. The car handling is solid, and when you accelerate, the feeling of speed is conveyed decently well by the camerawork.

Your races in Hot Lap Racing are rated based on your position and whether you incurred any penalties during it. Things like hitting other cars will decrease your rating. Also, you build up your reputation in Career mode by winning races and whatnot.

The problem with this is the AI. The opponent cars seem to be stuck by rails to the road and nothing you do seems to affect them. It’s like the cars don’t even acknowledge that there is another car nearby, trying to overtake them. When you try to do an overtake, oftentimes you will be hit by them and you will get a penalty and you will have almost no opportunity to retaliate. And this usually ends up messing up your race so badly that you can forget about trying to recover entirely.

The most simulation-like parts of Hot Lap Racing are the academy tutorials and racing class setup, as there’s no tire or fuel management, car damage, or pitting—elements that a game like GRiD Autosport includes, so the game is entirely about racing.

 

To add some variety between the main Career races and championships, there are little side challenges to mix things up. You can unlock new cars by doing these mini-games. It’s actually a nice break from the main grind and a fun way to try out new cars.

You have a solid selection of cars to pick from in Hot Lap Racing. There are several classes like Formula 1, Classic Hatches, GT, and Supercars. One thing to note, though, is that only about half of the cars here have officially licensed names, while the others have odd made-up names. This is understandable as this is an indie studio and perhaps, they have had some issues with licensing.

You have some modern cars as well as some historic additions, which is a sign that Zero Games Studios is passionate about cars and racing, however, I am not well-versed enough in the history of cars to give this the appreciation it deserves. It features the Alpine A110 GT4, Renault Megane Trophy V6, and Alfa Romeo 155 DTM to name a few.

The cars themselves handle decently well. Some feel a little floaty though. There is some variety in the way each car handles. You have a limited range of motion with the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons, but it was largely manageable. If you have the option to use the Pro controller, I highly recommend using it, as it makes the driving feel a lot better.

Visually, Hot Lap Racing looks impressive considering the aging hardware of the Nintendo Switch. Realism doesn’t seem like the goal here as the game looks rather arcady which isn’t a bad thing by any means. You have over 17 tracks to choose from that have some good variety and over 70 layouts of those tracks are available.

 

The performance in Hot Lap Racing is not great. The framerate can range from 18-25 FPS at times, meaning it can appear very choppy. The Nintendo Switch is rarely able to keep a consistent 30FPS, and it is bad enough that it affects your experience quite significantly.

There already are some visually stunning games here like GRID Autosport and Burnout Paradise Remastered from the racing category, so it may be possible to fix this through updates. But as it stands, the current performance on the Switch is hard to tolerate, to say the least.

On the bright side, the music in Hot Lap Racing is excellent. It is a mix of electro-pop, heavy metal, and electric guitar, reminiscent of Joe Satriani. While the music enhances the racing vibe, the car engine noises, and tire screeches could use more depth and often sound a bit off. The whirrs of engines can sound a bit muffled. I suspect this is an issue of audio compression, as there are game size limitations on the Switch.

Hot Lap Racing is a commendable effort from Zero Games Studio, bringing a solid racing experience to the Nintendo Switch. Considering the fact that there aren’t many racing titles available for the Switch, Hot Lap Racing presents itself as a solid option for those looking for something closer to a simulation-like experience.

 

Despite its flaws, like performance issues, problematic AI, and a clunky tutorial system, the game shows promise. The developers are clearly passionate about motorsports, and with some updates and fine-tuning, Hot Lap Racing could become a top-tier racing title on the Switch and it is a respectable title created by an indie game studio. For dedicated racing fans, it's worth checking out, but be ready for some bumps along the way.
 

Ahnaf Tajwar,
Editor, NoobFeed