In 1986, the one of the most influential racing games on the planet, Out Run, hit the arcades hard. By the time it came to home consoles two years later, it had become among the most critically acclaimed games in the world.
Over the next several decades, racing games have evolved in look and in mechanical depth, yet no racing game can escape is genetic connection to Out Run. Every racing game made since is less than six degrees from Out Run, but it?s been a pretty long time since there has been a console game developed to pay as close an homage to the source material as Horizon Chase Turbo does.
The Revival
The original Horizon Chase debuted on mobile screens in 2015, bringing that ?Sega-core? rally racing nostalgia to small screens in a big way. It was a small game, and it cleverly navigated the constraints of iOS and Android-based phones. But there is no replacement for buttons or wheels when it comes to racing games. Seeing Horizon Chase go Turbo is promising then. The vision gets to be fully realized in high def, at higher frame rates, and with a higher level of control. But even as the package has expanded in scope, much of the expansion is surface level and samey. It’s great for everyone looking for a modern update of the game they grew up on. It may disappoint anyone hoping that this could be the first step in an evolution of the old genre.

Every Horizon race begins the same way, with a tense countdown where you and a varying field of opponents threaten each ...