Horizon Chase 2 goes full throttle to make us fall in love all over again with retro-style arcade racing. The title, which has undergone a graphic facelift, introduces novelties in the saga to enrich the experience, although it follows a line very similar to that seen in Horizon Chase and Horizon Chase Turbo. The game is now available on Apple Arcade and I’ll tell you in this review what I thought.

Back in 2015, the Brazilian studio Aquiris Game Studio launched Horizon Chase on mobile. The video game paid homage to the arcade driving games that had given us so much joy in the past, with titles like the well-known Out Run or Lotus Turbo Challenge. In 2018, the studio released the version for consoles and PC, Horizon Chase Turbo , which we told you about in 3DJuegos in another analysis, in which Jesús Bella highlighted precisely that the video game was a spiritual successor to those classics .

 

Analysis of Horizon Chase 2 Videogame

Both versions were updated over time, until they had a huge amount of content that provided for dozens of hours of entertainment. A few days ago, totally by surprise, the studio announced that we would have a sequel: Horizon Chase 2 is a reality and it is already with us. The game has just been released on Apple Arcade , but in 2023 it will come to consoles and PC . After a few hours with him, there are many things to discuss. And one of them is that Aquiris has made some very obvious changes (graphics, for example), but he has managed to keep the essencethat made the original a real vice, despite the fact that it could become repetitive. The novelties of this sequel are sufficient, although conservative, and the title once again has a very well adjusted difficulty if you seek to complete it 100%. That said, although I was perhaps expecting a deeper twist and it is quite continuous , the reality is that the game has hooked me again .

 

Speed, fun and continuity

 

Horizon Chase 2’s proposal is simple and has not changed: you have to complete all the challenges that lie ahead in the form of races, tournaments or challenges , manage to unlock all the cars and try to get 100% in each of the tests, although this time we also add the challenges of the multiplayer mode , the main novelty of this sequel.

There is no story here, the motivation is simple and direct: run for fun . And, without a doubt, the game complies with it, but it is still a video game that not everyone will appreciate equally, since the concept is based on the arcade classics. For this reason, driving is very simple: accelerate to the limit, turn when there is a curve without worrying about braking and overtake all the rivals before the race is over. Even so, I have appreciated some changes in handling .

In the game, as in the original, each vehicle has different statistics , such as acceleration or handling. A priori, when you start playing, you think that these stats are for decoration, but when the tests increase in difficulty and you seek to complete them 100%, you realize that they really do affect you. In fact, I have felt that in the 2 there are adjustments in the driving.

The normal thing when making a curve in Horizon Chase 2 is to skid, but I have noticed that in this sequel the loss of speed by maintaining that skid for many meters is greater . This means that if you really want to win the tests and complete them, you have to be more careful in your driving. It is more important than ever to take your foot off the accelerator when making a tight corner (braking, as I said, does not brake) and prevent the car from skidding too much.

It is a subtle change, because already in the original you had to be careful with taking the curves, but it does influence the gameplay. And I liked it , because it forces you to be more perfectionist in handling. You can get out of a tight curve by accelerating to the max and skidding, but if you decide to hold it a little longer than necessary, you will see that your car does not pick up the speed it should.

As for the vehicles, we can now customize them much more, both visually and in terms of performance . On the aesthetic issue, we have the possibility of painting our vehicles with a greater variety of designs, but we can also change the bodywork with different tunings (default, yes) and modify the rims. Performance-wise, upgrades are now unique to each car, allowing us to create the ultimate machine by upgrading in the right areas. The modifications, whatever their type, are bought with money that we get by completing tests.

In terms of content, there are fewer vehicles (albeit new and very cool), countries and tests than the original has ended up having in all its versions, and someone who comes from playing them in recent times may have the feeling that there is little contents. I don’t think it’s like that, mind you, because it has a good amount and lasts for many hours , especially if you want to be a completist, which I think is the main grace of the title. By the way, the studio has confirmed to me that they will be adding content in the future to keep it alive, just like the original. Anyway, there is news, with point-to-point tests, circuits with various paths and new tests, such as one in which you have to break boxes in a time limit. We also have the challenge of collecting all the blue coins in most of the tests.

For the rest, it is true that the races are once again a kind of obstacle course , in which it is sometimes very frustrating to crash into your rivals, which can make you lose positions or even take you off the track. Really, although sometimes it annoys, I think that is part of the charm of this title and what it intends to reflect. Even so, what has been said, those moments of rage and anger against the machine for going crazy are present again. What is clear is that the game can be repetitive again, although it will depend a lot on each player. In my case, I enjoy it tremendously.

 

Multiplayer as a novelty

 

Horizon Chase 2 has introduced online multiplayer with multiple players, both competitive and cooperative. In the first section, located in the Game Zone game mode, we are invited to compete against other racing enthusiasts, but the mode has not convinced me at all, disappointing me for how little it offers.

In the Game Zone, every several hours, we can access a different test in which we join other players to compete, although most of the rivals are controlled by the AI. After finishing the test, we can get special tickets to exchange for a kind of battle pass (totally free, mind you) and other rewards, such as in-game money.

This mode has been very short for me , to the point that it does not seem too worked at the exit of the title. It lacks a lot of content and cries out to motivate players more, because it is very difficult to find the reason to jump into it. And it’s a shame, mainly because it has been used as a great claim, when the reality is that today no one will stay for this.

As for cooperative multiplayer, we can join other players to pass the tests . This was already in the original, but in offline mode, something that is precisely not here. Of course, the studio has confirmed to me that local multiplayer will come in the future, so I hope it will be there when it launches on PC and consoles. But for now, forget about playing locally with friends. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people, who will be playing on iPhone, but Mac or iPad users might take advantage of the option.

 

New graphics, same essence

 

Horizon Chase drew a lot of attention for its totally retro graphics, reminiscent of those classic games of the genre. Certainly, the video game was very beautiful, but the style had its buts. For example, in night tests, the speed of the game can even bother the eye. In this sequel, Aquiris has managed to change the style without losing the essence , something admirable. Even so, it gives me the impression that they wanted to get away a little from the retro in the artistic section.

The game has become fully 3D , but the beauty and richness of the settings is even more surprising than in the first installment. The graphic change is remarkable, but at the same time it makes you feel at home, probably because the title has not opted for a realistic style, but rather more defined and with a slightly cartoon touch. The settings are spectacular and leave precious prints, with situations in which sandstorms, rain or even changes in day cycles appear, with transitions from day to night.

What should be noted is that the control complies perfectly, following the line of the first title. It is something that is appreciated, since the title sometimes needs more precision than it seems. I have played it on iPhone and I can tell you that the touch control is very good, but that you can also enjoy it with a controller without any problem. I have played most hours with my Xbox Series X controller, connected via bluetooth, and the compatibility is total. As a final note, the game has crashed on me once when I was playing with the controller. The studio asked me about it, because I reported the bugs, and I know they’re looking at it.