Race pocket toy cars on bite-sized tracks in Mini Motor Racing X.  The strength of this game is its versatility and many ways to play and view the action.  It’s available on Switch, PS4, and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

When you first start the game, you’ll notice the tracks are shown in a top down view, and you race by steering left and right, similar to an RC car.  It’s very similar to other top down racers like Super Sprint, Micro Machines, or Super Off-Road.  But what if you don’t like the controls in these types of games, or the style itself?  Well you can always change it in one of two ways.  In the options screen you can change the controls so you point in the direction where you want to go.  OR you can just change the camera angles to one of several other options, including behind the car or in the cockpit, making it more like a traditional arcade racer.  Steer with the left stick and brake and gas with the L and R triggers.  Use the face buttons to switch camera angles, use nitro, or launch items.

I also really like the car aesthetics in this game.  The vehicles look like short, squatty toy cars, and remind me of the Penny Racers/Choro Q toys from a long time ago.  They also made games based on that license a long time ago, too, and this game makes me think of those as well.  Anyone remember Road Trip Adventure on PS2?  That was a Choro Q game and the perfect definition of a hidden gem.  Anyway, if you like those games, you should check out this one for the cars alone.  My favorite is the Fruit Ninja car!  I also really like the alternate paint jobs you can give some of the other racers.  For instance, there’s one van that you can make to look like the Mystery Machine, among others.

There are tons of modes and ways to play, too.  The main one is Career Mode.  Here you can race on tons of tracks and when you win, you earn money you can use to upgrade your cars.  Upgradable stats include steering, how much nitro you can hold, acceleration, and top speed.  You can choose to race in traditional events where you can only use nitro, or try the X mode where you can use Mario Kart style items on the other racers.  In both modes you can pick up extra nitro and cash, though.

There’s also a Co-Op mode where you can work together in Career with another player.  Or compete with up to three others in a four player split screen race locally.  You can also do a quick race or compete in other events in Arcade Mode.  In this mode you can do time trials or customize your own race rules.  There is also a Bumper Ball mode where you play soccer with the cars.  Rocket League this ain’t, but it’s still fun.  Another mode is Micro Motor, where you can race on the tracks with cars half the size.  It just makes the tracks look a little bigger, but otherwise, nothing special.  I think you can also play most of the modes online, too, but since I played this game before it actually came out, I didn’t get to test that out properly.

I really only had a couple of minor problems with this game.  One, the CPU racers tend to bunch up, so it can be really easy to lose place or you can have a tough time passing them.  You can change from Normal to Easy difficulties, but the problem still persists sometimes.  Plus the controls felt a little squirrely at times.  But otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised with this game and it turned out way better than I thought it would be.  It has a wealth of play style options and modes, plus tons of small SNES Mario Kart style tracks.  Great for playing in short bursts.

Kid Factor:

You can fire missiles, landmines, and other weapons at cars, but they just spin around for a second when hit, and that’s about as violent as it gets.  Reading skill is helpful, but not necessary just to play.  Selectable difficulty levels mean most players of all skills can enjoy it.  Mini Motor Racing X is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews