22 Racing Series Is a Different Kind of Arcade Experience, But One That Needs Improvements

Announced about three years ago by Melbourne-based GOATi Entertainment, 22 Racing Series (22RS for short) has recently become available as an Early Access title on Steam. In the developer’s own words, the game is described as “real-time strategy racing,” with the action taking place on futuristic tracks that – spoiler alert – are a little different from what you’d see at Silverstone or Yas Marina.

The tubular, sweeping circuits can only be described as insane, but the cars you'll be given are equally wild. Employing various power-ups, mid-race upgrades, and some good old DRS, these things can hit speeds in excess of 1000 kph (621 mph) and make the Koenigsegg Jesko seem rather tame. Needless to say, realism isn’t even an afterthought here.

One may pick between five different race modes, which require you to strategically apply modifications and vehicle abilities on the fly. Multiplayer is also available, along with car tuning, custom track creation, and several tutorials to familiarize you with the videogame’s physics and controls. According to GOATi’s description, 22 Racing Series is basically a mash-up of Gran Turismo, Wipeout, Starcraft, and Monopoly. Confused? Right, so are we.

We're left with mixed feelings after trying out the Early Access version of 22RS but will refrain from judging it too harshly since it isn't yet a full release. Look, the game does aim toward a fun concept and may eventually appeal to the younger audience that it seems to be targeting. However, calling it unpolished at this moment in time would be a gross understatement.

The cars' handling characteristics are quirky, the graphics look stale, and the gameplay itself can get boring very quickly. Physics leaves a lot to be desired as well, while the overall audio experience is likely to give you a headache within your first hour of playing. If development progresses as it should, GOATi Entertainment will probably address most of these issues before the full game is released.

Alas, future updates may go a long way in refining the whole package, yet they’re unlikely to do any good for the game’s main inherent flaw. Even though it’s nice to see that 22 Racing Series is attempting to establish a sort of new genre, there’s just way too much happening all at once.

I mean, you hold the right trigger on your controller to accelerate and press a certain button for DRS, but there are also a couple of different boost modes actuated by two other buttons. Besides this, one must take care of mid-race upgrades via the D-pad, use both sticks to reposition the car when airborne and make sure they’re on the right part of the track before a jump or an open section.

Furthermore, you can do a flip by pressing the right stick and moving the left one to choose the desired direction. Some of you might read this and think it sounds like an absolute blast, but we still prefer a more traditional racing experience with at least a single teeny droplet of realism.

Conclusion:

In any case, GOATi will continue to improve 22RS over time, so it should be worth keeping an eye on if you’re into arcade racers and want something unique. Kids may be particularly intrigued by this game once it reaches its final form, though we doubt it’ll have an easy time finding its niche.

22 Racing Series is currently priced at $25 on Steam, and that’s quite a lot considering what it offers at this early stage. In all fairness, we really can’t say spending 25 bucks on this thing is a bargain because there are many great titles you could buy with that cash instead. Perhaps it’ll evolve into a worthwhile option in the coming months, though – who knows?