hmmmmm... something's off...... i don't know........ whats goin on here.... somethin aint right.... something's going on...... hmmm.... somethin just aint right..... i don't know..... there's some funny business i think....... whats goin on here...... somethin aint right........... something's going on........ somethin just aint right....... i think there's something funny goin on.... hmmm................ somethin aint right............. what's goin on here........ hmmm.................. something's off...................

Look, this game came out in 1984 so the chances of it being a deep and realistic racing simulation are exactly nil. But it still manages to deliver a cool experience!

There's a deceptive amount of skill to be put to the test here, from leaning backwards to avoid tumbling over speedbumps, to tilting your bike in the air to maintain speed when you land, and multitasking to make sure your engine doesn't overheat. And while the game's rudimentary physics aren't the most satisfying, it still manages to be a very compelling "chaos simulator" thanks to the sheer amount of stuff happening onscreen at once, with the wack collision physics meaning that at least one racer is taking a spill at any given time. The difference between winning and losing spectacularly is often mercurial and seemingly down to blind luck, yet losing is... still kinda fun actually!

The game's structure embraces this emphasis on fun - you can select any track to race on at any time, with no content walled behind any arbitrary skill checks! And you can design your own tracks, as seriously or as terribly as you want!

If you play this game trying to win it you'll probably end up frustrated (I could never finish the 5th level myself). But if you treat it as a fun little playground, it's pretty good!

"I'm surprised I still have tears after all this time. Well. I'll just stand here and cry for a while. Tears are good. I'll calm down and go on."

a severe downgrade from the developer's previous I live under your house., My Monstrous Roommate. illustrates living with an obvious metaphor for mental illness. for a bit of praise, SpoocleMacBoogle really has a talent for constructing an amazing atmosphere across their titles, with the diverse environments present in this particular title utilising simple proximity sound cues, noise or dithering visual filters, and slow walking speed within sparse 3d realms to truly simulate dreamscapes full of dread. there is little reliance on jumpscares across the board, highlighting the strange occurrences during sleep.

that aside, the elephant in the room present when playing their titles is the use of AI renders as illustrations or CGs. as stated in a small tweet thread, Spoocle notes the strange imperfections in "machine art" that are perfect for horror games, and that funds for hiring a creative are understandably limited. most notable however, is that they believe a real artist would not achieve the same quality or effect as the generated images, before waxing poetic about the future of neural networks and how they are supposedly the first to ever create games utilising them, scrambling to mention at least they compose the music.

as a visual artist myself this was quite disappointing. it's true it was the visual aesthetics and creature design which initially drew me to their titles, but Spoocle clearly displays a fantastic skill for crafting an atmosphere, 3d modelling, and map design. i simply wish they would trust someone to match their pace, and can only hope they will consider compensating the artists their neural networks stand upon sometime, or at least post an open call for freelance horror illustrators in future projects.