Reviews / 29 June 2023

Review: Circuit Superstars

I have very fond memories of playing Micro Machines V3 on the PS1 with my brother when I was a child, and since then I have really enjoyed and loved this type of racing game. Circuit Superstars feels like a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of racing games in the same style, and I feel that it does an amazing job of bringing top down racing to modern day consoles.

Circuit Superstars is a top-down racer built by racing fans, for racing fans. Celebrating generations of racing, focusing on driving that feels great – but with a high skill ceiling, that will have players spending hours honing their perfect lap.

Circuit Superstars is a simple game in theory as all you have to do is accelerate, brake, and steer. However, this is not an easy game to master. This may be off putting for casual racing fans but people who enjoy a challenge and honing their skills are sure to really enjoy it.

The games aesthetics are lovely with cute chibi styled models and music which features plenty of upbeat tunes that match the graphics and vibes wonderfully. There is also customisation options where you can edit the cars and the drivers, giving you some freedom to change things as you would like.

Talking about the cars, there are a huge variety of vehicles that you get to use. Each vehicle controls very differently from each other and can suit different tracks better such as rally cars and Formula 1 racing cars. There is also an excellent assortment of challenging tracks to try out and master too.

When it comes to content, Circuit Superstars keeps it simple by offering the standard assortment of single player modes that can also be played with up to 4 players locally, and there is also online multiplayer.

So, how does Circuit Superstars feel on the Nintendo Switch? Honestly, it plays very well. The game runs smoothly both in handheld mode and while playing on a TV in docked mode and I personally did not notice any gameplay stuttering or any distorted visuals from playing on a console that isn’t as powerful as a Playstation or Xbox.

Overall, Circuit Superstars is a game that oozes with love and passion from the developers. There is so much to do, and whether you are playing alone or with friends, there is plenty of value. The variety in cars give players a chance to try different racing styles, and the learning curve can feel satisfying when it clicks. The game feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch console and is definitely worth checking out if you are into the top down racing genre.

I played Circuit Superstars on Nintendo Switch with a review copy. Thank you to the dev team over at Original Fire Games for the review copy. The game is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox and PC.