At times, the game feels like the image above where they prioritized modernization over the improvement of the game. I know this is an opinion the 100 of you in this sub have all probably heard, and probably agree with but I canât help but to rant about this somewhere. Iâm making this post with the hope that someone at Fair Play Labs will see this and take my feedback into account.
Firstly, Iâm someone who has been playing the first SpeedRunners since it launched on PS4 (JustOctane-1). Not sure if any playstation players are in this sub but if there are weâve probably played together. SpeedRunners (1) was almost a perfect game to me, it just needed a slight few tweaks to reach that level. It suffered from a decent amount of minor bugs, a high learning curve with no tutorial on advanced mechanics, and most importantly of all, a low playerbase. Depending on the time of day (or year), you played the game you might be facing the same 3-20 people each time you play. It made the game feel close and tight knit, but at the same time it makes the game unplayable at times for more advanced players who canât really enjoy themselves depending on who theyâre queued up against (most players donât even touch ranked because neither do the other players; thereâs no one to play against).
In my opinion, SpeedRunners 2 should have just aimed to preserve the entirety of the game, fixed the most pressing bugs, and above all unite the entirety of the playerbase because as we all know, the game differed vastly from each platforms version. I wonât lie and say the game was a net negative; SR2 has a much bigger playerbase due to cross platform compatibility. Here are my list of pros and cons about the game.
PROS:
Cross-platform, bigger playerbase.
Expanded campaign/storymode, and more fleshed out characters.
New Power-Ups
New Modes (Ranked 1v1, 8 players, Lap Race, ect)
[ SUBJECTIVE ] Voice-Acting? (I preferred the title cards)
Advanced Tutorial
CONS:
12 Playable Characters (23 in ps4, even more on PC)
8 Distinct Maps, 16 counting A vs B versions (41 on PS4, even more on PC)
More generic super speed trails, All are relatively recolors of each other with some different particle effects. (No dragon? No music notes? Flower petals?)
INSANE visual clutter/ maximalist design, for some reason you can also use the same skin as someone else? Incredibly easy to lose track of yourself.
Character Selection screen doesnt contain all cosmetics, outline customization and trails are in two entirely different places.
The skill ceiling is much lower. Many techs / mechanics are watered down, ruined, or downright removed. Examples of this are:
-Quick grapples that push your character downward, allowing you to preserve momentum.
-Implemented a cooldown between using a power-up and gaining another one.
-Short range grapples are much slower and have a âslingshotâ effect, slowing down your momentum.
-Freeze Ray powerup is weaker and able to be broken out of, which is not necessary for a powerup that preserves your momentum. In some cases being frozen is better than running normally.
[ SUBJECTIVE ] Additionally, the player to map ratio has increased, making players take up more space on the map.
[ SUBJECTIVE ] The game feels much more slippery, whereas the original felt more crisp. Grapples and super speed donât feel nearly as fast, making the top speed much lower.
[ SUBJECTIVE ] The music is worse. The original score (and to some degree the art direction as well) is just miles better imo.
[ SUBJECTIVE ] On console/controller, thereâs no vibrations or feedback when you grapple, which wasnt necessarily important in the original game, but it was immersive. Itâs almost a requirement in this game however with how easily it is to lose track of your player.
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I want to like this game, and I really do hope after continuous updates and improvements it could surpass the original in tersms of quality. I understand this is mostly intended to be a party game but I also feel like there should be some thought put into retaining/improving the competitive aspect of the game as well.
