Sigh. Tell you what, I miss Blur. Activision and Bizarre Creations made an ideal arcade racer that combined fast-paced tactics with Mario Kart-esque weapons. The end result was a triumph, one that unfortunately failed to generate enough interest for a sequel. That said, it is nice to see developers try their own take on the formula, as Gunpowder Games and Focuspoint Studios do with Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights. I just wish the end result was as polished as that previous generation effort.
The game’s concept is simple. You partake in several exciting races across slickly designed tracks, using weapons and boost pads in an effort to get ahead. It’s not rocket science. (Although your car does go as fast as a rocket at times.) There are some good ideas here, just as there was with the game’s conception a little while back.
But…something’s off. And that something comes with the handling of the cars in Cyber Clutch. It’s not that the system is broken, just slippery. I hit walls more often than not, and could never get a hang of the drifting system. It’s just so hard to use it to your advantage when it doesn’t work properly. On top of that, the weapons lack pizzazz (a bit on the generic side) and there’s very few modes to choose from.
There are some aspects of the game I like, but it just seems like Cyber Clutch wasn’t quite ready for prime time. Between the lacking control scheme, missing content and the somewhat lackluster soundtrack, it just can’t cross the finish line with flying colors. Again, I appreciate the effort, I just wish there was a little more of it.
Cyber Clutch Lacks That Sweet Feeling
While I do like the futuristic approach that Cyber Clutch has (compared to other generic street racers), it just comes up short when it comes to controls.
As I stated, turning is a bit off because the cars just feel like they don’t have enough weight to them. It’s almost like they’re floaty to the point of overkill. As a result, I hit walls more often than not, throwing off my momentum and even costing me a first place finish at times.
What’s more, drifting is flawed. It’s a system that should feel natural, as it does in the Ridge Racer games and even Mario Kart World. But here, it just doesn’t work that well. Combine a faulty system like this with the floaty controls and you have to even consider if you want to try it at all. That’s a shame, because pulling off a successful one – which I did once or twice, at best – does give you a boost.
There’s also not that much content here. The story here is okay, but it lacks true motivation to keep tackling the competition. Like, no genuine personality. And there’s very little outside of that, though the tracks do look excellent. (More on that in a second.) There’s also online play, but I barely found any players that want to partake in a race.
It just feels like more could’ve been done with Cyber Clutch before they unleashed it out the gate. Maybe if it was an Early Access release, I’d have a better understanding. But it’s a full release – complete with arrival on consoles. It’s in dire need to patchwork before I could even consider it a contender.
Cyber Clutch Looks the Part, But Sounds a Bit Barren
Performance-wise, Cyber Clutch isn’t half bad. Over on the Steam Deck, the performance is pretty good, with a solid frame rate (not 120 fps, but respectable), and the cars look very good. As expected, you can add a customizable touch as well. I also like some of the futuristic lighting touches, which reminded me a bit of Wipeout in their own little way.
On top of that, the track design has true potential here. It’s really well done, with a lot of satisfactory twists and turns and tunnels. Alas, there’s only a handful of them here. What I wouldn’t give to see more of this world.
While visuals hold up, I’m disappointed with the audio. The soundtrack simply isn’t that catchy, with tunes that sound like they’re better off in a general racing game. The car effects aren’t bad, but they barely differ between one another. And there’s no fun announcements to inject personality into the game. Granted, that also means no over-annoyance, but it seems…quiet. For an upbeat, futuristic racing game, more was needed.
Sadly, A Stalled Engine
I really wanted to like Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights, especially considering that we have very few combat arcade racers out there. But both development teams didn’t put enough effort into the gameplay to make it stand out. It’s difficult to really accomplish much in terms of performance. And what’s more, there are little modes and track selection to do it with.
It’s a good looking game, and the tracks offer some potential for the future if we see more of them. But as it stands, Cyber Clutch is a tough recommend. Maybe some patches would put this on the same level of the classics we admire. Fingers crossed.
GAMERHUB RATING: 2 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to Overload PR for providing us with a review code! The game is available now for Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam/PC!
Need more racing game goodness? Check out our review of Forza Horizon 5 on PS5!
