Review: SpeedRunners 2 King of Speed
- Guilherme Ribeiro
- 46 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The most frantic race of all is back!
THE GAME
SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed is a racing game developed by Fair Play Labs and published by tinyBuild. The classic SpeedRunners is back, now with its sequel, adding new power-ups, new runners, new maps, and an 8-player mode for complete chaos. Gather your friends and compete to see who is the fastest and most skilled runner.
MY IMPRESSIONS
Ten years after the release of SpeedRunners, SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed is released to revive the classic series. This sequel has a difficult task, as its predecessor was always a success and beloved by many. Inevitably, comparisons will be made, both by me and by any SpeedRunners fan, but let's take it one step at a time. The gameplay remains the same, and it couldn't be otherwise, since that's the reason for the series' success. Running, using the grappling hook to swing, collecting and using power-ups on your rivals, a very fast pace—in short, all these elements are still there. Visually speaking, the entire design, both of the characters and the maps and effects, has been revamped. A modernization, going from flat 2D characters to something with more volume and depth, and from basic maps to maps with much more lighting and effects. Everything is very beautiful, until you start playing. Unfortunately, all this redesign and implementation of more effects clutters the player's screen too much. The clarity of things is compromised; even with various indicators about the character, you still get confused, since even these indicators clutter the view and aren't very useful, as the indicator's color doesn't match your character's color, for example. The first game, due to its visual simplicity, allowed for better clarity for the player. Although the game's idea is to be a chaotic race, the chaos should be created by the players and not visually bothersome.
The variety, both of maps and characters, is much smaller than in the first game. Some classic characters remain, and some new ones have been added. I imagine it wouldn't be possible to transfer all the characters here; this isn't so bothersome, since the coolest ones are back. You can acquire and customize your character, playing with them, overcoming challenges, and unlocking new cosmetics. As for the maps, there's been a decrease in their quantity, but each one has a hidden side. Some new maps are extremely confusing or lack a good dynamic for players who might be starting this game. New powers have also been added, but they are very uncreative and quite bland. The game is in Brazilian Portuguese, helping players who want to follow the story mode, which tells the story of New Rush City and its heroes. I don't know if the story mode is what attracts players to SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed, but it tries to do something different, like a challenge for the player. There are boss battles in the story mode, which slightly changes the basic dynamics of the game itself. You also have access to online and ranked mode, if you want to compete against players around the world.
Given all that has been said, you must be thinking: Is SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed bad then? And the answer is: no! Quite the opposite, it's very fun. The formula that SpeedRunners created is so good that, in 10 years, nobody has done anything equal or close to it. SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed suffers from the legacy of its predecessor, which was perfect. Still, it's quite competent at bringing back something so fun with fresh ideas, even if it could have inherited the simplicity of its predecessor.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The achievements in SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed are mostly easier to obtain simply by playing numerous matches without focusing on them, as a large portion of the achievements are tied to interactions between powers and players. Additionally, beating bots on all difficulty levels and completing tutorials also unlocks achievements. Playing ranked or online matches also unlocks achievements, but don't worry, you won't have to play thousands of matches or achieve a high ranking to get them. Finally, there are some secret paths hidden in certain maps that will grant you achievements. Completing 100% of SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed will be quite easy for those who play hundreds of matches, which isn't difficult to achieve.
CONCLUSION
SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed brings back a great game idea, but falls short visually. While the new maps aren't particularly cool and the new powers aren't fun, this would all go unnoticed because the game's concept itself is already very entertaining. However, the lack of visual clarity in several aspects affects the gameplay. SpeedRunners did everything well through its simplicity, making everything clear and unconventional. In SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed, the need to replicate the effects, brightness, and colors of the game's elements makes the experience somewhat worse. Unfortunately, it's impossible not to compare the games. As I said before, it's still a very fun game, but in trying to modernize the visuals, it's clear that less is more.
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