This should be one of the best indie racing games out there if you love games like Outrun, Rad Racer, Top Gear, etc from the 8 and 16 bit generation of racing games. But due to some unforgivable design flaws, it cannot be recommended.

The good:
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Rocking soundtrack
Beautiful Retro graphics
Cars to buy and upgrade
Outrun style game play

The bad:
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As others have said, the grind is slow. Every race has an entry free. Damages taken cost money to repair. Fuel needs to be replenished each race. And you only earn money in the top 3 spots. At least races can be rerun. This wouldn't be a problem if not for the ugly....

The Ugly (and why a thumbs down):
---------------------------------------
Your opponents cars get upgraded as well whenever you do. The whole idea of being able to upgrade your car is so that you can make the slow grind easier on earlier tracks. Instead, it is artificially more difficult.

The collision mechanic is horrid; and downright brutal. When you get hit, your car slides some and you slow down; similar to how Outrun happens. The problem is that other cars do not appear to receive this same penalty to where you can run into a situation where you're continuously ran into by the traffic without the chance of regaining control of your vehicle; and possibly forced into a obstacle on the side of the road. This happened to me right before the finish of one race (first to last), as well as continuously throughout another (always near last). Add in the fact that other cars on the road will literally suicide into you, the game turns into nothing but frustration.


Fix the Ugly, and this game would most definitely get a thumbs up from me.

I loved this game at first. It's a simple Outrun style game with gorgeous, vivid pixel art, lots of fun achievements, an awesome soundtrack and simple but fun controls. But almost an hour into it, and I discovered one huge thing wrong with it.

The grind is unbelievably high, and the game feels like is working against you really hard.

You get coins for completing races. You also need to pay coins to enter a race. The further you progress, the further up the race entry fees go. As your car takes damage, you'll need coins to repair it. You also need to spend coins to keep you car filled with gas. The same coins are also used to buy upgrades and new cars. If you happen to run out of coins or don't have enough for the next race you need to play a car washing mini game to earn a very, very small amount of coins. Once you earn enough you can replay previous races to earn some coins back. It's like this game let's you go 2 steps forward then 1 step back constantly- sometimes even more than that.

Everything pulls from your pool of coins quickly, but you don't really earn enough to justify racing more and keeping everything in order.

It just makes me think of driving to work so you'll make enough money to pay for gas and your car payment so that you can continue driving your car to work.

If they ever modify this I'll gladly give it another go and update this review but for now just avoid the game.

80’s Overdrive successfully delivers a retro arcade racer which is fun to play although a little easy to complete

Easier to read review Here [saveorquit.com]

Retro games are always difficult to assess. Do you want a faithful reproduction of a bygone classic with all its faults and limitations, or do you want a representation of a classic with a modern twist? Overdrive sort of falls in-between both categories.

Mimicking arcade classics like Outrun and Chase HQ it lacks a few features generally associated with this genre. It’s still a lot of fun to play after a slow start, but I found it too easy and although the tracks looked nice, they lacked any real depth.

https://youtu.be/NmVAlDx6TJE

The animations are quite poor; the driving is quite basic, with jerky movements and a lack of real control; the tracks are quite rudimentary, with assets repeated often but looking colourful and bright; I guess this all reflects an eighties racing game though. After saying all this, the game is still a lot of fun to play.

The music tracks are very well-done with a selection of eighteen synthwave retro pumping beats which adds a bit of excitement to the proceedings. You can skip tracks at will and find your favourite one to drive to.

You have a choice of six super cars. Your first car is a complete pile of junk, even though it is a super car. You’ll need to keep upgrading it to compete, although once you have improved it, there’s no need to change it until the final stages as you’ll easily win with it.

Money is quite effortless to come by as there are generous prizes for finishing in the first three places; enough to repair your car, fill it with petrol and put some aside for that next upgrade.

Along with prize money, you are occasionally offered tasks to perform which involve beating competitors or collecting objects on the track. These can reward you with extremely generous payouts.

The levelling system is odd. Your first few cars need complete upgrades on engine, steering and bumpers. You can expect to upgrade each category between six and eight times before you fully upgrade the car. On later cars however you hardly have any upgrades to make as these cars are already maxed out. It just seems odd that the super cars are so different. Surely it would have been a better choice to build up to the supercar with different, more regular cars.

Engine and bumpers are good upgrades to perform as they offer more noticeable speed and greater protection from collisions, but handling upgrades don’t offer much advantage at all. You can also repaint your car with basic colours and buy a nitro boost, which you can use twice in every race, and a scanner which alerts you to the proximity of a police car.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2300706856

The racing is quite simple. There are thirty-five tracks to race, each getting harder, with rising entry fees and greater rewards. Level thirty-six pits you against your ultimate rival in a one on one battle, which is actually very challenging.

Mostly, the tracks are easy to race on. I can only remember a handful of times that I actually had to slow down around a corner. Most of the time you’ll be travelling at maximum speed. The difficulty lies in avoiding the very rude drivers. Half of them will try and swerve into your car or block your path, especially the competitors. You also have the police to deal with who will also try to run you off the course when you encounter them.

Most of the time this can be handled easily but it certainly gets more exciting when the track narrows to three lanes and you have corners, traffic and a fast car to control. Crashing the car will put you back four or five places but you can still make this up easily if you don’t make any further mistakes.

The police car is an interesting concept. You can use its presence to your advantage if you play your cards right. Police cars and traffic not only impede you but other competitors also. You can use the police car to block opponent’s paths if they are around, but usually you are at the front of the pack anyway so this rarely comes into play. The police car can be an annoyance on tight winding roads but usually they are easily dealt with again.

Races are never timed which is a staple of such games like Outrun, and there are no leaderboards or split screen multiplayer, which is a shame.

There is a time attack mode where you have to race the streets and get through as many stages as you can. Passing cars gains you seconds and once your time is out it is game over.

There is also a level editor where you can make and race on your own tracks. It’s a very basic editor though. You just select the theme and how many hills, turns, lanes, traffic and police you have and then the map is autogenerated to take into account your settings.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2304505351

Overall, the game is certainly fun to play. It’s bold, bright and has a great soundtrack.

The racing is a little bit too easy. The tracks are usually very wide and give you plenty of room to maneuver. It’s only when the courses narrow to three lanes that you start to struggle and it feels challenging to play.

The controls feel quite basic and you never feel like you are in control of a racing car but more of a game where you just avoid traffic. I hardly used the brake pedal at all.

I would have liked to have seen a leaderboard option and have track records on each course, and a mini map and mirrors would have certainly made life easier.

Personally, I think Horizon Chase Turbo is a better example of a retro style racer as it is much more challenging and feels more polished. There is certainly some fun to be had in this title however.

I enjoyed playing to completion and think this would be suited to retro arcade racing enthusiasts who don’t mind not having too much of a challenge.

Curator Info:

This is just a short synopsis of the game. If you want to read a more detailed review then visit SaveOrQuit.com where they are posted daily!

A key was provided by the developer in return for an impartial review.

Don't buy this at full price, it's piled high with artificial difficulty with traffic swerving like they're all about to get DUI charges, cops only chasing you not other racers even if they pass them first, and clunky awkward controls that don't even allow you to track a lane at max handling stat. Max bumper stat which the game claims to help with recovering from hitting obstacles in one of it's loading screens really just helps the repairs not be absurd amounts of money. Getting hit once by a cop (who actively try to 3 separate times before leaving you alone) other traffic, or another racer puts you 6 cars behind where you were easy, maybe only 2-3 if you're super lucky. Oh, and the other racers who hit you have almost no penalty to their speed, they just zoom on by while you're still shifting back up from 1st.

The visuals are stunning which is why I bought it, and the music is pretty good, but now I wish I did more homework on the gameplay since there are videos covering the very topics I outline that are pretty common. If I had known what I knew now then, I wouldn't have paid more than $2 for it.

Fun racing game in retro style with a high number of races for you to indulge in.
80's OVERDRIVE is a tribute to the good old school days beautifully finished with a combo of pixel art & vaporwave,
the way of racing reminded me a bit of the classic highway racing games in arcade places.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFxiEuJddmA

80's OVERDRIVE comes with only 2 game modes but with a high number of different races spread over 8 different locations in the career mode.
After winning races you will receive coins that you can spend on new cars and also upgrades per car such as nitro or even a radar so that you can see vehicles approaching behind in time.

Certain races will also have objections such as finding and touching required objects that you will see on your track.
In some races you will also encounter police who try to ram you during a chase.
When you hit another car or an object at the edge of the road, you will naturally slow down and overtake speed & time. Pay close attention to this.

A good tip at the start of any race is to accelerate gently and avoid the vehicle in front.
This will often overload its engine at the start, so you risk bumping into the car.

Specific attention has also been paid to the spacious soundtrack that the game has to offer with all very relaxed music matching the style of the game.

The game is also perfect for the steam deck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywB6nIYADXU

1988 BUGGY BOY
1988 OUTRUN
1989 CHASE HQ
1990 LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO CHALLENGE
1992 JAGUAR XJ220
1992 CRAZY CARS 3
A few Titles of the Golden Era of Racing Games i played on the legendary AMIGA 500. Oh yes, countless Gaming Hours during my School and Education Time.

Coloured Landscapes, fast Cars, great Music and a Touch of (Digital) Freedom.
After the golden Amiga Racing Era, other Racing Games lead that Genre into new Eras. Games like NEED FOR SPEED, RIDGE RACER, SEGA RALLY and many others.
But non of these Games did catch the special Feeling of that Golden Era.
You want to know how that Era feels?

Then welcome to 80´S OVERDRIVE.

This Game is a big Bow and Hommage to Times of pure Fun.
Just starting 80´S OVERDRIVE feels like a Time Machine when you see that Girl with the typical
80`s Clothing, the fast Car under the Palm in MIAMI VICE Style. Followed by a typical 80s Music Chiptune. Creating your Profile you can choose a Picture of your Driver. Another wonderfull Hommage with Drivers who look like Tina Turner, Mr. T., Grace Jones and many more.
Then you have to buy your Car to get ready for Racing. Each Car is an 80`s Classic. Well done.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2313285530

After that you can choose between the Career Mode, the Time Attack or the Level Editor.
In the Career Mode you have to climb a Highscore by winning Races and getting Points. And here we have the Money Aspect. Everything is about the Money.
Pay Fee to make a Race and win it to get more. Have an Eye on your Fuel and your Damage Status, yes you have to pay it, too. Each time you crash into something, you get Damage, so drive fast, but be carefull.
With more Money you can buy more Cars and upgrade them. Steering, Bumping and Speed. All you need to win Races.
The Racing itself is absolutly wonderfull Retro Style.

It looks like 80`s, it steers like 80´s and it feelslike 80 s.
Just start with 9 other Opponents and reach the Finish Line first.
Drive simply forward and avoid Collisions because they will slow you very hardly down and allow your Opponents to pass by, which ruins your Progress.
And that is very normal for that Times and can lead to enrage Moments, because it may feel unfair and hard. Yes, that was how we drove back then. Easy to learn, hard to master.
But they were never unfair, all can be accomplished with enough Skill you got from driving again and again. And that goes for 80´S OVERDRIVE, too. The Gameplay is smooth and fluid and the Collision Interrogation works perfectly.

The Graphics are totally old School, but in a Modern Way. That fantastic Background Scrolling, the coloured Landscapes and of course the Music.
Before each Race you can choose between 18 great done Synth and Retrowave Tracks Tracks. And that Tracks are totally amazing. I hope the Devs will release the Gaming Soundtrack, too.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2313287991

What i really like while Racing are the different Smileys that sometimes pop up over other Vehicles.Funny to see another Opponent becoming stopped by a lower Truck and getting an angry Smiley. Very nice Idea. Love it.
Another nice Gag, the Police in a Lamborghini like Car. But be carefull, they will try to ram you and that will slow you down. There are ways to trick them. Find out. Sometimes a suspicious Person offer you Money for special Missions like collecting VHS Tapes. Worth the trouble.
There are many Racing Locations waiting for you, but you must unlock them by earning Points by winning Races.

If you also want a real Challenge then try the Time Attack, where you have Limited Time to get to each Checkpoint and if you want to make your own tracks, use the Editor. I also love the Floppy Disc Symbol for saving.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2313286753

A very big Thanks to the Developer for this Time Travel, that i really enjoyed.

If you want to know how your Parents/Grandparents raced before you are born or if you just want to make a travel back to good old Times before you got Children then this is absolutly for you.

Thank you for Reading.

It's a very fun and beautiful game!

But you should not compare it to Horizon Chase Turbo (HCT) because it's very very different. 80's OVERDRIVE (80sO) is actually much more closer to Road Rash.

1. HCT has tracks with laps. 80sO does not have laps and has finished tracks instead.
2. HCT has only competitors on the road. 80sO has competitors + citizens + cops
3. HCT does not have gas, damage and boosts management across tracks. 80sO makes you compete for cash and then you need to refill and repair your car from time to time
4. HCT has multiplayer. 80sO has not
5. 80sO has "missions" during races where you need to collect things to get an extra permanent reward (cash). HCT has coins you can collect during the race to achieve a race at 100% but it does not give you a perk for the next race.

So overall they are very different game despite the similar esthetic. HCT is more of a competition/racing kind of game while 80sO is more of a single player with progression kind of game.

I highly recommend both games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGeeJGvQEeI

A chill and casual racing game with nice gameplay, great visuals and great music. It is a simple game where it is pretty much just moving left and right along the tracks while trying to win races and dodging the npc drivers, which there are many of and they do do sudden movements. Coins are earned as you play which can be used to purchase various cars and upgrades for them. There are a few different game modes, like the career mode where you compete in a circuit and go through a lot of stages racing against others and earning star points depending on how well you have placed, a time attack mode where you race against the clock by trying to make it past check points before the time runs out. Though an added factor is that having near misses do add a bit of time. Along with these is the level editor where tracks can be created and shared which does add some more fun to the game. It is only singleplayer, so as with other racing games, a multiplayer kind of mode would be quite beneficial to the quality of the game. The highlight of the game is the both the visuals and music, with the synth and retro aesthetic and themes, which i am a fan of. Because of the simple concept, it is a game that you can play casually as you listen to the various songs within the soundtrack. Overall, it is an entertaining arcadey game which is quite enjoyable.

The 80's were awesome, the 90's were good, the 2000's were okay, the 2010's were forgettable at best, the 2020's were..... let's not talk about that...

Anyways, this game is great for a few dollars, not full price but the current 2.99 sale price is right on the money. I've played for just under an hour and i dig the visuals and love the 80's vibes. i have not listened to the soundtrack as I put on Spotify and played my best of the 80's playlist.

There are cons to the game which prevent me from recommending the game unless it's heavily discounted. These include, controls you can't change. cars going through you and you going through cars, the cops make the races unfair, the driving feels floaty and lacks sense of speed etc.

I don't want to bash the game, i have still had a decent time with it even though it's only been just under an hour. I will be going back to the game and my best of the 80's playlist. I do think most people that like games like Outrun will dig this game for a sale price like it's currently listed at for 2.99. Just don't go in expecting the game to be epic as it's not, but it's good arcade racing fun that pays homage to better days and yes I'm from the 80's so I have the right to say this as it's true.

Anyways, If you don't buy this game Mr. T will pity the fool and Doc Brown will run you over with his Delorean, my neighbor thought i was joking and now he is crippled.

This could be such a positive review if a few things were different.

First off, the good.
-game looks great
-driving is fun
-retro influence is well done, colors are vibrant, landscapes are cool, cars are film and era inspired
-traffic is well implemented, not too heavy, erratic, or unfair

The bad list is a bit more extensive sadly.
The motherloving emoji nonsense ruins the game..hands down I'd be rating it positive if it wasn't for this. Enemy racers are constantly spamming large emojis over their cars. These contribute nothing to gameplay, block your view of the road, and can't be disabled. As a game that bills itself as retro I ask myself, where was the emoji spam in Rad Racer or Outrun?

The soundtrack is mostly weak, aside from a few good tunes at the end of the radio - tracks 14-18 absolutely rock.

The police encounters only affect you. Enemy racers pass a cop doing 220 and he does nothing, only to immediately go after me doing 80. They also magically teleport across the median to chase you. Its not a huge dynamic in the game but it feels stacked against you.

Upgrades are pointless, as every upgrade scales your enemies to the same level. The only reason to buy them and the other cars is to get the achievements.

Collision detection is bad. I've been a hair away from other cars in time trials and not been given credit for passing. I've also had cars hit me, or get just close enough to the edge of the track where it thinks I've hit and locks my car up.

The grind is incredibly long and unrewarding, and all of the special missions are a one time thing so if you decline or miss it you lose out on the achievement until you start a whole new game.

I got this on sale and have had some fun with it, but the imbalanced game play doesn't make for an overall rewarding experience. This is so close to being a great game that its tragic.

I don't recommend this unless you can get it on sale and this type of retro-racer genre is something you really love. See : Horizon Chase Turbo for how something like this could've turned out.