Something forever fascinating is hearing about indies that have become sleeper hits, selling vast amounts despite little in the way of promotion and barely making a whisper on social media. Earlier this year, I learned of Castle of Heart, a 2.5D action platformer that shifted over 300k units on Switch alone. Even more impressive is Moto Rush GT, a traffic weaving arcade-style game that managed to reach the magical 1m sales mark; a figure most publishers would be shouting from the rooftops. You’d have to admire the modesty of some indie studios.
This is the sequel to that 1m seller. You’re still tasked with weaving through traffic and sliding under barriers while astride a high-power motorbike; only now a futuristic take on Tokyo provides the backdrop. This means huge skyscrapers, dense city streets, long metro tunnels, and plenty of Japanese iconography such as paper lanterns. You’ll also gradually unlock panels in a Manga-esque comic book, detailing an unfolding story one page at a time. This lends the experience a unique sense of pacing, in that you aren’t being treated to a cut-scene every few stages, but rather encouraged to unlock more panels.
This is achieved by collecting glowing insignias. A handful are precariously placed within each stage, with some even calling for a tight wheelie to grab. The rest are earned by beating stage times, performing risky near misses, and achieving a perfect run. There are over 600 insignias to obtain in total, giving something to focus on from the outset. Handily, it’s possible to filter through missions where targets are yet to be met, making replaying stages less of a gamble.
It’s best to focus on a single objective at once. Aiming to beat a set time, which requires plenty of wheelies, and trying to perform 30+ near misses in the same run is bound to end in disaster.
From the main menu two modes are available. Just Ride is an endless mode that throws everything at you, right down to late-game hazards such as ducking under low ceilings, vehicles that switch lanes with only a few seconds’ notice, and barriers that lower as you approach. The other mode is the main campaign, with 45 named stages to beat. They must be completed in order and become increasingly tougher, making the challenge of not crashing once more and more difficult over time.
Moto Rush Reborn plays into its new futuristic anime setting well, sporting a bright colour palette with bold outlines and lots of neon-lit billboards. Sparks fly when sliding, while colourful scenery whizzes past. Hazards can be spotted well in advance, often marked in yellow or with flashing lights, and as no randomisation is used, it’s possible to memorise object locations for perfect runs. The controls are tight and responsive – the bike doesn’t veer freely all over the road, but neither does it merely nudge from left to right – and it’s possible to slow down by activating a temporary slow-mo feature. If you aren’t hitting those time limit targets, you’re going to need to perform more wheelies – a risky manoeuvre, also impacting visibility. There’s no shame in slowing down during busier sections either, especially when ushered into narrow gaps.
Despite having all the fundamental elements in place and being bolstered by slick presentation, Moto Rush Reborn is still pretty limited in what it can offer. This is, in the end, still a thoroughly arcade-like experience that mostly involves weaving left and right to dodge traffic, falling back on memorisation and fast reflexes. Something like one-on-one boss races would have livened things up, as the campaign merely involves overcoming one stage before moving on to the next, only with a minor increase in difficulty. New hazards and backdrops are introduced every so often, but rarely in a way that makes a stage feel unique. There’s nothing in the way of unlockables or upgrades either.
If played for a long time, Moto Rush Reborn will eventually blur into a mesh of grey roads, yellow warning signs and neon-lights. Play it sparingly, and it should provide a solid dose of satisfaction, especially when the harder stages surface around the halfway point. This is one of those rare experiences where you’ll need to take a ‘time out’ often to prevent tedium from settling. It’s a sleek package, in all senses of the word.
Baltoro Games’ Moto Rush Reborn is out 20th March on Xbox Series, Switch and PC.