Parking Garage Rally Circuit

The early days of the 32-bit era was a magical time for fans of racing games. The genre had just graduated from Mode 7 to 3D polygons, ushering in a generation of fast-paced, arcade-style racers that prioritized fun over realism. This was especially true over on the Saturn, with Sega bringing most of their best and most high-profile racing hits to their fledgling system. The upcoming game Parking Garage Rally Circuit actually feels like one of those long-lost Sega classics. It has slickly-crafted tracks, a real arcade feel and a soundtrack ripped right out of the 1990s. If you had told me that this was the game Sega intended to release between Daytona USA and Sega Rally, I might have believed you. With this throwback racer set to come out later this year, it’s time to see how Parking Garage Rally Circuit stacks up to some of Sega’s all-time greats.

This is exactly what you think it is. Parking Garage Rally Circuit is a speedy arcade-style racing game in the style of the low-polygon, low-resolution racers we saw in the mid-1990s. Think Sega Rally, only instead of driving narrow dirt roads and through the snow-covered mountains, we’re zipping around corners in a series of parking garages. Sometimes it’s a mall parking lot, other times it’s a big airport garage. If you can park your car there, then you can race for first place there.

When I call this an arcade-style racing game, I mean it. Nothing about the mechanics or concept is realistic. The racing has been simplified to pressing the gas pedal and liberally holding onto the drift button. The one thing you need to know going in is that this is a game built entirely around drifting every single corner. As our little car barrels around each corner, it will charge up a meter that will give us a nice speed boost. You can either use that boost quickly to give yourself the upper-hand, or you can drift until the meter turns blue, which acts like a super-charged boost of speed. Waiting for that longer charge is not always the right decision, and knowing when to boost can be the difference between coming in first or second.

The eight unique tracks will take you on a nationwide tour to see some of the best parking garages around the country. From the New Orleans stadium to the Seattle airport to the scenic Mt. Rushmore, Parking Garage Rally Circuit does a great job of giving each track its own personality. I like how we can go from the bright, shiny garage next to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Minnesota Mega Mall, where ice has made everything slippery and miserable.

What I love about this game is how the developer has taken the time to give each track its own set of obstacles that set it apart from the rest. For example, that Mt. Rushmore course I just mentioned has a giant boulder land on the parking garage while you’re racing. And the stadium track in New Orleans experiences a massive power outage half-way through the race. There are both big and little things like this in all eight of the game’s tracks.

While that may not seem like a lot of courses to complete, the game does want you to go through them on three different difficulty classes. It’s pretty standard stuff. Once you come in at least third place in all of the courses using the Light car, you can bump up the challenge by going to Heavy, which is followed by Ultra. Each difficulty class comes with its own car, which you can paint in different ways and add a number. There’s not a lot of depth here, so slightly changing the look of the three different cars is nothing to scoff at.

The reason that any of this works at all is because the racing action is just so damn fun. The drifting mechanics are simple, but they allow for enough depth to make you want to master every level. From shortcuts to taking that last corner just a little tighter, you’ll constantly find ways to shave a few seconds off of the time. And that first-place medal that initially seems out of reach will become a lot more obtainable.

One thing I don’t like is that we’re not really competing against other computer players, but rather the ghosts of their best times. This effectively turns the competition into time markers. While I like being able to see how close I am to being in first, second and third, I would have preferred to race against other real cars. I want to be able to ram into the competition and drift off of them, but since they are all incorporeal, you’ll drive right through them.

I’m also disappointed in the lack of courses to race. Sure, eight is more than the original Ridge Racer and Daytona USA put together, but I was hoping that the higher difficulties would offer new stages or, at the very least, shake up the old ones. Sadly, they are exactly the same tracks, just a little harder. It is worth mentioning that the developer is leaving the door open for more content when the game comes out later this year, though it’s not entirely clear if that will translate to more tracks, more vehicles or more modes.

Beyond what could be tweaked or added to the finish built, I’m just excited for everybody else to get their hands on Parking Garage Rally Circuit. This is a fantastic little racing game with a fun throwback art style and gameplay that feels like it came straight out of 1995. Oh, and did I mention the kickin’ soundtrack from the Texas-based ska band The Holophonics? The horns and up-beat songs help to give this game a unique and memorable personality. It fits perfectly with the absurd gimmick. Couple that with the online multiplayer mode and what you have is the kind of great game that would have fit in perfectly next to those iconic 32-bit racers.