Overview – developed and published by 17Studio, Draw Rider Remake is a creative side view trials style game, where the player must try their best to complete the objective for each stage and gain a medal. This title features a built in level creator and online community for endless gameplay variations. This title is available exclusive for the Nintendo Switch on console and the Steam service, with a link to both versions of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank 17Studio for providing the copy of Draw Rider Remake used for this piece via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. There is no story for this release, so I will be going straight into discussing the gameplay of this release.
Gameplay – Draw Rider Remake is a fully remade version of the original trial style racing game, with new features, stages and character customization options. The core of the game is simple, get to the end of each stage, completing the objective that has been given. These include the simple time trial challenge to reach the goal and stunt mode, where players must score points by doing tricks. The challenges will start off simple but get tougher over time.
At the start of the game, the player will be given tutorials to complete where they will learn the basic ins and outs of play. However, once this has ended, there will be more challenging stages to take on introducing new hazards to contend with. The starting vehicle is a simple bicycle, but as the player progresses through the game, they will be introduced to new vehicles like trial bikes and even a sled. This introduces more dynamic gameplay challenges.
To move through the different areas, the player will need to learn how to control their vehicle, using a momentum system to move across the obstacles. This is the defining mechanic of this system, as the player will need to be able to control their movement to achieve the goal. However, great care must be taken, as there is the chance for the player to get themselves killed when hitting their body on the stages which will fail the level.
There are also hazards that can result in the death of the player, with the presence of explosives that will blow the player up and boosters that can send the rider into a wall. When this happens, the player will need to restart the stage, which has little downside due to the lack of a life system. The player can also freely restart, which is very useful if a mistake is made leading to little downside, which gives players the ability to experiment.
In each of the stages, the player will be given three goals to achieve based on the challenge. These include reaching the goal as fast as possible in time trial or earning a set score in stunt mode. Based on the performance of the player, one of three medals can be awarded to the player, with gold, silver and bronze medals that can be earned. It is possible for no medal to be earned, but players can return to these stages later to try again.
The medals themselves serve a very important purpose in this title, as they are the key form of progression for players. At set medal milestones, the player will unlock new vehicles and body parts for customization, new sets of stages and new difficulty levels to take on. This works both to the benefit and detriment of the player, as the further the player gets in the game, the more gold medals will be needed to unlock the next stage.
The last thing to discuss is the custom level creation system featured in this game. There is a full creation suite in this release, with players being able to create their own levels for themselves and others to play. Stages can be built from nothing with different objectives, allowing complete control to be in the hands of the player. The stages can be built using either traditional controls, or touchscreen, which offer a comfortable creation experience for players.
For players to upload their stages, players must sign up for the Draw Rider service at no cost to the player. When the stage is uploaded, players from all over the world can play the stages and try for the highest score they can get. There is even a section for the most popular stages uploaded, which gives this title almost endless replay value if they have an online account.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – there are very simple controls for this game with buttons to accelerate, brake, restart and launch the player off their vehicle. These controls work well for the majority of play, but it is possible to hit restart by accident when trying to eject from a vehicle which can be frustrating. The game can be played with any controller, which makes it a comfortable experience when connected to a TV or when being played handheld.
Difficulty – there is a reasonable difficulty curve to this title, with the challenge increasing over time for the most part. However, there are times where the difficulty will spike, leading to repeated restarts and potential frustration for the player. This can be made worse when trying to unlock the later stages of the game, due to the rather high requirements to unlock. This is the biggest flaw of the game and may sour the experience for some players.
Presentation – the game has a very simple visual style to it, with bold lines and stick figure style characters for the player characters. There are bold colors, stark lines and lots of blood particles which makes for a fun time. The sound effects for the vehicles and the like are good with some impactful effects during play. The music is a mishmash of different tracks, possibly from a purchased library, but this doesn’t affect the experience.
Final Thoughts – I had played games like this a long time ago, like line rider and happy wheels, so I was interested to see how this title compared and I will say I was pleasantly surprised. The gameplay is challenging and satisfying, but can be frustrating when it comes to the later stages of the game. There is a lot of content on offer in this package, with hundreds of stages in the single player and an infinite number of creator stages to discover.
I am happy to recommend this title to everyone who is looking for a fun time reminiscent of the classic flash games. This is a fun title that can be enjoyed by everyone, with the over the top gameplay and challenges that the game offers. The game progression through medals can be a serious frustration, as some of the stages can be very difficult, but if you can look past that, there is a lot of fun to be had with the creation system and player created levels.
In the end, I give Draw Rider Remake a final score of 4/5. This is a very challenging trial game, with challenging gameplay, bold visuals and a vast amount of content from both the developers and community. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to both versions of the game will be available below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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