Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled

Crash Team Racing was a giant in its day, and now, 20 years later, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled has reasserted the original’s greatness. It is a faithful rebuild of one of the most beloved kart racers from an era that had greats such as Diddy Kong Racing and Mario Kart 64. Behind a fresh coat of paint, a great soundtrack, and a lot more tracks, Crash’s racing adventure holds up pristinely and is worth a look for any fan of kart racing.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled on the Switch is my favorite kart racer, even managing to outshine Mario Kart. The focus on tight and challenging gameplay that requires skill over luck was a nice change of pace. Add to that the great presentation and amount of content, and there's not much else that you could wish for. At this point, the only real complaints are the long loading screens, the microtransactions that Activision is rolling out, and the sometimes-broken multiplayer component. It's enough to make it anything but a perfect game, but it's a good title, especially for the $40 price tag.

Realistically if you have the choice of which format to get many would plump for the PS4 or Xbox One versions, but I think it’s the Switch version you should plump for, the portability and ease of multiplayer being considerable selling points should you fancy a quick race with a friend. Games like this make you realise that there are quickly becoming less and less reasons why games shouldn’t be ported to Nintendo’s great little machine.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled has the thrilling speed and the addictive gameplay of the original and adds a metric ton of extra content for fans and newcomers to enjoy. Whether you’re new to the frantic frenzy of Crash Team Racing or you’ve been hankering for a chance to play as Nitros Oxide himself, there’s a whole lot of things to love.

The Nintendo Switch version of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled isn't quite as sharp as the PS4 version I reviewed it on. In docked mode the difference is noticeable but doesn't detract from the overall experience. The Nintendo Switch version is a bit more jagged.

A fun but occasionally flustering time. [Issue #41 – September 2019, p. 73]

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled achieves the same highs as the N. Sane Trilogy in its revitalisation of another Naughty Dog classic, and goes one step further by modernising the racer with an online component that has a clear road-ahead. With the same experience as other consoles – aside from some visuals tweaks – and more DLC in the pipeline, it’s a worthy alternative to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

With its myriad of game modes, top-notch visual and sound environment and amount of customizable experiences, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is something that every fan and enthusiast of kart-racing games will appreciate.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a fast, frantic and rewarding kart racer that’s generously packed with a wealth of content. Its long load times and difficulty spikes may prove frustrating but it’s never enough to detract from what is otherwise a brilliant remaster and another strong addition to the Switch’s slowly growing lineup of racers.

Take away the absurd loading times and choice of opting for a more enhanced version on other platforms, and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is everything a bandicoot lover could have hoped for.

I can’t shake the feeling that if Nintendo’s online infrastructure was more robust, the loading minimized, and the coins were able to be earned when offline, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled would be an instant masterpiece and torch-bearer for remakes of beloved games. Sadly, it falls just short of such a title.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a good arcade racing game, fun and very entertaining thanks to its game modes and the large amount of content that will delight those players who want to play many hours of the title.

It’s always going to be a tough ask going up against the near-perfect Mario Kart 8, but Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is an excellent kart racing alternative for those looking for something different. It looks great, packs plenty of great content and offers and quality kart racing experience. There’s certainly a learning curve, and some cheap AI and painful loading times can be frustrating, but there’s a lot of fun to be had here regardless of whether you have nostalgic memories for the 90s original or not.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a visually phenomenal upgrade on a PlayStation karting classic, and one that faithfully recreates both its positives (its unique drift boosting system) and its potential irritants (30fps, tricky AI). It does bring a whole new set of issues – mainly lengthy loading times and the fact that playing offline stops you making any progress towards unlocking anything – but while these prevent the game from becoming an absolute must-have, they don’t sour the experience enough to stop us wholeheartedly recommending it regardless.

Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled is an awesome remake I would love to have played more of…if I were able to. I’m really hoping for an update or some word from Activision support so I can really get into the game and play some online matches.

A great remake of a very specific game for a very specific audience. Crash Team Racing is a solid alternative to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it’s not for everybody - and you should know beforehand what you’re getting into.