Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled preview: Extremely fun but fails to offer anything new to a tired genre

20 years since the original Crash Team Racing was released, fans have been for a revival. Thanks to the efforts of the acclaimed remaster of the first three Crash Bandicoot games, this revival was finally found in the N.Sane Trilogy. It was now the best time for Crash Team Racing to shine once again.

First teased in December 2018, and now on its way to players, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a completely re-imagined version of the beloved 90’s racing game. Thanks to the N.Sane Trilogy’s release last year, it was clear people had a ravenous, almost bandicoot-eqsue appetite for another Crash game in their lives.

We were invited by Activision to get some hands-on time with the game before its release in June. After competing in (and losing) two out of three manic races through familiar and revamped courses, we were left pleasantly surprised – but still a bit apprehensive.

Gorgeous to look at, the game has been rebuilt from the ground up that conveys a profound care and dedication to the source material and it plays extremely well.

Painfully aware of what made it a compelling and exciting game in the first place; they've actively stayed true to the very first Crash Team Racing (CTR) game, complete with the local split-screen option for multiplayer – despite regularly pronouncements that the mode has died.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a nostalgic ride. For better or worse, this is the game’s main hook.

Playing for the first time in 20 years felt confusing initially, but as an avid player of the original, and Mario Kart, there came a point in the third race where everything clicked. Muscle memory took over and with it a mastery of the controls came once again. Before I knew it, I was ploughing ahead like a seasoned pro.

The 1999 original, in all its pixelated majesty, is a far cry from this remake. It delivers completely overhauled and sublime visual fidelity filled to the brim with life and expression.

Broadly speaking, Nitro-Fueled is extremely fun. However, after spending some time racing through online play, the entire experience feels a little too reliant on the nostalgia factor.

Take a massive box of TNT to the game and you're left with just another in a long line of kart-racing games. But is that really so bad? It's down to personal preference.

If you're looking for a rival to Mario Kart, or even if you like the Crash characters and world more, you'll certainly have a fantastic time with this game.

With that in mind, let's shift gears to address that Mario Kart shaped elephant in the room.

It’s in this factor that Nitro-Fueled seemingly fails to offer anything new to the already tired, saturated and cornered market that was championed in 1992 by the very first Mario Kart game for the Super Nintendo.

Perhaps, with the more story-driven narrative and old and new features from the original returning, this will be enough to change our minds when the game releases.

A clear-cut adventure mode gives the far more exuberant and dastardly characters of the Crash Bandicoot series a fighting chance to charm you into submission and persuade you that you’re not playing the same old game.

Players will be able to customise characters and karts with a makeover, which will go a long way in making the game more personal, delivering a level of individual expression that a lot of other racing games lack.

We could only sample a few different tracks, but the full game will contain 18. All of them are affectionately based on original versions seen in older games.

Mix in almost every racer featured from the CTR franchise and you’re presented with an endearing love letter to what was an iconic game from the late 90s.

Now you can once again bowl a bomb into your friends just before they cross the finish line, snatching victory from them.

Ignoring the obvious Mario Kart inspirations, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is looking good, nothing more and nothing less than a well-made and attentive remake, vibrantly bursting with life and colour.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fuelled releases 24 June on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.