Horizon Chase 2 Review | TheXboxHub

In the four decades that I’ve been gaming, it’s been the arcade racer that has been a bit of a personal staple. It’s seen some highs, it’s had some lows, but I’m not sure if it’s ever been in such a rich vein of form as it has been over the last few years. 

We’ve had the likes of Horizon Chase Turbo, Formula Retro Racing: World Tour, Top Racer Collection and New Star GP, all competing for podium places amongst the arcade racing fraternity. And below those frontrunners have been multiple others, some of which have failed to ever make it past the first corner. 

With Horizon Chase 2, it’s time to reconsider that medal and podium allocation, for this is right up there amongst the very best of the genre. Is it the best? That will probably depend on the individual, but for many, it won’t be far off. 

I don’t think I need to sit here and explain too much about what Horizon Chase 2 is all about. It chucks you behind the wheel of a car (multiple different types with various different stats are available) and tasks you with going from lights out to chequered flag as fast as you can. Obviously the main goal is to cross that finish line first, but for the most part you are rewarded as long as you can place in the top 5 places or so. Medals are given out depending on your success, unlocking further tracks, locales, car upgrades and more. It’s all very much what you would expect of an arcade racer – fast, extremely fluid, and a ton of fun. 

Nailing the throttle as the lights drop gives a little boost, whilst nitros help push you through the pack. These are limited – obvs – but pickups are available, strewn throughout tracks, giving a little helping hand should you be able to collect them up. With each race mostly lasting multiple laps – aside from the odd point-to-point and time trial – scanning the circuits as you fly by is a must. There are also ‘Blue Coins’ present to nab as well, helping move you closer to full game completion. Are these essential to worry about as you careen along the rollercoaster-styled tracks, dodging opponents as best you can? Not really, but you’ll find a bit of an addiction in Horizon Chase 2 as you look to go 100%-ing things. 

Just about twitchy enough to test your driving skills, yet capable of delivering a tense but fair race, the on-track action found in Horizon Chase 2 is nothing but exhilarating. There are moments in which you’ll be scared to blink, full of knowledge that a single lapse in concentration could be enough to have you slamming bonnet first into a tree, spinning across the circuit, losing valuable seconds. And frankly, we’ve found ourselves preferring to keep speed up going into corners, lifting off the throttle as it is called for, keeping away from the brake. It’s probably not advisable, but why slow down when you’re having so much fun… 

The main World Tour career of Horizon Chase 2 is a good length, full of replayability as you work your way across six different global locations – from the United States to Brazil, Morocco, Italy, Thailand and Japan. And whilst you may not notice much difference between each world order, things do seem to progressively get a little more tricky with each stage; tracks tighter, windier, more complex. Frankly though, with such speed, you’ll really only ever have to focus on nailing corners, pulling off overtakes and grabbing the odd pick up or ten. 

With the opportunity to upgrade your cars, drop on some new body kits and paint them up in a variety of colours, there is just about enough to get involved with outside of the racing to ensure boredom never strikes. And those car upgrades are pretty key to success in Horizon Chase 2 as well – without them, we’d guess you’ll be left struggling at the back of any pack. 

There’s more away from the career. Multiplayer is in place for those looking for it, but for us it’s the Tournament structure and Playground Mode that really excites. Taking you through a series of events across Amateur, Professional and Master levels and difficulties, the Tournament series’ really helps hone driving skills some more with back-to-back-to-back races. And when you consider that AQUIRIS and Epic Games Brasil are chucking in new challenges on a regular basis alongside the online races, with rewards aplenty, there’s even more reason to keep coming back. 

The thing is though, Horizon Chase 2 is such a looker, such a great arcade racer, that you’ll not be needing reasons to go back. Instead, you’ll probably be needing reasons to walk away, to take a break occasionally as you try to drag yourself away from the adrenaline rush it delivers. But it’s the outstanding visuals that will keep you glued to this racer, with the most vibrant of worlds coming to life as you race through them. Honestly, this is about as good as an arcade racer could ever look, full of crisp – dare I say it – almost AI-like visuals that hammer home location highlights with nary a hint of slowdown at any point. This is an absolute feast for the eyes – which again, when you’re scared to blink, is a godsend. 

And really, there are only the most minor of negatives with Horizon Chase 2. One of those is probably extremely personal and pretty much every single time a ‘humorous and fun’ speech bubble has been emitted from my car, as a crash has ensued, I’ve been left rolling my eyes. I get that it adds a bit of personality, and it’s really no massive deal, but it’s something that tires pretty fast. 

The other is probably less personal and I can see a good few racers wishing that some of the tracks and circuits found in Horizon Chase 2 were just a teeny, tiny bit wider. This is something that afflicts the latter tracks more specifically, but it’s sometimes too much of a squeeze to bully your way through opponent cars, with the slightest touch chucking you off into a tree or track furniture; precious seconds lost. When you consider that Horizon Chase 2 deals with fast reaction times and races that can be won by mere milliseconds, a slightly more forgiving – or wider – circuit layout would occasionally be appreciated. 

But, Horizon Chase 2 is still capable of delivering many adrenaline fuelled moments. It’s about as fast as you’ll likely be able to handle, it looks the bomb and delivers on pretty much all the necessary arcade racing fronts. With a host of tracks, challenges and more all contributing to something that is highly replayable, if you’re a bit of an arcade petrolhead, this is one to get behind the wheel of pronto.