Game Review: Super Night Riders (Xbox One)

Super Night Riders is a retro-inspired (think Hang On), straight-forward arcade bike racer. Not conventional races, instead it’s all about racing against the clock to pass checkpoints.

There is not a lot of content or options but it has plenty of the fun factor thanks to the eye-catching visuals and simple controls.

There isn’t much content, races taking place across levels that have a variation of six different scenes. You’ll be driving through a forest, a city and a desert to name just a few. No matter what level you choose you’ll get a variation of the six different scenes set during a day/night cycle. There may not be much in the way of variety as you see the same scenes over and over again but its arcade gameplay doesn’t really make it a problem.

The crisp, retro look is very appealing even if it’s not going to win any awards for its visual style.

Putting it simply, you can imagine yourself sitting on a bike racing through these courses as you sink money into the arcade machine for just one more go.

Adding to that retro feel are the different musical tracks you can choose from prior to entering a race. If you’re not feeling one as you drive the courses a simple press of the button will cycle through the selection until you find one you do like. It’s a real call back to the years gone by.

The controls are so simple, and it’s very easy to go fast and stay fast. It feels solid and it plays extremely smoothly. Your only real obstacle to failing are other riders who litter the track as hitting one will see you slow down significantly. Hit more then one and you’re likely to fail. There is not much room for error which can be frustrating as there are so many of them.

Also, the game really doesn’t have much content at all. Once you’ve done the races there is nothing else to bring you back other then topping the leader boards. Still it’s fun while it lasts and the hard work put in to give it that retro look and feel certainly pays off.