Our weekly new game roundup doesn’t happen until tomorrow, but developer Dumb Luck Games launched their new title Retro Highway (Free) at such an odd time (as far as mobile game releases are concerned, anyway) that I wanted to make sure that it didn’t slip through the cracks. You might recall I posted about Retro Highway earlier this month, as I’m a huge OutRun fan from the time I was little and have loved all the retro-racer homages that have launched on mobile over the years, like Horizon Chase, Highway Runners, or the Final Freeway series. I also happened to own a Sega Master System when I was a kid, and the pack-in game was the classic arcade motorcycle racer Hang-On, so I have all sorts of fond memories of retro motorcycle racing. The trailer for Retro Highway looked to call back to many of those classics, while also putting its own modern mobile gaming spin on things with missions to complete and an upgrade system to work through. Here’s the launch trailer so you can see Retro Highway in action.
As you can see, they totally nail the retro aesthetic, but the gameplay is decidedly modern mobile gaming. You’ll race for as long as possible and earn coins by either collecting them on the track, pulling off stunts by hitting ramps and even landing on other vehicles, or performing close calls against oncoming traffic. Coins go towards unlocking new bikes and upgrading your three special abilities: a coin doubler, a coin magnet, and a shield. Each run you’ll have three special missions to complete, and completing those missions unlocks new environments which you’ll cycle through the further you get. Newer bikes are better and thus allow you to go faster and longer, so there’s a great sense of progression in the bite-sized gameplay loops of Retro Highway. It’s a free game with ads which you can disable for a $1.99 IAP, and you can buy extra coins or turbo boost tanks as IAP if you choose too, though it’s not required. Overall I’m loving everything about Retro Highway and the folks in our forums are digging it too, so if retro racers are your jam there’s no reason not to check it out for free using the link below for iOS or on the Google Play Store for Android.
