Buck Up And Drive Review

 

An Absolute Wild Ride-A Buck Up And Drive Review

With the very prestigious Sonic Amateur Games Expo rolling around this week, a celebration of various fan projects as well as independent ventures by new indie developers, I decided to go play around and found a fully completed project in Buck Up And Drive. I had previously stumbled upon this project on twitter a while back, and have held deep excitement for this title ever since. Well, instead of wasting any more time, let's see how this stacks up.

Drifting, Dodging, and Driving Galore

Buck Up And Drive is, and these are the words of the dev here, "a playable shitpost...inspired by arcade driving games like outrun." While I agree its a very silly game at heart, BUAD has a lot of really rock solid gameplay packed into it. The game's main gameplay loop revolves around reaching the end of a level before the 60 second timer runs out. As you keep playing the levels get longer and longer as well as the amount of obstacles in your way. A successful run will see you flying at breakneck speeds, weaving in and out of traffic to beat the clock to the end (just be sure to not hit too many cars, as the police will try to stop you eventually).


After each level, you get a choice of two random biomes to generate the next level in. Each biome is more than diverse enough to keep the game from feeling stale (many don’t even take place on paved roads). After beating a level in a biome you've never seen before, you'll unlock that biome for the multiplayer fighting game mode (yes, this game has a one on one fighting game mode. I don't know why either). As of now I haven't given the 2 player mode a shot due to how enthralled in the single player I am. 


Every few levels or so, you’ll be challenged to a drag race against a random car type, unlocking the body type if you beat them as well as a hefty point bonus, to the end of the level. These were very fun as well as fair since the CPU is subject to the same collision as you are, meaning they'll likely hit traffic and wipe out just like you. Even with an obvious rubber band effect, these still fell like an enjoyable micro diversion from the main gameplay.


I also thoroughly enjoyed the customization options present here. There are 5 unlockable body types with more confirmed to be coming, as well as many color and decal options (you can even make your own decals and import them into the game). I really enjoyed the little references present with the five body types present. 


There is a deep level of admiration I have for games confident enough in their execution to be silly and or unique. BUAD is a great example of this, showcasing these extremely silly tricks and goofy maneuvers. To be a great game you don't have to take yourself so seriously, and I love that. Another factor to keep in mind though is that BUAD is grounded enough to remain playable as well as enjoyable, something that many devs looking to reinvent the wheel sometimes struggle with. 


Verdict

As an arcade experience, Buck Up And Drive is a small gem of perfection and replayability. What may have started as a simple little "shitpost" is unironically fantastic and possibly the best thing present at the 2021 SAGE. Be absolutely sure to pick this up on itch.io here and have a great time like I surely did.

9.5/10-A Great Arcade Addition 

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