Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled review: Fun and nostalgic adventure

Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled is a nostalgic racing adventure with tons of customizable fun. Read our Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled review.

Crash Bandicoot embodies nostalgia. When you first load up Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, you are immediately stoked for this game. The game combines content from 3 Crash racing games including story mode, tracks, characters and skins from Crash Team Racing, Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Tag Team Racing. Put simply, this game is just fun.

If you don’t remember how hard the original games were, you will be reminded quickly. The sliding mechanism, turbo meter, and complicated courses can catch new players off guard, but it’s worth the challenge. Easy mode is not a walk in the park, and hard mode is almost an “oh I got lucky and won” towards the end. Either way, the game is a blast.

The story mode is similar to the original, where you win a few races and progress to different areas and face bosses. You can choose between classic mode and a new “Nitro Fueled” mode.

In the new “Nitro Fueled” mode, players progress through the story but can change their character, karts, and other customizables at any time on the overworld. I think I used almost every racer and kart I could at least once to get a feel of the differences in speed, turn, and acceleration. The characters look great, and the in and out of the races stand out.

This game adds new karts, skins for the characters and paint for the karts for even more customizable fun than the original. Characters, karts, wheels, paint colors and decals are unlocked through progression or can be bought with in-game coins.

After you win a race in the story mode you can go back and do a Relic Race which is a time trial where boxes freeze time or a CTR Coin Race in which you collect three coins and win and try to win the race. These extras only added to the content-rich game for a fuller experience.

The courses are fun and colorful, with a lot to look at while you drive. The difficulty progresses well, and hard mode offers a decent challenge. The updated tracks look so vibrant, the colors pop and the scene in the background are neat to look at.

Other than story mode, there is a Local Arcade Mode which is similar to other racing games, where 4 players can choose their characters and pick from any of the 31 tracks. There is a battle mode where you can compete with friends in games like capture the flag, crystal grab or steal the bacon. There is even a battle royale type game multiplayer mode.

The multiplayer mode brings in endless fun and chaos, which has been the calling card for the Crash Bandicoot franchise forever.

Comparisons will be made, but it’s more like Diddy King racing due to the story mode than Mario Kart. However, Crash Team Racing stands out on its own and delivers a wonderful gaming experience. The only complaint is the load times. When ported on the Switch they can be up to 30 seconds. On handheld mode, I had to wait up to 45 seconds at times. Either way, the game is worth the short wait.

Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled is a great update from the original from 1999. The game is loaded with content and endless fun, even if the load times are a little long.

Overall, there is a ton of fun to be had, whether you are playing by yourself or with others. The seemingly endless customization, difficulty changes, and the online play will allow for endless hours of fun and a wave of nostalgia.

Other studios take note, this is a remaster and an update to a game done perfectly. Activision and Beenox knocked this out of the park.

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