When I installed Turbo Kid, I only glanced at the top of the Steam page. Campy design… check! The synthesizer in every soundscape… yep. A great sense of humor… uh-huh. Neon colors, let me see, a resounding yes. There are comic book references, a nod to a little heavy metal.
In case it wasn’t clear, I love campy action movies and games, especially if they are from or a nod to the 80s. So yes, I enjoyed my time with this game even when I struggled.
Turbo Kid is a Metroidvania adventure game that is a follow-up of the 2015 movie of the same name. As Turbo Kid, we journey across the post-apocalyptic wasteland, armed with a machete and the Turbo glove. You run, jump, hack and slash, shoot, and even bike, to punch through the many villains blocking your path, with gory results. Along the way, you discover a world and story filled with a weird and hilarious cast of characters, a lot of cheeky references to 80s media, and a complete mythology.
First Impressions
The first thing that grabs you about this game is the art. Turbo Kid is a love letter to the 80s, and the Home Screen and Loading screen are a promise of what you can expect going into it. The game is filled with vibrant colors, strong silhouettes, and an unmistakable art style. Thanks to its clean aesthetics, you can always tell what’s happening on the map, even if you are zipping past it on Turbo Kid’s all-terrain bicycle. It allows you to immediately react to an enemy and stay one step ahead of what can be a very challenging game.
The second thing I noticed is how smooth the core gameplay and animation are. Every action is distinct and the levels are very well-designed, helping the player instinctively understand what needs to be done in the space to keep moving forward.
Since it is a Metroidvania game, I was expecting it to have smooth platforming but what is most impressive is the teleporting mechanic of the bicycle. You can seamlessly call it into use as you are moving through the map. The areas where you have to call it and abandon it in quick succession, just to successfully navigate a section or to reach a collectible, are always fun and challenging.
Bigger Than You Think
Turbo Kid is a massive game with a lot to discover and do if that is your playstyle. The large collection of collectibles tells stories from the wastelands. It includes a lot of references to 80s and 90s sci-fi post-apocalyptical material like Mad Max or The Terminator. You can find playable music cassettes and talk to the fun and strange people to learn more about the world (like the machine-based religion that is taking over the Wastelands).
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This is a game that will keep you occupied for longer than you would expect. It took me almost 9 hours of gameplay, of exploring and fighting and discovering, to even reach my first boss battle. There are 6 territories that you can explore, each with unique characteristics, color palettes, and challenges. This includes mini-games, puzzles, and more bike shenanigans than you can imagine.
Easy To Pick Up, Hard To Master
As you get into the meat of the game, you quickly begin to hit ridiculously challenging areas. A lot of the platforming requires you to be very precise, with little to no margin for error and that is even before you begin to unlock skills like the turbo boost that lengthen your jump.
That holds for the combat too. Whether you favor your machete or the turbo glove to shoot energy balls, combat is all about timing and quick reactions. More often than not, it’s about finding the right combination of jumping, boosting, and then perfect aim. That being said… this kid is a beast, especially with the machete.
Like the games of old, you have a limited amount of hearts, and until you can buy the bonuses, any damage sees you losing one of them. Add this to those elusive save spots and you quickly learn that you have to be careful and crafty with how you play the game. Let me just say that even though I never hit a rage-quit moment, I had a few heavy face-palm moments, one loud cussing session, and I almost threw my controller a few times.
The Pitfalls
As beautiful as this game is, the background lagged at the center of the screen when my gaming laptop was not connected to the power. Enough that I couldn’t appreciate the gorgeous art until after I had a few painkillers and some sleep.
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My biggest problem with the game is that certain parts of the maps feel forced. The stretches that connect one region to another are left bare; the designers likely did this assuming that the player would want to ride Turbo Kid’s bike. However, you can’t predict when you will be moving through an empty zone and when you will stumble on a platforming section or enemy. So, most of the time you keep running till you realize you are clear to jump on the bike, and then wham… a set of enemies or a complex bit of platforming.
Within platforming areas, I came across sections that had repetitive elements on multiple vertical levels. It felt like they were only meant to create distance from the save points.
For example, the parking lot of the mall in the junkyard. Yes… logically, I know that there are going to be a lot of cars and multiple levels of car parking. However, 3 vertical levels that take a good 10-20 seconds to run through, filled with cars that are too big to jump over, gets old, fast. Especially since there are very few enemies to fill the space and break the monotony. They didn’t even dissuade me from returning to the save point. Neither were they challenging. All they did was throw off the balance of the game and make me frustrated, killing my immersion.
As much as I eventually appreciated the reach the bike gave me, for the longest time, I avoided using it because of how tricky it was to learn. We are introduced to the platforming controls in a dream sequence where you get to use each move individually and see how they work in the space. However, with the bicycle, you are just dropped in the deep end with vague instructions on how to rotate the bike and do tricks. You don’t have the space to test it out or get control of it.
Since I kept crashing, I preferred doing it the slow way, accurately, unless I had no other option. Thus, for the longest time, I didn’t feel like it added anything to the gameplay.
Riding Off Into The Wastelands
Turbo Kid is filled with humor and random, interesting details. It’s nostalgic, but more than that, it is joyful. Despite the challenge, between the music and the vast array of things to discover or overcome, you will have a good time even if Metroidvania games aren’t your thing.
One minute you will be perusing Turbo Kid’s journal, which is filled with colorful crayon drawings. The next minute, you will be hacking through an enemy till they explode like a blood bag, leaving behind a backbone or intestine. It is hard, but it is rewarding even if it would be better with a few changes.
GamesHorizon recieved a review copy of Turbo Kid for Steam.
Turbo Kid
Turbo Kid is a nostalgic wonder that threads a fine line between child-like joy and a surprising amount of gore.
The Good
- Gorgeous nostalgia-driven art
- Great music and unique soundscapes
- Simple but challenging gameplay
- Massive map with a lot of collectibles
- A lot of side quests, minigames, and bike challenges
- A wide range of enemies and obstacles
The Bad
- Minor lag when the game was played on battery (laptop)
- Level design in some parts of the map feels monotonous
- The Bicycle is hard to learn and even harder to master
