Street Heat First Impression – Spoiler: It wasn’t great.

Off to a bland start, and middle and end

As the title says, this is a first impression of Street Heat, bland graphics, frustrating gameplay and an almost complete lack of fun factor meant that it didn’t get to make very many more impressions on this writer. Street Heat is a top down racer that can be played locally with AI racers or up to four friends huddled around the keyboard, or online with four friends or strangers. Both game modes have the four players compete to reach 20 points. These points accumulate over several races, players receive points through winning races, or coming second or having the fastest lap.

A track from Street Heat

Worse than what came before

The easiest (and perhaps laziest) comparison you could make between Street Heat and another game would probably be the Micro Machines series which began in 1991. However, unlike Micro Machines which is chock-full of charm and game-play variety, Street Heat suffers from a lack of both. Micro Machines had interesting tracks, the top of a school desk, a bath tub, a breakfast table with the track delineated by pieces of cereal and many more. Street Heat’s tracks all look virtually identical; a black and white track with a coloured border, a few buildings dotted around the edge. This lack of variety will lead to boredom for most, if not all.

the handling is sloppy and the AI is frustratingly infallible

A slightly different track from Street Heat

Nothing about this is fun yet

Let’s look at the game-play next in Street Heat’s litany of failures; the handling is loose and sloppy and the AI is frustratingly infallible. As you can see from the screenshot below the AI moves in tandem, there is the occasional mistake but very infrequently. When you steer over the edge you explode and are out for the rest of the race, with no ability to respawn. What’s intensely irritating here is, because of the sloppy controls this will happen often. There wasn’t much fun to be had with Street Heat; instead there is frustration which will quite quickly give way to exasperation and eventually, probably deletion.

Street Heat may be worth checking in with some point down the road, my prediction is that it won’t be though

The frustratingly perfect AI in action

Unfinished, but what’s here is unimpressive

As stated, this is a first impression of Street Heat, not a final review. The game is in early access and the updates seem to be relatively frequent. There may be potential here for Street Heat to become a far more enjoyable experience. The controls are the most important thing that needs to change, but some interesting visuals wouldn’t be unwelcome either. The price point is quite low, and Street Heat may be worth checking in with some point down the road, my prediction is that it won’t be though.