Cygnus Racing League (PC) Review

 

Cygnus Racing League is another attempt at a vehicle based Battle Royale Game. The best one was probably 'Not my Car Battle Royale', even though the less traditional 'Eliminator Mode' from the Forza Horizon games could be mentioned as well. The only thing safe to say is, that Cygnus Racing League doesn't live up to them. In comparison to most other vehicle based BRs, you control a futuristic spaceship, instead of a car or a boat, in Cygnus. You can also aim and shoot freely during the races. This is in fact the very point of the races. Players will not only have to be the fastest, they also have to take out as many opponents as possible.

Here however lies my fundamental problem with Cygnus Racing League. The gameplay is just not very good. I am not immune to the charm of the game. Cygnus Racing League looks like a teenager's vision of a cool racing game with lasers. The problem however is, that creating a good racing game with a decent combat system is a very difficult task. There is a reason why practically nobody has managed to create such a thing so far. There are racing games with combat elements, but these are often less direct or at least involve some kind of aim assist system.

In Cygnus Racing League however I already have enough problems with just staying on track. The tracks are short, curves and corners are frequent, and the acceleration of the vehicles is really fast. The vehicles are generally very sensitive, reacting very strongly to any movement input. Therefore I had a difficult time in trying to not run out of the track, while all the Bots seemed to drive perfect laps without any struggles. Just racing would consequently already be difficult, but trying to use the free aim system, while keeping your vehicle on track, managed to be an absolute hassle. Even when driving rather slowly (for this fast paced game) I would have a difficult time in hitting enemies. Aiming, while driving quickly, on the other hand was completely impossible, unless you only wanted to shoot right in front of you, but even than you would have to fight the movement controls.

There are 10 different tracks, which look quite different. That being said the visuals are also rather bare-bones in this game. In the late 90s this would have been an under average looking game. In 2022, it is obviously completely outdated. I understand that Cygnus began it is life as a mobile game, but even on mobile devices it should be among the ugliest games. The track design also leaves much to be desired. The circuits are just way too small for such a fast paced game. A race lap usually doesn't take more than 20 seconds. Bigger and better circuits could have helped in hiding the game's flaws in the gameplay department.

There is at least a decent variety of vehicle models (6) and tracks to play on for a smaller game. You can play with 64 different players or Bots (much more likely). It is however quite questionable whether Cygnus actually qualifies to be a Battle Royale game. The devs classify it that way, but I don't really see the required elements. At the end only 1 driver wins, but all drivers can respawn after being taken out, while only receiving point penalties. Ultimately the win isn't determined by survival, but by the point score, which consists of completed laps and destroyed opponents. Therefore I would call this game more of a race combat game, than a vehicle based BR.

 

Pro:

- Cool concept (Futuristic racer with combat elements)

- Halfway decent variety of tracks and vehicles (for a small game)

 

Contra:

- Oversensitive movement

- Awful aiming system

- Neither real Racing nor Battle Royale

- Tracks design is subpar (tracks are too short)

- Severely outdated visuals

 

Result:

Cygnus Racing League has a very cool concept of racing in spaceships and battling each other in a big Battle Royale Race. In reality however Cygnus fails in execution. Movement and aiming feel awful and the game looks pretty hideous. Not every cool concept turns into a cool game. When looking at videos, I thought the gameplay might be fun, but in reality it was not.

 

2.5/10

Scuffy Game (PC) Review

 

Scuffy Game is a more scuffed version of Crab Game (Yes, that is possible). The game is therefore a Battle Royale inspired minigame collection/ competitive Platformer. Players originally competed in 5 different minigames against each other, but since the new content updates, the amount of different gamerounds has multiplied to 25 (some of them are just alternated versions and some are also unfinished).

In some of the games all players can advance to the next round and in some only 1 player can win. This was one of the biggest downsides of the original version. There was no indication of any player actually winning, which took a lot of motivation and purpose of the game. Now you at least get to see your player perform some kind of victory dance, if you won a final stage.

The classic minigame of Scuffy is the 'Platformer Map', which resembles the famous glass platforms from Squid Game. You have two rows of platforms and one platform breaks per jump. There is a shorter and a longer variant and the content updates also brought two additional glass ones. This is obviously a very iconic game, but the fun factor largely depends on the amount of players participating. If you play with 2 or 3 people and 8 rows of platforms, than it will be nearly impossible for anybody to complete the map. Most of the fun comes from the pressure of the time limit to complete the stage in conflict with the benefits of being a freerider and letting the other players volunteer. 

Then there is the 'Race Map', in which you have to swim through water, pass some platforms and spinning obstacles, to finally outrun a Tsunami and jump on a tiny platform. The updates brought a new variant in the 'Lava Race', which replaces the Tsunami with a rising wave of Lava. The updates also decreased the speed of the spinning obstacles, which is appreciated. The original speed was a bit too fast and required more luck than actual skill to pass. There are also two other Race Maps called 'Race Map Scuffed' (original maps). On these maps you have to jump on floating chairs, couches and small obstacles to reach a finishing point. Race Map Scuffed requires more jumping skills than actual speed. Two new obstacles maps are 'Wipeout' and 'Wipeout Lava', which are both obstacles courses and race maps. Players have to pass floating balls and jump on some of them, to reach the end of the level as the first participant. There is only one winner on these maps. The same balls are also featured in the original 'Ball Game', which is a minigame about dexterity. Players have to stay on top of balls, which are moving all over the place (similar to a bull riding game). The last of the classic rounds is 'Skybox', where you have to survive an armada of cubes falling from the sky.

The content updates also brought the 'Jump Club Maps', which are just rip-off versions of Fall Guys Jump Club map, with the difference that you will have to jump on the rotating beam in order to have any chance of survival. 'Scufed Scufed Scufed' is the perverted version of Jump Club, where the beam is so fast, that it is physically impossible to survive. 'Subways' is a rather lame minigame, in which you have to survive on top of a subway station, while a magical wall pushes you towards the rails. It is however way to easy to climb back on the subway platform, which eliminates all kind of challenge. In the 'The Floor is Lava' Map it is, as the name suggests, the goal to survive a rising amount of lava. This can be done by climbing on top of pyramids, which also sounds more exciting than it actually is. 'Moon' on the other hand is a pretty cool addition to the game. It is race map in space, which uses a low gravity effect for jumps. I did like this one. 'Wall Run Strats' feels like a longer version of Race map scuffed. Players have to jump from obstacle to obstacle to make it to the finish line. I don't know if it was just me, but this was the only map I wasn't able to complete. One of the jumps in the middle of the level just seems impossible, regardless of position, speed and aim of the jump.

Two maps, which aren't completed yet, are 'Kraken' and 'Soccer'. Kraken is supposed to be a bossfight against a Kraken Monster, but just ends as soon as the map starts. Soccer is supposed to a football match, but there are no real goals, scores or anything else. It's inclusion seems a bit pointless. The 'Mom's Basement' maps were alright. In these maps a female character (which looks strikingly similar to Luxe from Fortnite) will hunt players and if she catches you, than you are gone. You have to escape the basement, which plays fine. Unfortunately these maps consists of extreme earrapes, as soon as you spot the Mom character, which is really disturbing. I had to unplug my headset, in order to not get bleeding ears. I understand what the dev was going for, but the sound difference is just way too big. 'Mom's house' is the last map and in this one you have to escape a house instead of a basement and the Mom character is even faster than in the basement levels.

Overall the quality of the minigames certainly improved with the updates (added sound effects, visual elements, presentation aspects). There are still a couple rather boring (Floor is Lava, Ball Game, Subways) and some broken ones (Kraken, Soccer), but most other are definitely fun to play. The Platformer and various Race maps were certainly the best. The player count however has a huge impact on the fun factor.

Visuals and presentation of Scuffy game are really minimalistic. I understand that the game is going for a 'scuffed' look, but the presentation is minimal and the visuals have to be described as really hideous. Effects like the Tsunami wave also just look horrible.

One of the biggest flaws of the game is the fact, that you can't do anything after you died. You can neither switch the camera position to see what is going on with the surviving players, nor can players for example vote to skip the map, if all of them have died. Instead, they will have to wait till the timer drops to Zero, even if nothing is going on meanwhile. Matches should definitely end early, if all players have died. Another technical problem is, that the game settings will be deleted, once you close the game. This means you will have to reset them every time you want to play...

I also really dislike that there are issues with jumping and sprinting. You have to press the sprint button at the exact right moment or the input will not be registered. If you pressed sprint for example too early before the round started or after you started walking, than you will not sprint until you stop using the buttons. This often screwed up jumps of mine. Jumping also generally feels a bit too floaty. You can mostly get used to it, but once you press the jump button, you have zero control of where you will hit the ground. These movement issues should definitely be improved. I also experienced some Glitches and Server Disconnects, but those seem to be nothing out of the ordinary, from what you could expect from a smaller game.

The updates also added a solo mode for offline-players. The game loses a lot of its appeal by playing solo, but its inclusion is still useful to learn the maps. Alternatively you can also create your own online server and play alone there (which will allow you to earn achievements). The small playerbase is unfortunately another issue of the game. With many other players and especially with friends, there is some fun to be had, but you will nowadays (1,5 months after launch) rarely find other players, which is a shame.

 

Pro:

- Most maps are fun

- Content updates enhance map variety

- More fun with friends

- Scuffed charm of the game (Meme Game)

 

Contra:

- Movement issues (Jumping is way too floaty; Sprint button often doesn't work, if you press too early)

- Match doesn't automatically end when everybody is dead (no skip vote option either)

- Sound changes don't save (earrape in Mum's basement levels)

- Hideous Visuals

- Very small playerbase

 

Result:

Judging a game like Scuffy Game isn't that easy. The game is obviously trying to be a Meme game, but the attempt can't excuse all flaws. The game is too scuffed for its own good, but there are also a couple of bright spots. Most maps are fun, especially with friends, and the game has noticeably improved through the updates. Nonetheless, there would still need a lot of work to be done, in order to be a truly good game. Right now Scuffy Game is nevertheless worth a look for all players interested in a Meme Battle Royale inspired Game, or fans of Fall Guys and Crab Game.

 

5.5/10