![]() ![]() Making the decision to walk past the hip garage and do business with a probably unlicensed mechanic off the books, you can feel the game bumping up against some interesting ideas about how class and circumstance can limit your choices in life, but it never really digs into them. The other is a grease monkey operating out of an unmarked trailer who has fairer prices, but can never repair your machine back to full health. One is a beanie-wearing kid on a decent street next to an auto parts shop who slightly overcharges you for repairs. For instance, there are two hoverbike mechanics on Mars. From both the dingy parts of town your character hangs out in and the developer’s stated inspiration from shows like Cowboy Bebop, it’s clear that Desert Child is meant to evoke the feeling of scraping by, trying to make it big while being pulled down by the need to keep your stomach full and your bike in good repair.Īt times, it gets the idea across well. ![]() On the way, though, you’ll spend most of your time walking through run-down back alleys, flipping through records at the store, and downing hundreds of cinnamon buns and bowls of ramen. It only takes a few hours to hit that goal, and after the big race, the game abruptly ends. Your nameless character’s first goal is to save up enough prize money from hoverbike racing to get off Earth, then to earn enough to enter the Mars Grand Prix. A racing game at its core, Desert Child seems to want to tell a rags to riches tale, doing a lot of work to build up the “rags” side. It’s not that the game suffers from a lack of ambition. ![]() For better or worse, the final version of the game is basically identical to that preview - dripping with style, but ultimately shallow. We recently played a preview build of Desert Child, which charmed us with its funky aesthetic and great soundtrack, but felt a little light on gameplay. Not only because the game is so much about its style, which pervades everything even from its opening minutes, but also because not much changes after that. You’ll pretty much know how you feel about Desert Child within the first 10 minutes. ![]()
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