Turbo Kid review

Video games have all sorts of wacky and wonderful ways of getting from A to B, but the humble bicycle is rarely one of them. Outside of something like the physics based obstacle courses of the Trials series we don’t often get to experience the joy of pedalling down the street with the breeze in our hair in games, and as a former paperboy I’m all for more virtual biking. Turbo Kid breaks Metroidvania tradition by featuring a bike you can summon at will, and it turns out this combination is simply wonderful.

The titular Turbo Kid doesn’t live in a particularly idyllic world for cycling around in. Life in The Wasteland is pretty much as dangerous as it gets, with cults, drug addicts, and monsters lurking around every corner. Turbo Kid isn’t planning on sticking around here, but in order to continue on his biking adventure he needs to gather four weapon chips from all corners of this treacherous landscape. It’s a fairly simple setup, but there’s plenty of characters to meet and lore to discover in your adventure, which fans of the movie that the game is set in the same universe as will likely really appreciate.

Although bike based powers are the star of the show in Turbo Kid, you actually don’t start the game with your trusty ride. Instead you’re sent across the wastes by your new friend Naomi to gather some lost power ups from the pesky bandits that’ve stolen them, who will require a whole lot of blasting to take down. The kid only has a single shot blaster to his name at the start of the game, so careful shots and plenty of ducking behind cover and under thrown projectiles is key in the opening hour.

Before long though you’ll have a charge shot and a melee weapon to take down enemies, which as well as making beating up baddies easier, also enables you to access new areas thanks to the types of barricade they can break. As Turbo Kid is a Metroidvania this only continues as you progress, with wall jumps and air dashes waiting which will enable you to access even more hard to reach collectibles and new passages. It’s not anything you haven’t seen before in the genre, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly satisfying.

None of these familiar Metroidvania powers can hold a candle to the joy of riding your bike, which changes the game once you gain access to it. Summonable at any time with the press of the B button, your bike enables you to traverse the sizable map of Turbo Kid at top speed and access new areas by launching yourself up half pipes. This bike isn’t just a glorified boost either, you can do tricks and have full control over your rotation which is required to make it through some tricky sections.

It wouldn’t be a Metroidvania without plenty of exciting secrets to find across the map, and Turbo Kid has plenty to discover. Everything from pieces of heart to upgrade your health to bundles of scrap can be found hiding in the hard to reach corners of The Wasteland, and finding ways to use your powers, bike, and skill to collect something that would’ve been impossible a few hours ago always feels so rewarding.

All the small upgrades you can grab are lovely, but gathering those crucial four weapon chips is the real goal of the game. As well as ensuring you can finally leave this hellscape of bandits, these weapons all have different effects that can be used in combat to maim anyone who stands in your way. From bouncing saw blades to electricity that jumps between targets, you’ll need to switch between these powerful offensive options if you want to beat the tough bosses and arena fights waiting for you further into the game.

I had such a good time playing through Turbo Kid, and in part this is due to the awesome little extras that are sprinkled throughout the game. Things like the bike races you’ll find in each area with rewards for beating certain times, or the trick competitions which task you with unleashing your inner Matt Hoffman. The variety is absolutely ideal, and kept me smiling throughout my entire apocalyptic adventure.

As much as I adored my time with Turbo Kid though, I must admit it has a couple of small issues. Too many collectibles you work hard to find are just pieces of lore or pages of a comic book, which might be fun for fans of the movie, but to me just felt inferior to handy health upgrades or cold hard cash. The opening hour before you get access to your bike just takes a touch too long as well, which is a bit of an underwhelming first impression.

Turbo Kid is an awesome bike-based Metroidvania, with fun combat, great locomotion, and loads of hidden treasures to find. Using your bike to get around and launch yourself to secret passages never gets old, and the gory apocalyptic setting is a joy to explore. If you’re looking for an interesting twist on a genre we all know and love, then pedal on over to Turbo Kid as fast as possible.