Developer: Aquiris Game Studio
Publisher: Aquiris Game Studio
Platform: PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tested on: PC
Horizon Chase Turbo: Senna Forever – Review
Ayrton Senna was a legendary F1 racer between 1984 and 1994. His career was filled with many amazing victories but sadly he died in a crash during his last race in 1994. His fame might be overshadowed by other skilled racers of recent times, like Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, but his legacy lives on. Therefore the developers of Horizon Chase Turbo have decided to create a DLC in honor of the Brazilian legend.
Story
The game follows the F1 career of Ayrton Senna from his debut in 1984, to the bitter end in 1994. The campaign is divided into five chapters filled with his racing highlights, which you get to experience firsthand. During this digital journey of his career, you will race against other large names from that era. These other famous drivers’ names were altered, just like the vehicle manufacturers, so there weren’t any licensing issues. This is a fun way to test your knowledge of older racers, as you’ll have to try to spot all the cameos.
For a racing game, it has a short and decent storyline. It teaches you the history of Ayrton Senna and you get to experience his career in a fun arcade-styled DLC.
Graphics
Horizon Chase Turbo is a game that has always looked great if you have a weak spot for old-school arcade racing games. In the base game, you play the game in a 2D perspective from behind the car. The Senna Forever DLC introduces the player to a first-person view in the F1 cars. This only works for the DLC vehicles, so this means you sadly won’t be able to see the other cars of the base game in a first-person view. What makes the game even more lovable are the bright colors and its many fun settings. Especially in this DLC, you will see many world-famous circuits brought to life in a retro setting. Those who have played the main game will see the return of the speech bubbles. These one-liners pop up when you make your way past some racers or use the boost. Senna will ‘shout’ something inspiring and will refer many times to Brazil, his home country.
Sound
The music in this DLC is absolutely amazing. The upbeat music sounds like it was made in the 1980s, but with modern technology. The F1 cars sound fairly realistic, but overall, the sound is very typical for an arcade racing game such as this. Just like the graphics, you’ll notice that the quality is high and the whole experience is a pleasure to the ears.
Gameplay
Senna Forever is a DLC for the well-beloved arcade racing game Horizon Chase Turbo. The gameplay is quite simple, in each race you start in last place and must make your way up for a podium finish. In this DLC, you will follow the career of Ayrton Senna, a Brazilian F1 legend that had an amazing ten-year career. Stretched over five chapters, players participate in all the races Senna did. It all starts in 1984 when young Senna enters the championship and had to make a name for himself. One of his first big merits is the rainy race at Monaco GP, where he finished second against all odds. Even though you’ll be playing as Senna, you won’t have to finish in the same place as he did for those specific events.
Throughout the five chapters, you will drive several F1 cars. Just like in real life, these changed over the years, and their unique designs make you look back on how motorsport was a few decades ago. Each chapter has a different number of races available, and with more than 40 races, this DLC proves to be a meaty package. That being said, this add-on can be cleared in a few hours and it’s quite accessible for newcomers, as you often only need to finish in the top five to progress.
Senna Forever also brings a few new elements to the table. In this DLC, each race will have Senna’s Marks. These so-called ‘Marks’ are three objectives that you can go for to get maximum points for each of the races. These objectives are completely optional and just create some extra replay value for completionists. You can always revisit older races again to hit the trickier Marks.
The last new thing is that before starting the race, you’ll need to choose a race strategy. With this option, you can select one of three pit strategies that will slightly alter your experience. Either you can choose to put on special tires for better handling, but this will increase fuel consumption, or will you get the engine upgrade so your car puts out more power and has a higher top speed? Or do you want to take a safer bet and install a larger fuel tank so gas isn’t a large issue anymore? Experienced players will notice that each track has its own preferred strategy, so studying the track beforehand and choosing accordingly will maximize your odds at bringing home the gold.
Conclusion
Senna Forever is a great little DLC for Horizon Chase Turbo. You get to relive the glory moments in Artyon Senna’s career and thanks to the good amount of content it will keep you busy for a while. The new first-person view is great but it would have been an even better treat to have it available for the base game as well. This DLC is great for F1 fans, or those wishing to improve the longevity of their Horizon Chase Turbo experience.
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