Sometimes when you hear about a game concept, you think to yourself, “that sounds like it has the potential to be a great or even an amazing game.” With franchises such as Mario Kart, Need for Speed, Forza, Forza Horizon, and Gran Turismo dominating the racing genre, it is very rare that a racing game comes out and is fairly surprising. The last time we saw a racer so captivating was the release of Activision’s Blur.
Early this year at Summer Game Fest, we met with Sumo Digital to preview their latest game DeathSprint 66. Sadly, the meeting was fairly short due to a constricted schedule. Despite having only fifteen minutes to check out the game, DeathSprint 66 was able to make a lasting impression on us leaving us craving more. Now with the game officially launched, we can dive into Sumo Digital’s DeathSprint 66 and share with you our thoughts about this jockey action-packed death racer.
Developer: Sumo Digital
Publisher: Secret Mode
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Release Date: September 12th, 2024
Players: 1 plus 8 Player PVP
Price: Base: $24.99 USD
Set in the of 2066 in a dystopian future, DeathSprint 66 puts players against one another, AI, or a deadly environment. The game features two primary modes, PVP and PVE. In PVP, you will race against fellow Jockey-controlled Death Sprinters; don’t worry though, no one was harmed in these bloody and explosive races. Each racer is a summer controlled by a jockey; when a dummy dies they explode everywhere. Die enough and you will get the Suit of Shame (Crash Test Dummy).
Each race can have a different theme with traps changing each time. What could have been a deadly laser before can now be a spiked roller or even a landmine. As you are running the track, you can gain surge by drifting, grinding rails, gathering electricity, or killing other players.
Speed may be an important factor in most races, however, some require a more tactful approach. Shoving your enemy into traps, dodging power-ups, and even drifting at the right moment can lead to your survival and the death of a fellow racer. Be careful to not go too slow or you might be taken out.
The game features seven power-ups: Buzz Saw, Giga Saw, Enraged Charge, Landmine, Shield, Seeker Drone, and EMP. The Buzz Saw is similar to Mario Kart’s green shell; during our play through we were unable to launch it backward despite the tooltip telling us we could. The Buzz Saw, Giga Gaw, Bull, and Seeker Drones are great ways to take out enemies, however, they can also be used to take out traps. The Enraged Charge (Bull) may be great for taking out enemies, however, when going around open corners or launching off Jump Pads, it typically would launch us off the track.
Winning the race isn’t everything; you must keep the crowd entertained. By dying, killing others, narrowly avoiding traps, and finding opportune moments, you can increase your reputation and notoriety with the crowd. Gaining notoriety unlocks new banners, emotes, and skins.
In PVE, the game features six/seven game modes. Players can participate in Killing Time (+Killing More Time), Overclocked, Five Lives, Survive the Holonet, Surge Master (+NeuroSurge), Bloodbath Circuits, and Bloodbath Sprints. Killing time is a race to the finish without running out of time; as you run the course, there will be Stem-Link rings the player can run through in order to gain additional time.
Similar to Killing Time, Overclocked is a race for survival where the players must run through the Stem-Link to gain additional time or die; unlike Killing Time, Overclocked is a sprint to the finish requiring only one lap compared to the multiple circuits.
In Five Lives, the player must complete the course, and its circuits, and win the race without dying five times. Survive the Holonet is similar to Fives Lives however it is a sprint versus a circuit race. Surge Master is a bit different than the other game modes. Although it is a multi-circuit sprint, finishing will not hand you the win; in order to win, you must collect enough surge points throughout the sprint to appease the crowd.
Finally, in both Bloodbath Circuits and Blood Bathsprints, the player is granted 10 lives while racing against other enemies and even more traps! In this chaotic mode, you are never quite sure what you can expect with landmines, lasers, and enemy power-ups coming at you from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Although DeathSprint 66 may be a fun racer, it has a low floor for entry but a high learning curve for success. The PVE game modes can be quite challenging and frustrating at first requiring you to make multiple attempts to succeed (get good). Once you finally succeed or pull off the amazing depth of dodging and weaving, your heart will be racing and making you crave the surge of adrenaline.
DeathSprint 66’s biggest flaw is its lack of a story to fully introduce you to the world that you find yourself in. Yes, unique racers are fun, however, whenever you compare it to most modern racers it lacks in comparison. People buy Mario Kart, Forza, and Gran Turismo just for the PVP racing, but games like Blur, Forza Horizon, and Need for Speed captivate audiences by giving them a compelling story on top of the racing they crave.
When you look at DeathSprint 66 you would think that its release cost would be closer to that of a AAA game. The special effects between the lasers, power-ups, and exploding bodies are highly detailed and make you feel like they were developed by a major developer.
This is not knocking Sumo Digital, but rather expressing how much time, effort, and attention to detail they put into the game. The game skins might be a bit underwhelming at the start, but when you are barely paying attention to the skin color vs trying to survive. The only time it truly stands out is when you get the skin of shame and look like a true crash test DUMMY.
DeathSprint 66’s soundtrack will kickstart your heart with adrenaline-pumping beats, chugging guitars, and a jockey in your ear that makes you feel like you could take on the world. The death sounds may sound gruesome at first, but with fast-paced action on screen, you will quickly disregard the death noise and crave the thrill of the need for speed.
The game features both a female and male announcer (Ben & Amber). Players can change the volume of the game by adjusting the Master Volume, Music, Sound Effects, Ambience, and Race Tech noises. The game features a variety of languages including English (US & UK), German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese (Simplified & Traditional).
DeathSprint 66 is a fun action-packed racer whose only flaws are a lack of an online community and a themed story mode. The game does have some latency issues which cause some untimely deaths that can seem like bugs. The game does require a minimum of 10 GB of RAM which can be a lot for older computers.
DeathSprint 66 contains 15 different maps that the player can race through either in PVP or PVE. If you feel like you need practice, you can always go into Rehearsal Mode to try out a track or mode. Priced at $24.99, DeathSprint 66 seems like a steal compared to other racing games. The previously mentioned issues are what truly hold it back. If Sumo Digital or Secret Mode had a good way to market the game, it could potentially be one of the next big racers.
DeathSprint 66 was reviewed on PC using a copy provided by Sumo Track. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. DeathSprint 66 is now available on PC (Steam).
