When you think of games involving cars, what do you think of? Do you think of racing games like Need for Speed, Forza, Gran Turismo, The Crew, F1, or Burnout? What about games where cars are in it but are not the primary focus; Games like Mafia, Call of Duty, or GTA involve vehicles but they aren’t the primary focus. Whether they are the primary focus or not, players expect any kind of driving game to work properly, have decent handling, and be an enjoyable experience. Now a game called Driving Around by Theo Elion looks to create a new type of driving experience. With Neon lights mixing with Lofi, we set out to the streets to review Driving Around.
Driving Around
Developer: Theo Elion
Publisher: TDOG Games
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Release Date: February 6th, 2025
Players: 1
Price: Base: $4.99 USD
When you are told that a driving game is a mixture of neon lights and Lofi music, you expect that it will be either a visual or trippy experience. With Driving Around, players are introduced to what is supposed to be a stress-free driving experience.
Drive around the city and enjoy scenic landscapes. Considering going to The Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower? Don’t worry, Driving Around has you covered with the two being within close proximity of one another.
Whether you are playing around in the Open World or driving on the Infinite Highway, you can pick between six vehicles; these six vehicles range from stylish luxury cars to a standard truck.
Once you have selected your vehicle, the game will show you the driving controls whether you use a mouse and keyboard or a PS5 controller; if you are using an Xbox controller, you will have to match it with its PS5 counterpart.
Once you have loaded into the map, you will be able to adjust the game’s volume (General, Music, and Engine), Language, Speed Units, and Graphic Settings. Driving Around has eight language options (English, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, French, Italian, German, and Japanese). With the Speed Units tab, the player can switch between MPH and KM/H.
In regards to graphical settings, the player can adjust the screen resolution, windowed mode, VSync, Textures, Shadows, Reflections, Global Illumination, Vegetation, Shading, and Draw Distance.
The settings range from Low to Ultra. Even on the highest setting, Ultra, the physical demand on the PC was fairly low making it so that even older computers can play the game on a higher resolution.
Driving around the open world portion of the game can be soothing with the Northern Lights shining in the sky. The glare from storefronts, traffic lights, and other vehicles is kept to a minimum getting rid of the real-life aspect of night driving.
At first, the map feels rather tiny with you being able to explore the city completely in under 10 minutes, however, once you find a bridge or tunnel, you will be able to explore further.
Around the city, there is only one cool jump that you can launch off of but if you have the wrong vehicle, you will fail the jump. Additionally, there’s a soccer field where you can score a goal and a race track where you can do laps; the only downside, the game does not track your lap time.
On the Driving Around Infinite Bridge, you can take one of the same six vehicles and drive it on a never-ending highway (Like Route 1 to Keywest); well that is so long as the game doesn’t bug out and cause your vehicle to get loaded back in wrong and get stuck permanently.
If you wreck or crash into another vehicle too badly, you will have to reset the car. Resetting the car can cause one of three things to happen: 1. The car resets perfectly and you can start driving again. 2. The car spawns in the water near the bridge and you can see vehicles driving on the water. 3. You respawn on the bridge but the car cannot move.
In theory, an infinite bridge sounds fun, to drive around but when the cars go slow as a snail, then you will have to watch out for other motorists than you will objects.
Although Driving Around is cool in concept, it has a few things that make the game seem more like a student project rather than a published game. The game lacks an E-Brake, the camera refocuses to a specific point even without you telling it to, and some bigger objects can be driven through while small ones can not.
There is no map to track your location and see what cool areas you can go to. Car damage is rarely displayed on the vehicle, yet, the car can break and refuse to move.
Conceptually, Driving Around is like a relaxing low-anxiety game with a colorful atmosphere and calming music; in reality, the game seems more like a concept idea vs something to thoroughly enjoy.
If you want to drive around to Lofi music (only channel) and relax, go ahead, but the world feels like it was meant to be raced in. Some kind of story or an in-game narrative would make it feel more welcoming and unique.
If you are looking for a cheap driving experience then you should pick up Driving Around. If you are looking for an advanced racing game, then you should avoid picking it up.
Driving around for a few minutes/hours can be relaxing but there is not a lot of depth to the game. For five dollars it is not a bad game to pick up, but not one you will remember for years to come like Need for Speed Most Wanted, Mario Kart, or Blur.
Driving Around was reviewed on PC using a code provided by Theo Elion. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Driving Around is now available for PC (via Steam).
