There is an undeniable appeal to open-world games where you play as a troublemaker. Grand Theft Auto III was a major pioneer for 3D video games and a paradigm shift for the entire industry. It completely changed how developers think about making games, pushing player agency, freedom, and emergent gameplay that fostered criminal mischief.
The only problem with Grand Theft Auto is that it has always been an adult’s game. Kids desperately wanted a taste of the action; their only option was Simpsons: Hit and Run from 2003. This cartoony take on the “steal-cars-and-do-whatever-you-want”-style of action-adventure gameplay became a cult classic, yet nobody has bothered to follow up on it… until now.
There should be more crime games aimed at kids. There is nothing more kids like than some good old-fashioned anarchy. How can it be done while maintaining a child-friendly tone, while not talking down to them, and still be amusing for anybody to pick up and play? Dutch game developer snekflat found a way. How did they do it? Find out in our Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip review!
Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip
Developer: snekflat
Publisher: Super Rare Originals, Super Rare Games
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: February 13, 2025
Price: $17.99
Terry is a little fish-faced dude with big dreams of going to outer space. To achieve his cosmic ambitions, he sets out to acquire a car, but not just any car… it must be fast. After the most surreal job interview at the jobby center, he is given a one-seater taxi cab and is expected to ferry people to their destinations. Except Terry has no intention of ever working, the only thing that matters is speed and space.
Terry’s taxi is simply not built to carry more than one person. Sadly, there is no Crazy Taxi-style minigame, but Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip makes up for it with a soccer minigame, bumper car battles, and a town designed like a Tony Hawk skate park.
Terry’s town is not big. The island has a few thoroughfares, a downtown area, and the resort tourist area. It’s got an air of cynical bleakness to the ambiance. Terry’s home is a rundown apartment by a polluted beach where the tourists slum it up and where the sewage plant dumps the poopie water where people swim.
While Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip looks like an open-world crime game, it has more in common with adventure games, often resembling something Double Fine would make. Terry needs junk to upgrade his cab’s speed boost to drive up the side of the tallest building in the town square and players are free to attempt this drive any time, but to no avail. Unless Terry’s car is leveled up enough, it won’t break the stratosphere.
How Terry goes about collecting enough junk is up to the player. He can always use money to buy tools, like a shovel to dig up caches of junk, or a monkey wrench to steal cars and sell them. Junk is always the priority and it’s lying around all over the place. It’s even possible to not engage in any of the stories or minigames and to collect it around town because it respawns.
Most of the activities and content in the game are optional. Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip is so relaxed and laid-back with low stakes that it doesn’t care if you beat it without engaging with it. Some mini-games are surprisingly challenging, like the yoga dance or the bug hunt, so it’s good that gamers won’t be forced to do things they don’t want.
The crimes you commit are hilariously conceived. Sure, you can go around beating people with a pipe, but Terry’s real felonies are non-violent and extremely unethical. Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip is a funny game. A lot of the humor is derived from unusual cadence in the way characters interact and clever build-up and pay-off.
Terry gets a cellphone, complete with a fully functional keypad. The joke is that he can only call his uncle, and his phone number is 1. That’s it. There are plenty of similar absurd gags like this baked into the game that made me want to seek out all of the stories, despite maxing out Terry’s car in less time than it took to write this review.
Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip‘s visuals are unlike any 3D video game. It achieves a surrealist, abstract, illustrative art style that doesn’t even look like a video game from some angles. Terry is rendered in a way where he abides by 2D art rules, despite being fully 3D. Like in both Shin Chan games, his head must only be seen from specific angles and geometry snaps into place regardless of the camera’s position.
The compact world is stuffed with details. Every area is designed with a purpose and various points to interact with. Even Terry’s apartment is fully realized and while most people might not ever take the time to explore it, every room is modeled and arranged with items that tell a story.
The whole island is brimming with personality and amusing stories. It’s a place with genuine hang-outability; the kind of town that you won’t want to leave. When it’s time to head out to space, the ending is bittersweet with an amusing twist. After reaching space, gamers are free to finish up quests, buy any costume pieces, or play the mini-games.
There isn’t much to Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip, but it’s hard to complain when it’s priced so cheaply and consistently funny. It may not be as deep or long or as complex as Simpson’s Hit and Run, but it is a hell of a lot funnier and kids will still adore this for its unique art style and engrossing setting.
Terry’s quest for space can be completed in a single session, but the real fun is the space we made along the way. The open world was just a means to an end to make the world feel more immersive and Terry doesn’t need to drive that much apart from driving up the building. Sometimes messing around and enjoying a simple laugh is the best joy in life.
Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 using a code provided by snekflat. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5.
