Even though I tend to gravitate towards games that are focused on traditional action or shooting of some kind more often than not, I’ll happily admit that a well-made racing game will easily grab my attention every time. While I do wish that the line-up on the Switch was deeper, and more varied, there have absolutely been some great titles in the indie space that have ranged from having a retro arcade feel, to simulation-style play, and a little bit of everything in between. Going with a more simplistic budget racer style, in theory there’s a place for Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC, but the experience doesn’t hold up very well where the rubber meets the road.

Going over what it does offer, there’s a small range of 8 tracks that you’ll work through at 4 different skill levels if you’re down to stick with it. The viewing angle is at least a little different than normal, with more of an elevated chase camera look as you work your way through corners and straightaways. Visually it has more of an arcade-style appearance that you may have seen in later arcade days as it does use 3D models, but the level of detail is generally quite dialed down. One example of an odd detail to include at some level, that was then neglected for some reason, are the loads of empty grandstands that you’ll drive past without a single spectator in sight.

The thing is, the issues with the gameplay itself are more of a concern, even accounting for the fact that this title is easy on the pocketbook. Collisions with other cars or the environment really aren’t handled at all, with the developer opting for you to just sort of bump off of them like everything is made of rubber. Perhaps that wouldn’t be so bad, but you can also somewhat get stuck on rival racers once you make contact, needing to brake or do something more extreme sometimes to break yourself back away from them so they aren’t slowing you down. Finally, there’s just a general lack of room for nuance and technique here as the steering is adequate, though not great, and your ability to do things like slide through turns doesn’t generally feel like it’s being rewarded as the CPU cars just chug around the track. All in all, even with a pretty low price, this is disappointing.