In Trailblazers, you'll need to pull off some bold moves to stay ahead of the pack. Blending the ridiculously fast-pace of F-Zero, with the off-the-wall painting mechanic of Splatoon--this odd, but energetic racer keeps its action fast and fluid, even when things get messy. Set across the backdrop of an intergalactic racing competition, pitting the universe's most cunning drivers against one another, you'll need to bring your team to victory by pulling off some slick moves while dealing with increasingly challenging rivals.
Similar to other arcade-style racers with a focus on over-the-top action, Trailblazers is all about maintaining speed and utilizing power-ups to stay number 1 in the race. While drifting and weaving through the many complex tracks that will bring the drivers through corkscrew turns and other stomach-churning positions, you'll have to make some quick and by the skim of your teeth decisions to keep up. One of the game's most interesting mechanics is that is that you can paint portions of the race track to your team's color. Similar to Splatoon's paint gimmick, using up your paint to color the track that aligns to your team will give you a significant boost. By chaining together boosts across portions of the track, you'll be able to add to your speed multiplier. And the longer you can hold a boost, the faster you'll go, allowing you to gain even greater distance ahead of the other teams.
However, your rivals on the track can use the same tricks, and crossing over to other team's paint while boosting can decrease your speed. This is where the game's focus on co-op gameplay and strategic-painting comes in. While painting is usually done by sending the color behind you, you can also send it ahead of your vehicle. This is particularly useful when you're familiar with a certain portion of the track that could make for a solid place to gain fast-speed. Adding to the verticality of the tracks, where and when you and your rivals choose to utilize your boost and paint the course can make each race feel lively and somewhat unpredictable.
Along with its focus on multiplayer gameplay, featuring split-screen local play and online-multiplayer, Trailblazers also features a robust single-player campaign. Focusing on each member of the roster, character specific chapters will focus on their past and reveal what their particular stake is in the competition. The story mode offers a great way for players to get a feel of the roster, as each racer has their own vehicles with unique stats, which play a major role in how you want to make your way through each track.
Developed by SuperGonk, this brightly colored racing game has some clever ideas in how it blends on-the-fly strategic painting with twitch-based racing action. It was a blast getting a feel of the several tracks while experiencing the ins-and-outs of the many racers and their particular styles. Coming out May 8, Trailblazers is a fast and mesmerizing take on the arcade-racer, and it'll certainly be one to keep an eye on around come release.