'The Next Penelope' is an original 2D racing and action game set in a futuristic Odyssey. Each world features unique situations, races, bosses, and new permanent abilities to enhance your spaceship. All weapons cost vital energy when used, so the player is very powerful and close to death at the same time! The Next Penelope. Set in a futuristic Odyssey, 'The Next Penelope' is a fast paced action racing game with loud colors, an original story and a challenging risk-reward system. Weapons can be mixed and used at any time, but all these abilities cost vital energy!

Wacky RacesThe Next Penelope: Race to Odysseus combines both the Shmup genre and the top-down racing game genre together and the result is a fusion which just works.The game’s story doesn’t follow the popular 90’s cartoon of Wacky Races as the tagline might have suggested, instead it bases itself around Greek mythology. Players take the role of Penelope – the wife of Odysseus – as she tries to track down her estranged husband. On her journey she is attacked by various different groups of enemies and is forced to race against them in her own spaceship to figure out what has become of Odysseus.Upon starting the game you’re instantly thrown into a three-stage tutorial in which you’re given the chance to acclimatise yourself to the game’s controls and how your ship handles, as well as the various different kinds of stages the game has to offer – including racing and collecting certain amounts of XP. This doesn’t take long and before you know it you’re thrown onto a map screen where you can choose any of the game’s six different planets to gain new abilities and progress through the game.Worlds have specific difficulties, and these are judged by the ability you’ll get in each world; there are two Normal difficulty worlds, two Very Hard worlds and an Impossible world where weapons aren’t allowed at all. Each world will give you new weapons such as mines which, when exploded, will give you XP and a warp drive which will allow you to teleport yourself anywhere on the track as long as its on screen at the time.XP can be earned by destroying enemies, completing races or by dropping mines excessively.

Once you’ve earned enough XP it can then be used to give your ship enhanced abilities such as permanently increasing your speed or giving yourself extra energy which means you can use your abilities more or take more risks when crashing into walls or getting closer to enemies.The Next Penelope is mostly great but it’s not without its issues, for example, when you unlock a new ability for your ship it is automatically assigned to a button and there is no way to map the ability to a different button. An example of this is that the boost button is mapped to B and the shoot button is mapped to A. I found this initially difficult to get used to and would have liked to have been able to swap them around to make things easier for me personally to control.Another issue I had with the game was the difficulty curve that the game has, some of the later stages can be far too overly challenging and lead to a lot of frustration. Each world is made up of three stages and if you get stuck on one of these stages and decide to try another world you’ll have to start that world all over again, which is a real shame, but is balanced out by the fact you’re able to earn more XP by replaying stages you’ve already beaten.The Next Penelope looks, sounds and plays great, although there are a few issues that prevent it from being perfect.

However, if you’re looking for a game that might remind you of F-Zero on the SNES or the classic Micro Machines games, you can do far worse than this.

Right out the gate, is a rather strange concoction. Taking an ancient Greek myth as the foundation for its story, surrounding that in a futuristic setting and rounding all that off with some Micro Machines-inspired racing doesn’t sound like the sort of ingredients that would or even should go together let alone make sense. Yet somehow it all comes together in yet another strong indie effort for the Nintendo Switch.You take on the role of Penelope, wife of Odysseus (and a devoted one at that) who for ten years has been awaiting the return of her long-absent king. With the palace at risk from the evil Poseidon, Penelope has no choice but to find Odysseus in exchange for her people’s survival.

Taking off in her spaceship the game’s journey will take you to a number of planets throughout the kingdom of Ithaca where she will race, learn new abilities and even take on bosses.At its core, takes on the form of a top-down racer, the action blisteringly fast and frantic – so much so that you’re always hurtling forwards. Controls are nice and simple, your ship controlled using either the analogue stick, the D-pad positioned face buttons or the shoulder buttons. Outside the constant acceleration, the style of the racing feels fairly similar to the Micro Machines series. However, that is where the similarities end as forges its own path by introducing a number of unique weapons/abilities, but more on those later.The game’s story mode is laid out in such a way that you’re free to choose what order you tackle planets and their three events. The first introduces you to a new ability; the second sees you then put it to use against a number of AI racers and the final stage features some sort of boss battle.

And while other games of this genre might treat its weapons and abilities as smaller accompaniments to the actual racing, here they are essential in order to progress. The teleportation ability for example not only allows you to skip ahead of the pack when timed well but will give you the edge when battling that planet’s Minotaur boss. Other abilities prove just as beneficial in their own ways too. The boost allows you to knock enemies aside and burst through rubble, the grappling hook snatch away armour, guns do their gun thing and mines can halt other racer’s progress and absorb their energy.Speaking of energy, every ability you use will sap it from your tank meaning management is key. It’s an interesting mechanic and one that will keep you on your toes as you choose between playing it safe and keeping a fuller tank or risking it all for a shortcut.

Another neat inclusion is the game’s levelling system, experience awarding you with upgrades to things like your speed and handling. It gives the game a rewarded sense of progression as you not only update your craft with new gadgets but also its performance too.It’s these abilities and features that help stand out from other racers out there by seamlessly injected them into its racing. So much so that at times you feel like you’re playing a shoot ‘em up or even a platformer as you try to remain on the track and avoid a fatal fall or figure out the weakness of a deadly enemy. Unfortunately, while the game’s campaign is constantly engaging, throwing you new toys to test out fairly quickly, it’s also a very short one.

Even with the handful of extra challenges that you unlock the content still feels a little light. Even with just a couple more planets, the game would have benefitted greatly.is a real eye-catcher – the game sporting a unique low-polygonal style highlighted by its bright palette of colours. The characters themselves meanwhile appear more detailed with a static almost anime look about them popping up throughout the adventure to further the game’s story. All of this is rounded off with a catchy soundtrack that matches the urgent action on screen. All in all the presentation is excellent.The game also includes a multiplayer option playable for up to four people that’s sadly restricted to local play only.

Like Micro Machines the aim here is to stay on the screen whilst avoiding weapon fire from your foes or risk being eliminated. Last racer standing gets the point. Block city wars hack. Rounds are fast-paced some potentially lasting mere seconds before a winner surfaces so it won’t be long before you’ve exhausted the slim selection of tracks on offer. A neat inclusion especially seeing as each participant can play with a single Joy-Con on its side, but it’s one that will probably lose steam quickly.is a short but very fun racer.

While it may be the eye-catching visuals that initially draw you in, it’s the tough, clever, addictive racing gameplay that you’ll want to stay for. Another winner for the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch.Version Tested: Nintendo SwitchReview copy provided by Plug In Digital.