Turbo Kid

Sometimes a game comes around that perfectly defines me, not only in game taste but as a whole in pop culture. Turbo Kid embodies this with its 80s and 90s aesthetic, synth music and pure, old-fashioned Metroidvania goodness. The game has been out since last year on Steam, gathering up plenty of positive reviews, and it’s now time for it to grace consoles too.

Based on the cult 2014 film of the same name, you meet up with Turbo Kid for a new adventure set just after the ending of the film, on a mission to explore more of the post-apocalyptic wasteland that is set in 1997. It’s not long until he’s ambushed, though, and not only is the robot shell he wears stolen but also his trusty BMX. Thankfully Naomi, a resident of New Hope, finds and takes Turbo Kid back to her lab and brings him back to full health. 

With the help of Naomi, Turbo Kid recovers his gear and sets off to leave the wasteland, but there’s a snag. To do so, he needs to go through the Eligius Gate, which needs four chips to open, which belong to certain residents of the area. So, the adventure begins to recover the chips and get the hell outta there. 

This is a pure-blooded Metroidvania, with everything you would expect to see. Five areas await with large and intricate, interconnected maps to explore; unreachable and inaccessible areas; upgrades to Turbo Kid and his weapon; and challenging bosses are all present. But the addition of the BMX takes the game to another level, nicely incorporating sections fit for some fun BMXing in its level design without it overstaying its welcome or being heavily relied upon by the developers Outerminds.  

With tight and enjoyable controls, the BMX riding was a pleasure, and the ability – after an upgrade – to spike the wheels to ride up walls really made for some original set pieces. With time trials to find and complete for prizes, some thought was taken to try and flesh out the riding without being overbearing, and the idea of the bike transporting back to Niaomi’s lab when Turbo Kid wasn’t using it answered one of my biggest queries. 

But there’s plenty of exploring on foot to do too, with some surprisingly tough platforming sections. These get easier thanks to the upgrades you can find, with the expected wall jump, dodge roll and mid-air dash helping tremendously once acquired. This is one area in Turbo Kid that I would have loved some more innovation on, instead of just the usual upgrades, but nevertheless, they still made a fun impact on the gameplay. 

While you’re busy exploring the wastelands, there are many enemies out to stop and get in your way. Thankfully Turbo Kid is armed with his trusty blaster, housed in his Turbo Glove for some excellent ranged attacks. For more close-up attacks, he uses his machete, which I found to be more effective than the blaster, and it became one of my go-to attacks. The combat does seem more on the harsher side, taking chunks of health that caused me many deaths, and it took me turning on the setting in the wonderfully deep accessibility settings to help me become more comfortable with the difficulty. 

This difficulty shows the most through the wonderful boss fights, finding myself turning on a few more options to get through the fight. Though the bosses do excel at some interesting combat and reveal some unique ways in which to attack them. After a successful battle, Turbo Kid is rewarded with a weapon chip and an upgrade to his blaster. 

This is where the game excelled a little for me, with some unique blaster upgrades I haven’t come across before. The saw launcher was a tasty one, giving the ability to fire many saw discs at once; it was much fun seeing them bounce around the area destroying everything in their path. The ooze spitter was another favourite, giving Turbo Kid the ability to launch toxic goo at enemies and leaving puddles for enemies to get stuck in. These upgrades do use Turbo Energy though, so use wisely, as the energy bar needs to replenish fully before using them again. 

Through all this lies a nonlinear narrative that was actually quite deep in places. I was shocked to find I was a little taken by the NPCs of the game, especially Naomi, who had a lovely way about her, and I loved the development she went on through the game. The big bad and his dastardly scheme were also interesting and unique, with a satisfying endgame boss fight that I won’t soon forget. Also, if you’ve not seen the film – like me – then thankfully flashbacks to some of the more important scenes are interwoven during the game, giving the player some exposition to what’s already happened in Turbo Kids world. 

The developers also put some thought into many other areas of the game, which makes the experience all the more enjoyable. There are many save points – shown fantastically as a sofa with a lava lamp – scattered everywhere, which was extremely pleasing considering there is no autosave in the game. Warp points are plentiful, which saved a ton of time getting around the map; many collectibles are hidden for you to find, and the scraps that are found in the piles of rubbish and what is dropped by defeated enemies can be used to buy more health and Turbo Energy upgrades from traders back in New Hope. There is also a wonderful detailed map included, showing all the essentials and revealing parts as you progress. 

All of this is themed around the game’s wonderful visual and audio design. I can’t express my glee at the way Outerminds have captured the feel of a cheesy 80s film while managing it with much care and detail. The pixel graphics shine throughout, and the environments reminded me of Mad Max many times. The audio also struck a chord, thanks to some wonderful synthy music that will be adorning my playlists for some time, and the sound design was on point, with just the right blood squelch or blaster sound effect; it all felt just right and not out of place one bit. 

It’s a pleasure to say there are not many negatives to Turbo Kid. But it is a gory game; there is much blood shown throughout and the ability to pick up decapitated heads to throw at enemies, so if you find any of that unsettling, then please be aware, as there’s no way of turning that off. I also would have liked a few more upgrades to the BMX; maybe a speed boost or a mountable weapon would have been welcome. A few glitches came my way too, with one hilariously happening when the end boss slapped me so hard it flew me into the scenery, and I was stuck until I rebooted the game. Ahh, the memories! 

With me walking into Turbo Kid only on the strength of the visuals and the BMX mechanics, I had hardly any expectations considering it was based on a film I had never heard of. But walking away, I can’t help but admire what the whole development team has achieved. Not only have they crafted a well-designed and fun Metroidvania, not only have they managed to balance everything just right, but they have also managed to include heart, not only in its writing, but from themselves too. You can just tell each person cared; the love shines through in every scene, and it did take me by surprise. There’s no half-hearted level design or lazy implementations, just a wonderful, solid gaming experience that you’ll find hard to put down and won’t forget in a hurry.