When it comes to racing titles, I’m pretty well always game to check them out. While I’ve come to appreciate more sim-style titles, though they can be taxing, I would definitely say my tendencies trend far more in the direction of arcade-style combat racing… so with a few exceptions the Switch racing library has felt more lean than I’d like. One subgroup I normally don’t think about too much in the genre is more family-friendly indie racing though, and while there are absolutely titles that could be enjoyed by players of any age, most aren’t necessarily designed to appeal to them. Ultimate Speed is one game that absolutely fills that need though, for better and worse.

Based off of the Netflix series, which is then tied to the die cast cars that I have fond memories of playing with even when I was a kid, it gets off to a strong start for building appeal with younger racers. You’ll get to pick between a pretty representative group of racers, each with their own stats, but overall I don’t think those should get in the way of people simply picking the person they like the most. You’ll have the option of tackling racing from a more circuit-driven perspective, in a way that would play out more like a career mode, and in stand-alone races either solo or against up to 3 friends split-screen. While there’s only so much to unlock, it’s nice that earlier on you’re incentivized to keep playing by a pretty steady stream of new cars, stickers that you can use to customize your ride, and signature track segments as well.

In terms of the racing action, it shouldn’t be surprising that while it works it has been dumbed down a bit for all-ages play. Getting used to the A button for a brake because the left trigger is used for drifting through turns and tricks may take a moment, but on the whole the controls work well enough to keep you in the race. While there aren’t Kart-style power-ups to be picked up on the track, each car does have its own special attack of sorts that you can charge up by running over specific spots or performing stunts. On the whole I’d consider them to be visually interesting in some cases, but more often than not their effects tend to be limited. There is some room for technique, to be sure, but I’ll admit that the pretty wide tracks and more crazy looping and twisting sections are more about keeping your cool and doing your best to avoid the walls. 

Outside of the normal racing the inclusion of boss fights, which have their own flow and action, is also a great touch that helps extend the life of play a bit longer as you try to see everything the game has to throw at you. There’s no question that more experienced gamers will likely lose interest in the gameplay pretty quickly, but for its target audience this would seem to deliver everything a young racing fan could want, helping build their skills for tougher fare in the future.