Genre: Racing
Developer: Raw Thrills
Publisher: GameMill Entertainment

Most Switch games opt for modern feature set usage, then make heavy use of dynamic resolutions to hit their framerate target, resulting in soupy messes. Like a riff on the "iron triangle", Cruis'n Blast instead targets native resolutions and sixty frames per second, then cuts back on features: interestingly, its heavy use of low resolution cube maps, gaudy colors, and lower-than-usual resolution textures and models works fabulously for this game, giving it its own unique charm. Even though it's missing a few small things by comparison, it's a very faithful conversion from the arcade coin-op, right down to the beautiful menu system.

The "Oh no, a tornado!" in-race narrator dude is gone, but everything else in the audio department makes its way from the arcade original, including the hilariously 90s theme song. The gameplay music is a weird mix of drum and bass, disco, and rock. The compositions are suitably bizarre for the action, which routinely sees exploding flaming donuts, dinosaurs, and UFOs moving across the track. The game's sound effects convey plenty of information, such as when an enemy has been destroyed or boost has been activated.

Cruis'n Blast plays a bit like a contemporary "Mario Kart" title: the right bumper serves as a boost-activating drift button, and the tracks are filled with chevron-adorned boost pads. Double tapping the throttle button-- "A"-- makes the player's vehicle wheelie, and tripping a boost pad during a wheelie will cause the vehicle to do a stunt. The game isn't particularly skill-oriented, as it's impossible to fly off the track or even to crash into a wall-- the experience is more about drinking beer and smashing friends' cars into walls.

The Cruis'n series got weirder and weirder as it progressed, with Blast serving as a natural progression from "Exotica". Where the arcade original had five tracks and a handful of cars, this Switch rendition has tons of content to unlock: a couple of dozen tracks and cars each. Every "car"-- which include attack helicopters and running unicorns, mind you-- can be leveled up to increase its stats, and configured with a custom color scheme and various purchasable cosmetic alterations. Cruis'n Blast may not be the most nuanced or best arcade racer ever, but feels like a Nintendo 64 or Gamecube-era arcade racer brought to modern hardware: refreshing!