With thanks to the folks at Lion Castle Entertainment, for the past few days I’ve been putting the pedal to the metal with the Crazi Taxi meat-wagon clone on the new generation, with Taxi Chaos. I’ve been looking through the title on both Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch. We have the usual full video and extended written review just here, alongside our usual common sense parent’s guide
The Basics
Taxi Chaos is a pretty straight up clone of the much-loved formula of Crazy Taxi, a title which first released way back in the 90s on SEGA’s Dreamcast. Sadly, other than bringing the graphics up to date (on some platforms at least) there don’t seem to be many other advances or changes to the recipe with pure pick up and drop off gameplay.
You’ll find yourself zooming around a colourful city, picking up and dropping off your passengers through a variety of locations. Unfortunately that’s around the size of it, and while I’ve found the visuals to be bright and beautiful on Xbox Series X, it has disappointed me in a few ways.
Having taken a look at this one on both Xbox and Switch platforms, I had some genuine fun with my first sit down with Taxi Chaos. The simple gameplay and constant drive to get better really fed into my competitive tendencies. In addition, swift unlock of different vehicles gave a little variety and I got quite into things.
Sadly it quickly becomes clear that you’ll experience everything the title has to offer within your first session. While there are a few different locations to drop off to, and a small number of unique characters scattered around the city who provide a little background whimsy, it all blends together quite quickly.
I definitely had some good fun with the title, even with exceedingly repetitive gameplay and game modes which don’t really seem much different from each other. In addition, the audio really lets the title down, and repetition of phrases has gone from quirky, through frustrating and on to annoying.
Parent’s Eye View
Taxi chaos is rated by PEGI at 3 and above, and by the ESRB at Everybody 10+. The Everybody 10+ rating cites Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Violence, however I’ve not found this to be present in either Xbox or Switch versions. While you can crash through the city streets, pedestrians dodge neatly out of the way every time, and I’ve not found anything in the title which I’d be worried about our Micro-Bandits seeing or experiencing. Overall This is one I’m saying is pretty fine and even quite suited to the younger generation
Accessibility
In terms of Accessibility, Taxi Chaos is picking up a rating of casual. With a relatively small number of game modes and simple controls wrapped in an arcade package, the barrier to entry is practically nonexistent.
The Run Down
Visuals – Good (4/5) / Lacking (2/5): A bit of an odd one and the first split rating we’ve had here at Pixel Bandits. The Xbox Series X visuals are pretty pretty and I’ve really enjoyed the cartoon graphics and the colourful city
Sadly the same cannot be said for Nintendo Switch. Even taking into account the typical graphical limitations of the Switch, I’ve been really disappointed with the visuals here even in docked mode. Blurred visuals with lacking textures have really let the title down on Switch, and from what we’ve played elsewhere the platform is capable of delivering so much more.
Audio – Poor: Initially I was really impressed with the audio, and the various voices in game are really well acted and recorded. Sound effects in the title are good and altogether when you first begin things are great. Sadly, while there are various voices, the lines of dialogue themselves are repeated heavily, to the point where you’ll notice the same one line repeated at least once per minute.
Narrative – Lacking: While in this arcade style we wouldn’t expect much in the way of narrative, Taxi Chaos has nothing of any note, including no cut scenes or even an intro. There are a small number of !unique characters” in the game who provide a narrative of sorts, but I’ve found this to fall under expectation
Replay – Lacking: There are a very small number of modes available here at launch with regular arcade, a pro mode which removes your navigation feature, and a free roam. The title does give leaderboards, however the repetitive gameplay and especially the repetitive audio make it tough to push through. The different modes really aren’t all that different from each other, and other than longer time limits or removal of the direction arrow, the gameplay remains exactly the same
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The Verdict
Overall the Pixel Bandits Beep Beep Level for Taxi Chaos is Give it a Miss . I really wanted to love this one, and initially I had a lot of fun with it. Sadly, even throughout the three game modes, the gameplay begins to get a little repetitive. It still could have been worth a punt, as while simple the pick up drop off proves a lot of room for beating your own scores as well as other gamers’. Sadly the repetitive audio has really pushed me over the edge, and if I hear one person speak about spending their days in a nursing home I might go mad.