Roach Race, The Witcher’s unexpected mobile spin-off review

The story between Geralt of Rivia and Rutilia is perhaps the story of the greatest love that can be found in the raw world Andrzej Sapkowski has created for The Witcher. So it seems fitting that this too be at the center of a video game, and it’s also sacred to find ourselves in front of someone. Roach Racing review, to evaluate the spin-off dedicated to the Witcher mare. As a funny joke, CD Projekt RED released this Roach Race in Cyberpunk 2077 as an in-game game inside their arcade machines, but it turned out to be a real game and a free-to-play game on smartphones.

In this form, the RPG is unrelated to the problem of high scores shared in the sci-fi world, or even the rewards that can be unlocked in this game, but in mobile form it finds the full realization of a very classic endless runner, which curiously works a little. well, just kidding.

On the other hand, the idea is not devoid of charm: lost in a thousand adventures of Geralt of Rivia, perhaps no one thought about his feelings? rutilia? That poor beast summoned at any time, the Witcher appears within minutes wherever he is, how will he live outside the scenes? How is it always within reach of the whistle?

Well, Roach Race probably won’t answer these deep questions, but if nothing else, it could shed some light on this elusive co-star in Geralt’s adventures, staging his aspirations and dreams for freedom, including unbridled races. and lots of carrots.

Infinite gallop or almost

There History it is told with extreme hermeticism to imply an epic that is poignant but does not need to be clarified in words. The opening scene, where the horse stands proudly on the roof of a barn and Geralt looks down upon it, is enough to make it clear how the poetry of Roach Race is based on a bold perspective reversal that sees the humble assistant. finally be the hero. With jumps and heroic poses, the mare seems to want to forcefully shoot the scene, but this is only a moment, because at the push of a button she immediately begins to rush wildly, driven by an unprecedented desire for freedom. Or maybe just carrots and apples, it’s hard to say for sure.

The only thing we can do for GameplayThe trick is to make Rutilia run at a gallop and try to avoid obstacles by jumping and going as far as possible to get the maximum score. Crows, fences, cliffs, griffins and various creatures come to greet the hero and it’s up to us to find the right timing to do jumps and double jumps, as well as collect apples and carrots that can give more momentum. aggressive poses

Here we reconnect to the more classic tradition of endless runners, returning to the elegant simplicity of Canabalt, but with a sweep of levels that somehow reminds us of The Witcher’s settings and stories, even in the obsessive repetition of the usual mechanics.

There graphic It is minimalist in its pixel art, but in some cases it even manages to be impressive. Beyond the crazy heroic poses of Rutilia, who clearly wants to savor her moment of victory by displaying unexpected agility and strength, even seeing poor Geralt desperately chasing her mare might be worth the download cost (ie zero. EUR). Not to mention the moving scene where the Witcher nervously rushes to Rutilia when she hits an obstacle, presumably to console her (or defeat her), not to mention it’s not very clear, but we’d like to lean towards the prettiest hypothesis.