G.G Series: Exciting River

Genre: Top-Down Racing / Arcade

Players: 1

.

Review:

Exciting River is an Arcade-style Top-Down Racing game released on the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2015, as well as being made available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. In this game, players paddle a kayak down a winding river to try and reach its end as quickly as possible, while avoiding obstacles.

The presentation in this game is okay, making use of 2D pixel visuals reminiscent of a classic 16-bit game, with over-the-top changes to the look of the water depending on which way the wind is blowing. These visuals are backed by a lighthearted synthesized acoustic theme. The result is a game that seems whimsical in tone, which works well enough for the gameplay.

That gameplay has players using the D-pad to use their left paddle and the A button to use the right paddle, with players needing to alternate between the two in a regular rhythm to keep moving forward. In addition, the B button used for a temporary boost of speed that players can refill by grabbing what appear to be oranges hovering over the river. Players are not racing against others in this game, but are instead racing against the clock, trying to reach the end of each stage within a time limit.

Unfortunately, this game has one major issue – it is incredibly short. There are only a small handful of levels here, and the entire game can be finished within 20 minutes or so. To be fair, Exciting River only costs $2, and the game does a good job of infusing those 20 minutes with a good amount of variety, with different obstacles and changing currents threatening to make you crash. Even so, that is absurdly short for what was already a fairly simple game, and one that really should have just had an endless mode.

I did enjoy my time playing Exciting River, but that time was extremely brief. Is it worth the $2 for the 20 minutes or so that the game lasts? I’m a bit iffy about that, but I’m leaning toward “probably not”. It’s a simple game, and there’s just not enough here to latch on to. If you’re looking for an unorthodox Racing game for $2 that you’ll play and then quickly move on from, Exciting River may be worth that low price, but don’t go into this expecting a game you’ll play for more than one lunch break at school or work.

tl;dr – Exciting River is an Arcade-style Top-Down Racing game that has you alternating between using the left and right paddles on a kayak to try to get to the finish in time without hitting too many obstacles. The game itself is simple but fun, but it’s just too short, even for the $2 price tag. Don’t get this game unless you’re okay with being done with it in less time than it takes to get a pizza delivered.

Grade: C

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Talissa, Eli Goodman, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}