Rush Hours Collection

Genre: Compilation / Driving / Racing Game

Players: 1

.

Review:

Rush Hours Collection, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, is a Compilation of two 2023 Driving Simulation games with Racing game elements – Drift & Drive and New York City Driver.

I have separately reviewed both of these games. Here is what I thought of both of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Drift & Drive	Driving / Racing Game	1	D
tl;dr Drift & Drive is a game that mixes elements of Driving Simulation and Racing games, with a focus mainly on the Driving Simulation side of things. Unfortunately, the cars here do not handle well, the game is highly repetitive, and it is far too lacking in options and contents for its price. And even compared to other games using this same template, this one seems to combine some of the worst elements of all of them, making it one of the worst of the bunch. Do not buy this game.
New York City Driver	Driving / Racing Game	1	C
tl;dr New York City Driver is a game that mixes elements of Driving Simulation and Racing games, with a focus mainly on the Driving Simulation side of things. And color me shocked, after countless times seeing this same gameplay template copy-pasted, this time the developer actually made something pretty enjoyable with it. It’s still graphically-ugly, loaded with issues, and the $13 price tag is an insult, but if you’re looking for a Driving Simulation game and not a Racing game, and can catch this game on sale, I think you’ll find it to be a fun but flawed experience.

In short, both of these games use the same basic game template previously seen in all three games from the Speedster’s Collection, simply reusing that game’s assets and plunking them in a new map. However, here we can see how a few tweaks can improve the same core gameplay in one game, and other tweaks can bring out the worst in that gameplay in another. Of the two, Drift & Drive combines many of the worst elements from earlier in the series, while New York City Driver recontextualizes many of those elements into something different enough to actually be fun despite all the problems.

Bear in mind, both games are niche regardless of quality, and likely won’t appeal to everyone. But for those who enjoy Driving Simulation-style games, I think they’ll likely have fun with one of these two games.

Still, there’s the question of value remaining, and that’s kinda’ a tricky question to answer, because both of these games were absurdly overpriced, at $13 each when their anemic content means they really should have been selling for at most one-third that price. Of course, the reason they did this was to make it look like a better deal when these games were discounted to $2 so… how much do the individual games cost? Is this a $26 value, or is it a $4 value masquerading as something worth more?

Regardless of which way you count, Rush Hours Collection is indeed a decent deal if you are resolved to buy these three games – its regular price of $18 is a modest improvement over the cost of getting the games separately (though still way more than these games are worth), and its initial sale price under $4 actually makes it a better deal than these two games will ever likely sell for on their own.

Is this bundle actually worth it at that price, though? Here’s the thing – in this pair of games, I think only one of them is worth getting, and even then, its appeal is highly limited. Even if you get this bundle on sale for under $4… wouldn’t you just be better off just getting New York City Driver when it inevitably goes on sale for $2? Unless you feel like blowing a little extra to get another terrible game, I just don’t see a good reason to get this bundle.

tl;dr – Rush Hours Collection is a Compilation of two Driving Simulation games with Racing game elements – Drift & Drive, and New York City Driving. Both games reuse the same core gameplay and share assets, but New York City Driving at least recontextualizes those elements into something interesting, while Drift & Drive seems to bring the worst parts of this template to the forefront. At the very least, this bundle is a decent value, but only if you get it on sale. However, I feel like you’re better off just getting New York City Driving on its own, if you get either game at all. Why spend more for a good deal just to get a bad game?

Grade: D+

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