Fast Fusion

Genre: Futuristic Racing

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local Split-Screen), 2 Competitive (Local Wireless, Online), GameShare (Local Wireless / Online)

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Review:

The Fast series of Futuristic Racing games has long been a showpiece on Nintendo platforms. Dating back to Fast Racing League on the Wii’s WiiWare service in 2011, followed by Fast Racing Neo on Wii U in 2015, then Fast RMX as a Nintendo Switch launch title in 2017, this series has consistently delivered visuals that are a showpiece for their respective platform, strong gameplay, and above all else, blazing-fast speeds. Now in 2025 with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, developer Shin’en has once again brought us a new game in the series to pair with the launch of a Nintendo platform, and just to sweeten the deal, they’ve released the game at a mere $15, a pretty tempting price given how expensive so many of the Nintendo Switch 2’s games and accessories are.

Given the Fast franchise’s exclusivity to Nintendo platforms, and the complete absence of a new graphically-impressive game in Nintendo’s own F-Zero franchise since the GameCube release of F-Zero GX in 2003, many have seen this series as a stand-in for F-Zero in the many years that Nintendo has left that series to collect dust. However, at this point I think it’s safe to say that the Fast series has come into its own, with its own style of racing separate from Captain Falcon’s franchise.

Like the prior two games in the series, Fast Fusion embraces its color-based boost system, where you get a boost if the energy your vehicle uses matches the color of boost pads as you run over it, requiring players to multitask swapping this out with racing to ensure they can make use of these boosts. However, this game ditches the jump pads of the prior game and just gives players a jump button. In doing so, this brings another dimension to the series’ racing, where players can cut across otherwise impassable areas, or get to a higher platform, as long as they’re okay with risking collision if they miss their mark.

This one gameplay change gives players a great deal more freedom, and also gives the game’s designers the freedom to design tracks with this ability in mind, including sections of tracks broken up into multiple cascading platforms that players must navigate down. it’s an exhilarating experience that actually had me giddy, given the immense speeds this game has players traveling at, because it’s so immensely satisfying to fly through hazards at a zillion miles per hour and land that perfect jump that can leave the competition in the dust.

This is in addition to the new signature mechanic of Fast Fusion, the fusion mechanic that lets you smash together two of the vehicles you’ve acquired via the in-game shop, combining them into one new vehicle that has improved stats compared to the ones that were folded into it. I think this is a fun new mechanic that gives players an interesting way to build up their vehicles’ stats over the game’s campaign, but really the racing itself is this game’s true highlight.

Well, one of the highlights – the other is absolutely the presentation. Once again, Shin’en has brought us a graphical showpiece that truly looks spectacular on Nintendo Switch 2. Silky-smooth framerates, densely-filled environments, great textures, beautiful lighting, gorgeous water, great-looking mud, volumetric fog… Perhaps Cyberpunk 2077 is the best game to show off how the Nintendo Switch 2 compares to other platforms, but I feel like there’s a strong argument to be made that Fast Fusion is the real showpiece game of this platform’s launch.

I should also say that this game’s soundtrack is fantastic, with some really catchy techno-style beats that fit the gameplay well and just give the game an overall great vibe. Sadly, I don’t have any examples to point you to, but just trust me when I say this game sounds almost as good as it looks. Oh, I should also mention that this game really makes great use of HD Rumble 2, making each boost feel like the rough burst of barely-controlled speed that it is.

Really, there are only two major flaws I can point to here. First, content – with only 12 tracks as far as I can tell, you will completely blast through what this game has to offer in almost no time, even if there are multiple challenge levels and a few different game modes. However, in this game’s defense, its low price tag still makes this limited amount of content seem like a decent enough value, and the developers have said they’ll be providing a content update at some point in the future.

The second flaw, that this game’s online multiplayer only supports 2 players, and only via GameShare, isn’t quite as easy to excuse, given how much multiplayer is needed to extend the life of this game. GameShare does work in both local wireless and online play, which definitely helps to make up for that, but the inability to discover opponents and play online is disappointing.

Even with this game’s flaws, I think Fast Fusion is about as close to a must-have launch title as you could hope for on Nintendo Switch 2. While Futuristic Racing isn’t a genre that appeals to everyone, the gameplay here is excellent, the presentation is absolutely phenomenal, and the price is such an insanely good deal that even if this game were twice the price it would still absolutely be worth it. This is a game you do not want to miss on Nintendo Switch 2.

tl;dr – Fast Fusion is a Futuristic Racing game that has an absolutely phenomenal presentation, truly excellent gameplay that improves upon an already great series, and a shockingly low $15 price tag that makes this game an absolute steal. It’s slim on content and the online multiplayer seems limited, but even with these flaws I think this is absolutely a game that should be in your Nintendo Switch 2 library.

Grade: A

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2025 Game Awards:

Winner:

Game of the Year: Silver Award (Second Place) – When you’re looking at the launch lineup of a new game console, you don’t usually expect the best new exclusive to be the inexpensive budget game, yet here we are. It’s not just the low price or the jaw-dropping stunning visuals that make this one of my favorite games of the year, it’s the amazing sense of speed as I whip through color-coded speed boosts while just barely swapping my vehicle’s color just in time to match, the thrill of launching myself off the track and taking advantage of a shortcut while only just barely making it back in time before landing off the track and exploding, it’s the thrill of landing a jump right on top of an opponent to mess them up and earn extra fuel for my speed boost. The Fast series has always been superb, but this year I feel like they truly brought the franchise into its own and made something I think is a game that should be remembered as one of the great early games of the Nintendo Switch 2’s life.

Best Driving / Racing Game – There were some strong contenders among this year’s group of Racing games, but the one I most wanted to go back and keep playing was this Futuristic Racing game released for the Nintendo Switch 2 launch at an unassuming $15 price. It’s a bit light on content and features, but at that price that’s easily excusable, especially when it’s incredibly fun, looks amazing, and has a brilliant sense of speed. No matter what the price tag is, those are absolutely the qualities I want in a Racing game.

Best Value ($15) – The Nintendo Switch 2 is many things in 2025, but I think one thing most players agreed on was that it was expensive. The games and accessories were both painfully pricey in a year where most of us are already hurting from a bad economy. However, a game that I considered an absolute highlight of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch was also priced so absurdly low that it’s a no-brainer for anyone buying the system and looking to get great games on the cheap. That a game that’s a blast to play and a graphical showpiece for the system can sell at such a budget price when it’s easily worth two or three times this amount makes it a true must-have for the system, and easily the best value all year in videogames, in my eyes.

Most Efficient Use of File Storage Space – While it’s bigger than all of the runners-up, Fast Fusion still wins this award for giving us one of the best-looking games of 2025 at a fraction of the size of other visual showpieces. There are games that are 20 times the size of this game that don’t look nearly as good. And with space at a premium on Nintendo Switch 2, Fast Fusion is easily a game you can add to your library without worrying about its impressive high-speed visuals taking up too much of your precious internal memory or MicroSD Express card.

Runner-Up: Best Sequel, Most Underrated, Best Song (Yama Crest), Best Graphics

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