Taxi Chaos

Genre: Driving Game / Arcade

Players: 1

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Review:

Taxi Chaos is an Arcade-style Driving Game released in 2021 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. This game has you playing as a taxi cab driver trying to deliver as many fares to their destinations as possible within a time limit. And if this premise sounds a lot like the Crazy Taxi franchise… yeah, that’s because this is basically a Crazy Taxi copycat. But I often say, there’s nothing wrong with being a copycat as long as it’s a good copycat, so let’s see whether or not this is a good copycat.

The presentation in Taxi Chaos is good, but not great. The game uses colorful, slightly-cartoony 3D visuals with some decent animation, recreating a setting that looks a lot like New York City. However, since this game is so clearly copying Crazy Taxi’s formula, it’s hard not to mention how this game lacks the wild presentation of its direct inspiration, and as a result seems so much more bland as a result. Also, I did notice a bit of slowdown at times on Nintendo Switch.

This is true for the sound as well – this game’s energetic soundtrack is completely forgettable, and while its characters have some surprisingly lengthy voiced conversations, I felt like every last person in this game was completely insufferable.

When it comes to the gameplay, Crazy Taxi players will be very familiar with the formula: Potential fares are waiting in bright outlined zones awaiting to be picked up by driving into that zone and stopping. Then, you’ll be making a mad dash to their destination. Take too long or get in too many accidents en route and your passenger will ditch your ride early. Complete as many trips as possible before time runs out.

Right away, this loses one nice arcadey element of Crazy Taxi, where you could earn extra time for each passenger you deliver based on how quickly you got them to their destination. This game is also much pickier about what’s required to pick someone up – it won’t let you do it if you’re not mostly inside their pickup zone, and you must be at a complete stop, something that’s difficult when the game maps brake and reverse to the same button.

Another issue here is the destination arrow, which doesn’t point to your destination but instead points to the next turn it wants you to make, but it does so in a way that’s often unclear, making it far too easy to be confused about where you’re being told to go and missing your turn. The game does also include a “Pro mode” that removes this arrow, and it replaces it with… nothing. Yes, in Pro Mode, you’re expected to just remember where all of the game’s bland and relatively indistinct locations are.

Just to give credit where it’s due, I have to mention one good mechanic this game adds, letting players press both gas and brake to charge up a boost and pivot on the spot, making for a fun and helpful mechanic that can also give you a burst of speed after picking up a fare… only you’ll often find that you’re facing the wrong way when their guide arrow finally pops up. Oops.

Overall, Taxi Chaos feels like a game made by people who wanted to create something like Crazy Taxi, and mechanically had more or less the right idea, but absolutely failed at delivering on execution and especially on delivering the same sort of expressive personality that Crazy Taxi is known for. Until we get an actual Crazy Taxi game on Nintendo Switch, I suppose this acts as a passable substitute, but it’s definitely an inferior one.

tl;dr – Taxi Chaos is an Arcade-style Driving game where players take the role of a taxi driver picking up fares and trying to deliver them to their destination as fast as possible. This game is clearly copying the Crazy Taxi franchise, but it’s lacking in its execution and especially lacking in personality compared to that series. Until the Crazy Taxi series sees a release on Nintendo Switch, this is a passable substitute, but it’s a far cry from the game’s it’s copying.

Grade: C-

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