Developed by Ice BEAM and published by Secret Mode, Make Way is a new racing title with a bit of a twist. Try to imagine Micro Machines mixed with Mario Kart but build using the craziest of Hot Wheels’ track pieces.

“Speed around loops, dart through train crossings, drift around helter skelters, and unleash wacky weaponry in this modern take on classic top-down multiplayer racing games. The twist? You build the track.”

Despite my likening this game to various other titles in the introduction, Make Way is really quite unique. It may have the flavour of several other games, but it takes those ingredients and makes a whole new meal from them. In terms of the bare basics, you and up to three friends race against each other in a classic ‘first to cross the finish line’ type race. That is the bare basics, the rest of the game offers up something much more intriguing.

The race tracks themselves are quite insane. Loops, jumps, draw bridges, train tracks, a multitude of obstacles and a ton of other elements that lend way to you creating some really over-the-top racing action. On yeah, you have to build the race tracks yourself. The way it works is that Make Way works is that it is four-player. Whether that be you and three friends locally or online, You can also play solo with three AI-controlled bots. Anyway, before a race starts you have to pick from a selection of randomly generated track pieces. There is then a race to put your chosen track piece in place because the other three players are trying to do the same.

The track building is simple too. Hover your cursor over a track piece and press a button to grab it, move the track piece to the end of the race track (rotate it if you like) and it will snap into place. But, because each track piece is randomly generated and because you instinctively race against the other players to get your piece in place, the chances of having the same race twice are extremely low. Each race feels very unique and the more you race, the more track pieces you’ll unlock… which just keeps adding to the whole randomness of the tracks and the races.

You are scored points for each checkpoint and the person to score the most points wins. Rather like the Micro Machines games, you try to race ahead and force your opponents off the screen for bonus points. There are quite a few bonus points to earn based on how you drive and winning a race is not be the only way to secure a victory. This makes the races really interesting as even if you are lagging behind, you can still rack up a score by knocking the other racers off the track and such. Sometimes it’s about racing smarter, not faster.

There’s a good selection of race modes too. At first, you’ll only be able to play the basic Race mode, which is (as previously described) you and three other racers building a track and fighting for points. The tracks can get rather crazy with the various pieces on offer. Classic mode adds a Mario Kart slant to the game and offers up weapons and traps on top of all the usual shenanigans. Then there is Chaos mode and it is… well it is utter chaos. This mode is Classic, but turned up to 11. More over-the-top weapons and traps and the wall around the track have been removed.

Chaos mode can be a bit brutal and will definitely have you and your friends swearing at each other a lot. It is also the funniest mode of Make Way and it really took me back to late-night gaming sessions with friends back in the ’90s. There’s a lot to unlock, more cars, more track pieces and traps. But, you really do have to put the work in and progression can feel a little ‘slow’ at times. Still, that slowness just means that you’ll have to do more and more races… which is a good thing because the racing itself is great.

The cars handle brilliantly, with just the right amount of sliding and arcadey feels. All of the cars drive the same way too and the differences are purely cosmetic. At first, I was not much of a fan and was originally going to bring up the lack of car performance variety as a negative. However, my opinion has changed and I now think it is a great idea. This means that everyone is playing on an even field and it is down to driver skill (and a wee bit of luck) as to who comes out on top. When one of your friends loses, they can’t blame the car.

Oh, I almost forgot. There’s a Custom mode too and with this, you can tailor the races to suit your playstyle. Chose to play with the weapons or not. Add or remove the walls from around the track and more. You can make the races as ‘normal’ or as insane as you like. Pretty decent fun in single-player and when racing against AI bots, but Make Way really comes alive when you play multi-player with friends.

Priced at around £13 and available now for Steam, Xbox and Switch. The PlayStation version is coming very soon. Make Way is one of the best party games that you’re likely to play this year (what little is left of it as I post this). Tremendous fun and a great title to play when you have a few friends around for a beer or seven and is perfect for this festive holiday when you are most likely to have family and friends around. Make Way is retro racing action given a great, chaotic twist with a classic ’90s gaming vibe and a wonderfully addictive gameplay loop.

And I think that this will be it for me for this year. I’ve been a bit busy with other projects and have not had time to do a dedicated Christmas article. It is looking very unlikely that I’ll have the time to do my usual indie game round-up where I pick my favourite indie titles from the year. But, if I can free up some time between now and New Year’s Eve, I’ll try to get it done… maybe. Just in case and if I don’t get an indie game round-up done, have a good Christmas and all that stuff. I’ll be back in 2024.