When I first saw footage of 4PGP, my eyes lit up, and my heart stirred. This arcade racer is a retro throwback to recreate an unofficial, unlicensed grid of F1’s 1991 season in bite-sized form. The cars look familiar, and the tracks take inspiration from real-life locations in a similar way to Formula Legends. From the moment you first turn the wheel, make no mistake, 4PGP is a pure arcade racer through and through.
With all the teams from that 91 season replicated (including my favourite livery of all time, the black and yellow Minardi) quite closely, you’ll pick your car from aesthetic and their handling, top speed, and acceleration stats alone. 4PGP has four difficulty levels, with the first three levels requiring 3 lap races, and expert extending races to 5 laps. As you go up the classes, the cars increase their top speed, and this means that eventually, instead of going flat out everywhere, you’ll need to start feathering the throttle and braking for the rare hairpin. Grip is at a premium in 4PGP, so most corners are taken flat out like a retro arcade classic racer. Some, like turn 4 in Spain, require a gentle lift. Others, like the chicane at Mexico or the first corner hairpin in Belgium, require braking. There are 14 tracks in the game (which doubles to 28 as you can unlock reverse layouts in quick race), and maybe 9 of them have a single instance of braking. This game is designed to make you drive fast, and as a result, it’s easy to pick up and get to grips with.
Strategy does play a role in racing in two other ways. Each car is equipped with a boost that blasts your car along, and with tyres that degrade slightly over time. Every track has a pit lane that drivers can visit every lap to refit tyres and refill their boost. When visiting the pits, you’ll slow down, and a quick time event appears. Players who press the turbo button when the clock hits the right segment will instantly refill their boost and equip new tyres, and you’ll be able to jump straight back into the race. Getting the instant refill bonus and pitting each lap is often quicker than being careful with your boost, but if you miss the timing and get it wrong, it’ll be slower, as you’ll have slowed down for nothing. The second way racing can be strategic is with slipstreaming. Following another car at top speed will trigger the slipstream effect, pulling you closer to the car ahead and increasing your top speed. This is a handy way to save boost and level the playing field with a slower car. The AI pits every other lap for tyres and boost, but they seem less impacted by the slowing-down requirement. They can also end up crashing into the wall when attempting a pitstop, but thankfully, there is no such thing as damage in 4PGP.
In fact, damage or implications of poor driving standards aren’t really things to worry about. Using your opponents as bumpers to get around tight corners is a good tactic, as the offender rebounds smoothly off the opponent’s car. In some courses, notably Brazil, the USA, and the UK, it’s also advantageous to cut corners. Sometimes 4PGP will slow you to a near-instant halt, but most of the time the speed loss is minor, and you can boost over the grass or gravel to jump a few positions. I’m not sure how I feel about how liberally players (and AI) can abuse track limits and dangerous driving, but it is part of 4PGP’s charm.
Where I do lament 4PGP’s arcade purity approach is in the lack of custom race settings. Championships are three races long, with 3 or 5 lap races depending on the difficulty level. These unlock the better cars and the final two tracks in the game, but I’d dearly love to create my own championship of more tracks. I was also desperate for custom race lengths. Whilst having races usually ending in two minutes is fine, I wanted to explore long races to see how the tyres and boost strategies can play out over time. Tyre wear does not factor in this game at all with 3 lap races, and it arguably barely impacts 5 lap races. It feels like a missed opportunity. Another odd omission is the ability to look backwards. With slipstream being a major gameplay impact, I could often hear AI cars catching me, but never see them. Sometimes we’d hook wheels and spear off into the barriers and a rear look would have prevented these crashes.
Speaking of looking, 4PGP looks fantastic. It’s silky smooth at 60 FPS, and that carries through into the 4-player splitscreen mode. I could only test this by playing against myself, but it looks and plays fantastically. I can’t wait to get some friends together for the next local multiplayer games night, as 4PGP will be a showpiece. I’d love to see a replay mode added, as the game looks so vibrant and like the 90s arcade games viewed through rose-tinted glasses. I need to see that pretend Minardi livery from every angle possible!
Whilst there are some odd limitations with its design and features, 4PGP delivers pure arcade racing without any simulation whatsoever. It will bring a silly grin to your face. You’ll want to floor the throttle at all times, and almost be able to do so at all times, too. In a world full of grey and bleak cookie-cutter racers, I’ll take a game full of personality time and time again. Welcome to my game collection 4PGP!
Higher Plain Games is part of the Higher Plain Network. If you like what I do, please consider supporting me via Patreon for as little as $1/£1 a month. There are additional perks for supporting me, such as behind-the-scenes content and downloads. You can also share the website or use the affiliate buy now links on reviews. Buying credit from CD Keys using my affiliate link means I get a couple of pence per sale. All your support will enable me to produce better content, more often. Thank you.
