We play games to forgo reality so that we may live out our wildest dreams. In racing games we want to be the wheelman, we want to be Schumacher. Is that so hard for games to deliver? The game I want has to make me feel like a boss while I take a break neck turn, it has to make me feel like the best driver the world has ever seen so why do we have to deal with games that feel slower than we feel when we are actually driving? Why are so many racing games getting this wrong?

Nail’d is hopefully the change, though I doubt it since the developer is not exactly a racing developer but is known for their western shooters.

Story:

If there is a story I missed it because I wanted to jump over a hot air balloon.

Graphics:

The graphics show a sense of speed like few others. There are always little things like falling leaves or dust particles around that you notice for a split second. When the boost is hit the world becomes a blur and forms a tunnel vision like view which is extremely cool and delivers the feeling of out of control speed.

The world is well detailed but you’re not going to notice it since you’re trying to dodge it. There are little things in each track like forest fires, dilapidated buildings which will probably look really nice if I slowed down to look at them. Depending on the track you might even get small splash effects like mud covering the screen which is some really nice attention to detail.

The graphics make you focus, they are built to make you focus. The few times that focus goes you are looking at the full world around you going “holy crap, how much world do you build for a racing game?” that is Nail’d in a nutshell: Focused on the job at hand and still not ashamed to show off a marvelous spectacle of creation. Though a tad dated they still look good.

Sound:

The soundtrack is rock and when you want to be hyped that is what you need. The sounds keep you mesmerized, they push you and they make you want to punch a pop star. You will find yourself humming to the music and later adding those songs to your playlist.

The sound while playing is really good too, the bikes sound right, the boost sounds more like a jet engine but at that point you also feel like you have a jet engine. Since the soundtrack plays while you’re playing it really sets the mood and in a really good way.

Gameplay:

Nail’d from the get go is a fast game, the acceleration is breakneck and the controls are really twitchy which is a good thing.

The vehicle controls are pretty standard. You have your acceleration, brakes, directions and boost so all the regular stuff is present but you also have lean back and front. You use the lean controls to try a perfect landing, pull a wheelie or to dodge things in mid air. Don’t take those for granted though as they are key to winning races

The tracks are not exactly straightforward. While they do have a very linear ride they have small branches that could be advantageous. They also have a huge amount of obstacles that you have to dodge either on the ground or in the air. Sometimes the paths are flat and you’re going straight, other times you find yourself driving on the side of a dam or a tunnel trying your best to dodge a train. One track even lets you drive through a crashed plane.

With the track layout being either multi lap races or a single long race there is a lot to do. With the positioning of the checkpoints in some tracks that make you do your best to kill your jump so that you fly through them and thus grant yourself some boost it starts becoming a race of pure control of your vehicle to get the best time and as a result the lead. There are occasions when the tracks update so it’s a tad different per lap.

There are also mutators which modify a race. These either disable collisions or give you unlimited boost to make some really fast races.

All these together make it one fast racing game with more twitch based reactions than most shooters since besides the obstacles there are checkpoints to hit if you want boost. Nail’d your landing? (pun intended) Get some boost, hit another driver? boost! And you do need that boost since Nail’d doesn’t really go easy on you. You find yourself reacting to everything you see be it an obstacle to dodge or a checkpoint way ahead that you need to hit.

The one weak point in Nail’d is the stunt mode where everything you do for boost is instead to generate points. Since there are no actual stunt buttons this becomes a very long game of chance where you just hope your landings generate points. I’ve been playing these as races so even if an opponent is leading in points they lose points when I hit the finish.

Conclusion:

Nail’d delivers speed like few before it, it makes you wish you didn’t have to blink just so you don’t miss the next turn. It makes you aim for perfection in your riding just so that you can have a chance of winning. It doesn’t baby sit you, it doesn’t give you a fair chance. You want to win? You damn well better do your best and turn down the difficulty to normal to win because this ain’t your granddad’s racing game.

Nail’d is a great racing game and even better considering it’s from a developer who isn’t really known for their racing games but the stunt mode is a huge bring down and feels very tacked on late.

Final Score 8/10