Aqua Moto Racing Utopia

Aqua Moto Racing Utopia initially appeals for being a rare water-based racer. Scooting around on your jet-ski often feels more like riding a bucking bronco than driving a vehicle, and that makes it stand out from regular landlocked racers.However, it's lacking several layers of finesse and balance, the presentation is deeply unappealing, and those aggressive water physics are a mixed blessing. We're just going to have to wait patiently for Nintendo to return to the Wave Race universe, aren't we?

Aqua Moto Racing Utopia's combination of abusive obstacles and physics within its gameplay along with a drab visual presentation will certainly make you long for a proper Wave Race-like challenge.

Despite its overall lack of polish, Aqua Moto Racing Utopia is a pleasant enough watercraft racer with a large number of tracks available (even if a lot of content is reused and modified) and decent mechanics. It's a shame that as a whole it's ultimately forgettable and its many small issues pile up, as this could have been something greater. Still, if you're looking for a type of racing game that you rarely see and have already played the Wave Race and its sequel to death, this might be worth checking out.

So, a Wave Race substitute this is not. Aqua Moto Racing Utopia tries to imitate Nintendo’s classic racer but it never comes anywhere close to it in all honesty. Which is a massive shame because this could have filled a gap for a lot of Nintendo 64 and GameCube era Nintendo fans like me. This is an improvement on the developer’s other recent racing game, Snow Moto Racing Freedom, but I think that might only be because racing on water with a jet-ski is much better than racing in the snow on a snowmobile. The main thing that this game does more than anything, is that it makes me want a new Wave Race game more than ever.

It's not bad, it's just not great. Maybe casual/younger race fans might find some enjoyment out of it, but don't jump into this pool unless you find standing around in the shallow end to be fun.

Aqua Moto Racing Utopia wants to be the next Wave Race, but fails to deliver the experience in a few aspects.

Aqua Moto Racing Utopia doesn't need to be a groundbreaking game to stand out, given the lack of similar games in the Nintendo Switch catalog. Yet, despite some welcome variety of vehicles and racing tracks, it's clear that this game is not up to the challenge. Its controls need to be reworked, the AI is not on a proper challenging level and it's clear from the outset that this was developed for mobile devices.

Overall, as a huge fan of the Wave Race series, I’m a bit split down the middle on Utopia. There are things it does quite well and it gets points for bringing big waves to the party with some technically-challenging tracks you’ll need to maneuver well in to win. Most of the tracks are good, some are a bit lacking, but a few also move in the direction of brilliance. The most troubling issue is definitely with the frame rate while in docked mode. It isn’t constant and it isn’t crippling, but it can be difficult to miss in places. Thankfully if you don’t mind or even prefer handheld mode that becomes far less of a concern. While it isn’t a replacement for the series I love I’ll give it credit for ambition and not being a game where you race on a blue track like many other series have done. If you understand what you’re in for and have a love for racing in the waves it is certainly worth your consideration.

For all of Aqua Moto Racing Utopia’s light sense of fun and nostalgic reminiscence of past games like Wave Race 64 and Jet Moto, the act of taking to the waves is unfortunately tarnished by some frustratingly aggressive AI and a general lack of polish.

Aqua Moto Racing Utopia scratches that itch I get every couple years to play a wave racing game. It is rough around the edges, and lacks a good collection of unlockables, but the core racing is fun. For those like me that are tired of waiting on Nintendo to resurrect the king, this is a great substitute.