Most game genres don't change too much as the technology improves. You may get offshoots, like when the platformer went from 2D to 3D, but the general mechanics and feel of genres are universal enough that you can easily go back and forth between something retro and something modern. Racing isn't necessarily one of those genres, from the introduction of analog controls to drifting and an improved physics system. Players who have become accustomed to a modern racing game may find it difficult to adapt to a much older title, and vice versa. With a title like Classic Sport Driving, you know exactly which side of the racing fence it will land, and you'll also know your initial reaction to the game.

Before you begin the game proper, you're asked to set up your controls function by function, since there are no presets. It's a strange omission, but it ensures that your controls are exactly how you want them. It does come with a few disadvantages, though. You can't seem to bind two controls to one function. For example, you can use the d-pad left and right for steering or the left analog stick left and right for steering, but you can't assign both at the same time for those functions. The second is that binding gear shifting means that you can't go back to automatic shifting until you clear out that selection.

As far as gameplay goes, Classic Sport Driving mostly adheres to the classic racing game formula. The accelerating and braking controls are digital in nature, but steering is more analog. From the starting line, you can try to time your acceleration so that the line hits a special area to get a boost, but you won't reach a point where you'll overcharge that boost and start the race with a stall. There's no formal drifting, but you'll apply liberal use of braking or letting go of the gas while in a turn, depending on your difficulty level. There's also no turbo boosting, but running over a nitro icon automatically speeds you up for a few seconds before you drop back to the normal top speed.

As for the racing, the game goes for a checkpoint system rather than laps, and you have a set amount of time to reach one of five checkpoints to get more time on the clock so you can continue racing. If time runs out, you don't immediately stop, but your momentum may be enough to inch you toward that checkpoint so you can keep going. Even though it is a race, you aren't really fighting for placement, and the cars that are on the road act as obstacles rather than opponents fighting for the top spot.

If you've been stuck on modern racing games for a while, it'll take some time to get used to the racing system. This isn't the kind of title where you'll immediately take first place the first time you race on a track, but things get much easier when you get a handle on the racing, and it is enjoyable to see yourself blaze through checkpoints in record time.

There are some things that are irksome with the racing. You can't change the camera, and while some may prefer an external view of the car rather than an internal one, the camera is so low to the ground that you'll encounter blind turns. When you pick up nitro, the speed difference is almost negligible because you can't tell if you're driving faster unless you look at your speedometer. It also doesn't help that cars often get in the way just as you get nitro, often negating the boost benefits. There's also the matter of getting a checkpoint to count, as it doesn't count until you get it a few feet past the view of the screen. It isn't a big deal when racing normally, but it can be exasperating when you run out of time and see your car reach the checkpoint, only for it not to count when the car stops moving.

There are three modes in Classic Sport Driving, none of which feature true head-to-head multiplayer. The first mode is the standard campaign, which takes place over 16 tracks. Three of them are unlocked initially, and the rest are unlocked in batches once you complete the previous races. The races are graded in stars, and the tracks vary wildly, as you'll either race in the day or night with different weather conditions. You'll also race near a cliffside with the added danger of falling off the road, eating away a good deal of time before you respawn.

The track designs are well done and fun to race in, but there are a few things that we hope get patched up. If you jump to the campaign mode after playing any other mode, you might get stuck because no starting lights appear, requiring you to reboot the game. You can cheat the system by not driving well. We raced badly enough that we were on track to score no stars, but we received a perfect three stars once we crossed the finish line. Finally, the game features no other unlocks by completing any of the races at more than the bare minimum of stars. No matter what, you'll always have the same yellow car that runs at the same top speed.

The second mode is the track generator, which is much easier to work with than it sounds. All you need to do is enter a word or letters, and the game generates the track conditions. What makes it better is the fact that you can see the track conditions evolve as you enter the characters. These tracks have their own leaderboard, and the same keyword you use can be entered by others to generate the same track and compete on that same leaderboard, so you have an endless source of entertainment in this mode.

The final mode is a daily challenge mode, which takes a randomly generated track and gives it to everyone to play for the day. Like the track generator, these tracks have their own leaderboard, but you're never given the keyword to generate it for later play. You can see the leaderboard for a few days, so you can see how you did without having to log in. The mode is enjoyable, but you can't play it until you register online, a process that requires you to enter an email address and wait for a confirmation code before you can post your times on that leaderboard and the one for the track generator. It seems rather superfluous to go through this process, especially since there doesn't seem to be anything you gain from the leaderboards aside from bragging rights. It's also annoying since, so few other games have you do this, especially since this could've easily been handled by using your Steam name.

As far as presentation goes, it takes inspiration from the classics but with modern techniques. The draw distance is perhaps the most impressive part, as it goes on longer than expected. The environments are detailed enough without betraying its low-fi stance, while the cars are detailed enough that it looks better than expected from a title that professes to be retro without going for a completely boxy look. It's also very responsive thanks to its constantly high frame rate. The sound effects are fine, but the music is catchy, going for a mix between synth wave and stuff you'd expect to hear from an Amiga game or anything from the 16-bit era but with more clarity.

For Steam Deck users, Classic Sport Driving performs quite well despite not having any settings to change. The game has no issues running at 60fps, and while the resolution isn't at a native 1280x800, it still looks quite good on the Deck's screen. The battery life gets an average of four hours on a full charge, so you can go for a pretty long time before needing to plug in. Overall, it continues the tradition of low-spec indie games being a perfect fit for the device.

Classic Sport Driving is fine if you don't mind some quirks. Having to register before playing online is rather unnecessary, and some of the campaign bugs detract from the enjoyment of the title. Still, the racing is good once you get used to the handling and driving, while the track randomization and leaderboards for each permutation ensures that you can get in some quick challenges when time permits. It's a nice diversion for fans of old-school racers who don't mind playing solo.

Score: 7.0/10