Crazy Taxi: World Tour Revives Classic Arcade Thrills

Crazy Taxi: World Tour revives the classic arcade driving series with its signature chaotic spirit intact, according to a Eurogamer preview from Gamescom. The upcoming game brings back original cabbie Axel, the punk rock soundtrack from The Offspring and Bad Religion, and the series' staple driving maneuvers.

The preview, based on a half-hour demo, states the core gameplay feels like a return to 1999. Players once again pick up and drop off passengers against the clock in a free-roaming taxi, using speed boosts, brake stops, and wild drifts. Trick combos still multiply the final fare.

Core Driving and New Setting

The driving action centers on Axel's agile yellow cab, equipped with the series' signature moves: the Crazy Dash boost, the Crazy Stop, and the Crazy Drift. Eurogamer reports the drift mechanic is key to maintaining the game's carefree, chaotic spirit, enabling sharp turns as players race across the map.

The Gamescom demo focused on the new Germany map, a cartoonish take on a German tourist town. The environment progresses from a busy airport runway, where players must dodge landing jets, to cobbled streets, plazas with market stalls, and winding mountain roads leading to a hilltop castle. The preview describes the aesthetic as colourful but slightly bland, though enlivened by environmental variety.

Expanded Gameplay with Mini-Games

Crazy Taxi: World Tour introduces mini-games directly into the map. Passing through gates initiates checkpoint time attacks, providing new challenges without breaking the core arcade loop. The more significant addition is a series of Odd Jobs, which are challenge-based passenger missions.

One Odd Job involved picking up a man in a squirrel suit and using the Crazy Stop to fling him as far as possible. Another required picking up a city worker who then stood on the back seat with a vacuum cleaner; the player's goal was to smash through bins and boxes so she could hoover up the exploding trash.

Multiplayer and Final Impressions

The preview confirms World Tour will feature a multiplayer mode, with a closed beta announced. The solo Crazy Rush mode was the focus of the demo.

Eurogamer's session concluded with an elaborate Odd Job involving a passenger named Pierre, who needed to reach the airport quickly. The simple fare transformed into a high-speed chase through the countryside, with the player dodging nitro bombs and using boosts to escape pursuers, culminating in a desperate attempt to catch a plane on the runway. The preview calls the experience silly, exhilarating, and a load of fun, capturing the desired spirit of Crazy Taxi, despite noting the revival has been somewhat marred by controversy surrounding its use of generative AI.