Last year’s Formula Legends was an interesting, if flawed, throwback to the glorious days of low-poly Formula 1 gaming, but I don’t think I can call it a true nostalgic throwback in terms of gameplay. It was somewhat simulation-heavy in some areas, and not the best example of a game you could simply boot up and play for a handful of minutes on a portable, for instance. Virtua Racing, it was not. This brand new racer that showed up from out of nowhere, Vision Reelle’s 4PGP is selling itself as the kind of trip down memory lane some may have been asking for over the past few years. Let’s see if this retro-tinged F1 racer is worth the price of admission.

I wish 4PGP looked a bit older, as this art style isn’t retro enough to look nostalgic.

By actually featuring former Sega developers in its development team, 4PGP starts off in a promising way, offering four-player support in all modes, including the main career mode, where you’ll spend a good chunk of time unlocking new cars and tracks for your multiplayer enjoyment. It’s retro-styled in nature, but not low-poly or “adorably clunky” enough to actually look nostalgic and/or charming, but I appreciated how each track, be it Monaco or São Paulo, actually resembled their real-life counterparts, at least in terms of their track design. The sound department is a mixed bag. Even though the soundtrack is clearly meant to resemble Virtua Racing, the compositions aren’t great, and the sound mixing is pretty bad.

Activating the turbo causes the entire screen to shake like you’re in the middle of an earthquake.

Though calling it a 100% arcade-fit game might be a stretch. I wasn’t a particular fan o the button placement, lack of customization, or really unbalanced car roster. It feels like you can either have a car with good handling (albeit really slow, losing a ton of speed when you’re recharging your turbo), or a car that’s really fast, but performs corners in a worse manner than an old Mustang. Given how the tracks themselves are based on real-life F1 circuits, just having a speedy vehicle doesn’t help things out, but when the brutal AI acts like they have access to the best of both worlds (speed and handling), things become a bit frustrating. Without a doubt, spending time on multiplayer mode with friends is less gruesome, as all players are limited to the same hindrances.

Driving a (non-official for copyright purposes) McLaren on the (non-official for copyright purposes) São Paulo track. Timeless.

But I guess that, what really made me think that 4PGP is merely alright is how unremarkable it is. It looks and runs fine, but with the exception of its multiplayer support, it doesn’t stand out in terms of its nostalgic charm, content, or level of polish. It is an interesting game if you are looking for something that resembles the Sega arcade racers from back in the day, but to be fair, you’d be better off just sticking to the excellent remastered version of Virtua Racing available on the eShop. It’s not a bad title, but it just simply failed to make any sort of impression with me, be it positive or negative.

4PGP is available now on Switch and Switch 2.

Reviewed on Switch 2.

A copy of 4PGP was provided by the publisher.