I still have a lot of thoughts to have about this mammoth of a game & it's still continuing to evolve as well, but if you want a simple one-line review: This is the most infuriating racing experience that I find incredibly fun to play.

There's an appreciation to the dev team embracing its mod roots and community by leaning into its "maximalist" design - even if I may hate some track designs, they clearly ooze of care, intent and plenty of history behind their layouts and looks. It's absolutely a racer that nigh demands you give it the time and practice to truly enjoy it on a level that nears fan favorite kart racers and even some fighting games. And yet, Some of that appeal gets lost, solely cause I just don't always want to dedicate that grind to a game.

I genuinely do think that if you can, play the game with a couple of friends in the "tournament" mode setting, to get a feel on if the racer's handling is even your style. Don't let the lengthy tutorial and breadth of mechanics stress you though - this is still an incredibly charming, really fun kart racer to its core, that nearly anyone can enjoy.

I have such mixed feelings about this game. To explain, first know that there was once a Sonic fangame made in the Doom engine called Sonic Robo Blast 2. It's still technically under development, but has been completely playable for many years now. This proved quite popular, so other fans spun that game off into Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart, an appropriately titled kart racer. Now, I love SRB2K. It's a fun and fluid game with some great levels and visuals, a vibrant modding scene, and music just plain stolen from other pieces of media, so it's entirely made up of bangers. The one thing it was missing though, was a single player mode. It had time trials and multiplayer, but no Grand Prix campaign. The developers promised this by the end of 2020, and since it's a fan project made by volunteers, they blew right past that. Not entirely unexpected, but as the years went by, they began showcasing a lot of new mechanics what few reveals they had, so many new mechanics that they decided to completely spin the game off into a new title entirely, now called Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers. A much catchier title, and finally after years of development, the game shadow dropped last month. From what I understand, they've been releasing pretty substantial balancing patches for the game, and for reference I played on v2.3. Overall, this game feels like two steps forward over SRB2K, and about three steps back.

Let's get the elephant out of the room -- this game has the absolute worst tutorial I have ever seen. Upon starting the game, a visual novel-esque discussion between Tails and Eggman begins where they spout some flavor text then proceed to go into excruciating details about how the video settings works. This cannot be skipped (this isn't entirely true, there is a "password entry", which if you know it will let you skip it, but the password must be dug up online). This lasts for several minutes before they finally give you control of your kart, and begin explaining either incredibly obvious mechanics, such as how to drive, or complex mechanics that never come up again, like how to activate nearby switches when your ring count is below zero. Vital mechanics, like the new F-Zero GX-esque ring system, aren't addressed. The game is set up to be played on keyboard, but it's a bizarre layout, and all the in-game signage is for a controller, which I would highly recommend using. The driving section of the tutorial can be skipped after a point -- if you manage to finish a difficult CPU race -- but if you fail you don't get another chance and must finish the tutorial. Apparently this was even longer in previous patches, but has been scaled back. It's incredibly confusing, pointless, and invasive, and honestly the review really could end right here. I wanted to play this with some friends, but I cannot in good faith recommend anyone actually sit through this. I honestly hope the developers simply scrap the entire idea, as while kinda cute, it isn't needed at all and directly hurts the game.

Getting past that, you're met with a newly designed main menu and can begin playing. The new Grand Prix mode is there, and jumping in my opinions remain mixed. I've used this analogy in other reviews, but I feel like the developers got too good at their own game, and started targeting a more hardcore audience. This feeling purveys my entire experience with the game. The level geometry is dramatically more complex than SRB2K, with every level having constant slopes, half pipes, banked curves, you name it. The kart doesn't handle great going around around these uneven edges, and you're meant to utilize the new unexplained ring mechanic to assist. This is actually an interesting idea, you can "spend" your rings to get a small speed boost, and this is expected of you as the levels are flush with rings. I grew to like this mechanic, but it still has its faults. For example, spending rings is bound to the same button as using an item. Because spending rings is actually such a vital feature, I ended up trying to avoid items altogether, or throwing them as quickly as I could if I ended up with one. There are a number of returning stages from SRB2K here, all completely redesigned. On each and every one of them, I prefer the original, more simplistic designs. The art style has also been improved, with a lot less flat colors in DRRR than its predecessor. This has largely been positively received, and while I do largely like it, it does add to the visual complexity of levels, so it can be difficult to see which way the course is turning. The developers did anticipate this, so every level is blazoned with large arrows pointing the way. One would think that at that point, your stages might be too complex, but as I said, I think they got too used to their own game.

This brings me to the CPU AI, which seems to be the most criticized element of this game. This game heavily utilizes rubber banding, to the point that it's actually a mechanic pointed out in their manual (by the way, there's a manual and it's much better than the in-game tutorial). Enemies can be far behind the player only to surpass you out of nowhere due to the advantages they get. One CPU in each Grand Prix cup -- usually the one in second place -- is designated the "rival", and they get even greater advantages than the others. Combine this with the rather lengthy Grand Prix duration, and the game can be quite a slog. Each cup has not only five stages, but also two special stages, in the vein of traditional Sonic games. I have no idea what the special stages are for. I've completed them successfully, while getting all A ranks and gold medals, and nothing has happened. Instead, they just take up a few extra minutes each Grand Prix cup. I think this is supposed to give you Chaos Emeralds (whatever those do), but I haven't had anything happen to me yet. One positive is that this game utilizes an unlock achievement system similar to Kirby Air Ride, which I've always liked for its increased replayability. There's also a huge number of stages. Upon beating the initial seven cups, another seven appeared on the menu. I've heard that there's something like 250 stages in total -- a monumental feat for a volunteer group.

Finally, after all my criticisms... I ended up actually having a bit of fun. The problem here is that everything I enjoyed were mechanics from SRB2K years ago, and everything new they've added I find largely to be a baffling choice. I didn't even mention bizarre ideas like how players can rumble with each other for a few seconds before the stage actually begins, or how I thought the swinging laser mechanic was an overly used stage hazard, because I couldn't fathom that they'd give an invasive 20-second long hazard as an item. I think buried here is a game I would like, and the more I play it, the more I do find myself enjoying it. However, for me to truly enjoy myself would require a return to design sensibilities that they've moved past. The developers have even said, understandably, that they're only going to be continuing development on DRRR going forward. As it is, I want to like it, and if they make the tutorial optional I might even recommend it. Until then though, it's stuck in a weird limbo state for me where patches might improve the experience, but I don't think I'll ever prefer the new level designs or mechanics. At least the stolen music is still great.