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Sumo Newcastle’s latest title, Deathsprint 66, is a hilariously fun one. It’s brutal, weird, satisfying when it works, and janky and awkward when it doesn’t. It blends the worlds of Mario Kart, Tron, and a bit of Squid Game into a harmonious-but-chaotic death orgy.
This is a post-truth game through and through. Deathsprint 66, like its contestants racing for glory and survival, exists purely for the sake of morbid fantasy and gross titillation. Extreme violence and gore are the foundational pillars of this cyberpunk civilisation gorging on misfortune. The bright neon death race is there to distract you from the misinformation meta-narrative that engraves the texture of the world.
“It’s like a blood and circus for the masses”
Andrew Willans, Game Director on Deathsprint 66
Between levels, you’re exposed to the Bachman Media Network – a giant conglomerate responsible for all kinds of entertainment in this familiarly dystopian world. Perhaps inspired by the Murdochs, The Boys’ Vought, or even IGN Entertainment’s parent company, Ziff Davis. The spectacle is broadcast across Bachman’s channels. Intermissions between races are peppered with collusion, branded product placement, and corporate propaganda. It’s a scathing reminder that the entertainment industry, alongside the typical news cycle, relies heavily on suffering and misfortune to operate successfully.
Deathsprint 66 is a fantastically fun way to prove gaming journalists are actually bad at games. In our online multiplayer preview, I watched as other writers I once admired, perhaps less so now, launch themselves over the edge of winding roads to meet an unfortunate demise. They’d respawn a couple of metres back, accelerate slowly, fall again, and ragdoll into a red stain on a distant plane.
I say this not as criticism, but Deathsprint 66 really reminded me of mobile platformers from the early 2010s. It scratched an itch for Temple Running and Subway Surfing that I had no idea was bothering me. It takes that fundamental concept of running fast in a straight line and mutates it into fantastically gory spectacle. In this sense, Deathsprint 66 is wittily self-aware. You, as both the player and spectator, are just as instrumental in perpetuating the kill-for-sport game as its Bachman architects, and it’s even more relevant because of how fun it is.
The action takes place in a neon colosseum of ring roads and moving walls. You sprint between mutilating obstacles, skate along hyperspeed rails, and wall-run around plasma force fields. It plays like an R-Rated Mario Kart texture pack, and the formula works incredibly well in creating a pick-up-and-play Arcade game with production quality inline with Fall Guys or Rocket League.
Since each of the contestants are identical clones of one another, it’s all the more harrowing when you nudge an opponent – yourself – in the back, send them off-course, and consequently shred your likeness into a million bloody pieces with a neon buzzsaw.
The gameplay loop is simple; race victoriously, or die. Much like in Mario Kart, there are power-ups along the way, dangerous obstacles, and you’ll find especially creative ways to take out your opponents. There are Red Shell projectiles and Bullet Bills that actually kill, and you can even just punch your opponents out of the way, too.
It’s far from an easy game to begin with, though this is partly down to janky controls that aren’t quite as polished as they need be. This is especially an issue in some of the tighter turns. Drifting round sharp bends, or trying to launch yourself from boost pads, often ends in a frustrating loop devoid of momentum. Although, when it works out, the adrenaline served by sneaking up on the race leader and claiming a surprise victory is unparalleled.
Sumo Newcastle’s decision to keep Deathsprint 66 as a complete game, rather than a live service content mill, is a noble one. Unfortunately, and I hate myself for saying this, but I worry about the game’s longevity without seasonal updates and the like. The pre-alpha build that I played was, of course, limited. Gameplay was exhibited to us for well over an hour, and while there was a selection of different maps to enjoy, the core concept of running in a straight line rarely changed trajectory.
If the developers are planning to stick to its anti-microtransaction guns, then it has to launch with enough maps and content variety as you’d expect from a full live service title . From what I understand about Sumo Newcastle, it’s committed to providing a complete experience at launch. If it can deliver, I think Deathsprint 66, with a bit of spit and polish, is going to be the next viral arcade game. With frenzied violence, a ‘based’ maximal consumerist design, and compelling gameplay, this is definitely a game to keep a close eye on.
Note: Gore was disabled during the preview for peak performance. Gameplay was hosted on publisher’s hardware, and streamed to press via Parsec.
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