Trackday Manager Demo

Being a racing driver is quite stressful, especially if you have a reputation to defend. However, the entire team has to deal with tough situations, starting from engineers, all the way to managers and accountants. Even so, the driver’s performance ties everything together, because he is the one who has the ability to either win or lose a race.

Trackday Manager is a different kind of racing simulator, especially when it comes to gameplay and the player’s role in a race. As such, you do not drive the actual car, you just manage the team and give orders to the drivers every now and again. It may sound a tad boring, but it’s anything but that once you get the hang of it. Unfortunately, the game needs more work before it can be enjoyed properly.

To begin with, there are only six cars and six tracks available, which is a bit of a disappointment, especially in a game that’s technically complete. Granted, each car has specific strengths and weaknesses, not to mention the fact that you can upgrade them in a variety of ways, but it’s still pretty annoying. Thankfully, there are more than enough customization options when it comes to sponsors, upgrades and cosmetics.

Once the race begins, you can start giving orders to your driver and make sure he gets the most out of every situation. You do not have to steer or keep your foot on the throttle, but you can tell the driver when to overtake, when to push the engine to its limits and when to make a pit stop. It’s actually quite exciting, even if you are not technically in control of the vehicle.

As for the graphics, the fact that you observe everything from a top-down perspective means that it doesn’t really matter how detailed the cars or the tracks are. However, everything looks quite nice, despite the awkward perspective. Speaking of which, the camera can be a bit tricky to use sometimes, especially if you want to keep your view ahead at all times.

In the end, Trackday Manager may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s something different and exciting. On the other hand, it needs more work before it’s worth the purchase, and it’s nice to see that the developers are constantly patching the game.