Return Zero

Developer We came From Mars's debut release, tunnel racer Return Zero, seems to tick all the right boxes.

You're piloting a nippy little craft through a world whose visuals riff unapologetically on Tron, weaving like a slalom racer by tilting your phone.

But although Return Zero conveys a fair sense of speed, the number of jarring design decisions makes it difficult to recommend.

The overriding impression is one of a game where every part of it's been done better already.

Your aim is to reach the end of each course as quickly as possible, with every obstacle - bar the blue gates - slowing you down.

With the over sensitive tilt controls, this ends up being a very frustrating ride.

Most endless racers build tension through the idea one slip-up will cost you the run, period. You know you can get started on a new attempt in moments, so it's never that much of an irritation.

You can't die playing Return Zero, but crawling through the game in fits and starts while you try and learn the courses doesn't seem worth it.

The mere inclusion of a brake button feels like a mistake too, when these games are supposed to be about white-knuckle thrills.

The retro aesthetic itself doesn't hold up for long. Despite the levels becoming increasingly complex, each new world is just a palette swap.

The morphing walls and floors do nothing except distract you, and the single chiptune piece on the soundtrack grates extremely quickly.

You can get the hang of the loose controls with practice, and find some amusement in going so fast time turns backwards. But something like Hyperbees's Speedx 3D corrects every one of these flaws and then some.

Return Zero looks good on paper, but it doesn't do enough to turn its big ideas into a decent game.