Even if a video game is only a mild success these days, it feels like a sequel is almost always in the cards. Even more niche titles like Frostpunk, Steamworld Heist, and GreedFall get the franchise treatment in 2024. That makes it all the more surprising when a company never capitalizes on a classic game’s success. It’s by that token that I’ve always been shocked that The Simpsons: Hit & Run never got a follow-up.
Released in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube, Hit & Run is the best Simpsons game out there next to its arcade beat ’em up. The chaotic follow-up to The Simpsons: Road Rage took a page out of Grand Theft Auto’s playbook to create the closest thing we’ve ever had to an open-world version of Springfield. Though a sequel was in development once upon a time, that never came to fruition. And with no modern remaster or ports available, there’s no way for modern audiences to experience it legally.
Thankfully, its spirit lives on in Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip. Released last week on PC, the indie charmer is a bite-sized open-world game in the vein of A Short Hike or Little Kitty, Big City. Players take on the role of Tiny Terry, an oddball kid who gets a job driving a car one summer. His parents, who are away on vacation, want him to spend the long months maturing and learning responsibility, but Terry has a different idea in mind.
He wants to go to space.
What ensues is a hilarious — and chaotic– little coming of age story. The adventure begins when Terry gets his job and immediately declares that he’s not going to do it (a Steam achievement quickly confirms that). Instead, he uses his yellow work car to explore a miniature open city looking for collectible junk that can be used to upgrade his car’s turbo boost. Getting enough boost power will allow him to drive up a towering statue in the center of town … which happens to be a functional ramp to the stars.
The adventure is small in scope and can feel limited at times. It’s a standard collect-a-thon gameplay loop with a small handful of city-goer requests to handle. One has me stealing cars and bringing them to a friend to split the cash. Another has me catching stray blueprints with a bug net. In between those activities, I can ride around town, smashing into as many cars and pedestrians as I desire. I can also get out on foot to smash boxes with my trusty pipe or fly with a Zelda-like glider. It’s the same cartoon mischief charm that made The Simpsons: Hit & Run so memorable, though the streets can feel a bit empty.
None of this is especially remarkable on its own, but what makes it work is its riotously funny sense of humor. Rather than going for eye-rolling quips, Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip doles out absurd deadpan humor punctuated by perfectly timed awkward silences. In one quest, I find a shady guy in a hallway who really wants to do a crime. Unfortunately, he has a code of morals and refuses to do any harmful crime. I have to find some government secrets sitting around city hall in order to present him a safe financial crime we can do together instead.
Another recurring joke has me checking in on a guy suntanning on a beach … who is slowly catching on fire more and more each time I check on him. Hysterical moments like that help Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip make the most of its quick runtime, peppering a good joke in at every turn.
That’s not to say that it’s all irreverent farce. There’s a quietly heartfelt story underneath the absurdity as Terry learns to balance his free, childlike spirit with his growing responsibilities. He’d rather be zipping through space instead of working a summer job, but sometimes we need to grow up a little. That all builds to one of my favorite endings in a game this year, which is worth the three- to four-hour playthrough on its own.
Though Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip won’t entirely fill the Hit & Run-sized hole in your heart, its a charming homage to a classic Simpsons game. Give it a try and you’ll find a fun slice of video game comedy with its own distinct style. You’ll be hard-pressed to find better awkward silences in a game this year.
Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip is out now on PC.
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