Taxi Chaos 2 Xbox Series X Review 7.5/10 *A sequel that steps up to the plate* 🚖🚕 @currentgamers #IndieGame #GameDev

I covered the original Taxi Chaos back in 2021, and whilst the fundamental mechanics and visuals were top-notch; the grating music, irritating voice acting, and repetition of the gameplay loop in such a flat, bland world was pretty wearing, and I awarded it 5/10 at the time. Whilst this sequel doesn’t solve all of those issues, in terms of enjoyment and polish, it’s a far better game, and a worthy sequel to the niche genre of arcade-led taxi driving action.

Beginning with much more of a story than the original – not that a story is particularly what you expect from this genre – you are Vinnie, an old school taxi driver plying his trade in a bit of a junkheap through a futuristic city wherein AI-driven ‘Taxibots’ are taking over from the classic cabbies. 

Determined to prove that humans can do a better job, Vinnie takes it upon himself to pick up the customers scattered throughout the city and surrounding areas, leaping over obstacles, swerving around hazards, taking myriad shortcuts, destroying – or avoiding! – said Taxibots and ensuring his passengers get safely to their destination.

Firstly, the game runs fantastically, the incredibly responsive and twitchy handling perfectly matches the busy, bustling streets of San Valeda, and the visuals and framerate run smoothly and cartoonishly, the art style dovetailing with the preposterous jumps and plummets you’ll take as you whizz around the city. 

There’s a classic arcade mode that you can jump into, but the meat of the game is the story mode, that shows Vinnie’s journey as he upgrades his arsenal of cabs, as well as collecting an impressive array of hats and other customisation options. 

Whilst the arcade mode is a typical time limit affair - much as with the original Crazy Taxi that the game clearly takes its inspiration from - the story mode splits things into three sections (morning, noon, and night) and throws objectives at you such as picking up heavy customers that affect the controls of your taxi, or transporting a cargo alongside your passenger, trying to make sure you don’t lose anything along the way. 

The game also impressively mixes things up by having various changes throughout the city such as raising bridges, blocked off areas and construction works moving around, so that you can never rely on the same routes throughout your runs. It’s also fun to unlock the other cars, picking one that suits your driving style.

All of this is good stuff, but it can’t hide the inherent repetition in the game, and having a story mode that is effectively a longer time-limit with side objectives only draws attention to this after a while, this isn’t helped by the – again, a returning issue for the series – incessantly repeated jibes and lines spouted by both Vinnie and the passengers, duplicate character models and passengers are everywhere, as well as there not being as many drop-off places as there needs to be for a game of this size to add some variety, although I do love the layout of the city and its verticality. 

The music is also much improved over the original, with a wider variety of genres involved that don’t feel as ‘stock’ as they did in the original Taxi Chaos. What’s also missing is any sort of multiplayer, the ability to play against others in arcade mode, have one player as a Taxibot trying to foil the protagonist’s journeys, or maybe having a friend to help out in co-op mode would really spice things up and add longevity to the arcade action, but alas – that’s not to be in this sequel.

SUMMARY
Taxi Chaos 2 is a solid game that has shaken off a lot of the issues that plagued the first game, but some still hang on. 

Great visuals, controls, and perfectly fine for quick blasts of arcade action, it’s a recommendation for fans – and I know there are many – of Crazy Taxi-esque games. 

That said, as much of a pleasure it is to see the strides this sequel has taken, in a couple of years I’d love to be covering Taxi Chaos 3 and awarding it a 9/10 as there really is some magic under the bonnet of this franchise and plenty of gas left in the tank!

7.5/10

🆒COOL🆒

(also available on PC, Switch)

Developer – Focusprint Studios

Publisher – Current Games