Hands-on: Fast Fusion might be the Switch 2’s sleeper hit

As the first new entry in 11 years, Mario Kart World is inevitably stealing the spotlight on Switch 2, leading the platform’s launch lineup. However, it’s not the only new Switch 2-exclusive racing game you can play if you’ve just picked up Nintendo’s latest console.

Tucked away on the Nintendo eShop (which no longer runs like treacle, mercifully) is Fast Fusion, a new futuristic racer from veteran indie studio Shin’en Multimedia. It marks the fourth entry in the long-running Fast series that originated on the Wii with Fast Racing League.     

You would be forgiven for forgetting that Fast Fusion is a Switch 2 launch title. The futuristic racer has launched with little fanfare after it was briefly shown in April’s Switch 2 Direct show for only a few seconds. It’s a shame, because Fast Fusion is a potential hidden gem at risk of being overshadowed by Mario Kart World.

Whereas the last entry, Fast RMX, was an enhanced port of the Wii U’s Fast Racing Neo, Fast Fusion is billed as a true sequel. Despite this, it leaves a familiar first impression. Menus are nearly identical to Fast RMX, as is the campaign structure.

The main championship is split into three leagues that increase in difficulty, with four cups to complete in each. Every cup contains three tracks, bringing the total to 12 at launch. While every circuit layout seems to be new, some locations appear to be lifted from Fast RMX.

As with previous games, Fast Fusion’s central gimmick revolves around gaining speed boosts from coloured pads scattered around the track – hitting these boosts is essential if you want to be competitive. The twist is that you must manually switch your ship’s engine colour to blue or orange while match it with the corresponding boost pad.

Hitting them with the right colour gives you a speed boost, while the wrong colour slows you down, testing your reflexes. You can also activate manual boosts by collecting orbs to fill your meter.

Combine this with the ability to strafe and jump, and there’s a lot to get to grips with if you’re new to the series. Thankfully, the slower ships at the start of the game, coupled with sharp controls, help ease you in, and you soon get into a satisfying rhythm.

Graphics and performance options are impressively versatile for a launch title. In docked mode, you have four options for balancing graphics and performance, including a 1080p Performance mode at 60fps. There’s also an Ultra Quality mode, which boosts the resolution to 4k at the expense of a lower frame rate locked at 30fps.

The standard Quality mode offers the best compromise, maintaining 4K and a smooth 60fps without a noticeable drop in visual fidelity. Reducing the performance to 30fps seems sacrilegious in a game that thrives on its sense of speed, and we haven’t encountered any performance issues in Quality mode so far.

Meanwhile, handheld mode offers two modes: Performance at 1080p with HDR and 60fps or Quality at 1080p and 30fps. Shin’en Multimedia is even considering adding a 120fps mode in a future update.

With soft-looking environment textures and aliasing issues, the visuals don’t appear to be a giant leap forward from Fast RMX, but the increased resolution is a welcome upgrade. That said, Fast Fusion is still easily one of the best-looking Switch 2 launch games that sets a high bar for indie titles on the system.

The new Fusion mode also has potential, allowing you to spend credits earned from competing in races to merge parts from unlocked vehicles together and boost their stats, but we need more time to explore it further.

Fast Fusion’s biggest draw, though, is arguably its budget-friendly price. Compared to Mario Kart World’s controversial RRP, Fast Fusion is criminally cheap for a game with this level of quality at only £13.49 / €14.99 / $14.99.  

From our hands-on so far, Fast Fusion is shaping up to be a sleeper hit for the Switch 2 with a surprisingly low price – even if it offers a very similar experience to Fast RMX so far.

Look out for our full review of Fast Fusion coming soon.