For Gamescom, Sega let IGN and GameSpot get their hands on Crazy Taxi World Tour for a hands-on session on the brand new Germany map. Verdict: instant fun, but also a few reservations.

Driving that kept its soul

Both outlets agree on the essentials: the driving is still just as thrilling. GameSpot describes an enjoyable sandbox to explore at your own pace, where the Crazy Stop, Crazy Dash, and Crazy Drift remain the three core driving tools for scoring. IGN agrees, praising tight turns, boosts, and acceleration that stays true to the series' arcade spirit rather than leaning into simulation.

Another shared point: the soundtrack. The Offspring riffs blasting from the first few seconds hit the mark for both journalists, instantly bringing back the Dreamcast and arcade cabinet vibe of the original game. GameSpot does note a caveat, though: over a 45-minute session, hearing the same two Offspring tracks and the same Bad Religion song on loop, not to mention Axel's repeating lines, starts to wear thin.

IGN Preview:

Side quests full of personality

The big addition in World Tour is the side characters you meet outside the classic fares. GameSpot calls this the clear highlight of their session: a pizza delivery guy named Cheeseburger, an alien curious about driving on Earth, an Easter Bunny, and even a smooth-talking ladies' man dropped off at the airport... Mini-challenges (drifting, Crazy Stop, speed) wrapped in absurd humor that genuinely made the reviewer smile.

IGN, for its part, especially enjoyed the side activities as a break from the usual rhythm: sucking up piles of paper with an NPC's vacuum cleaner, or launching a wingsuit stuntman as far as possible.

Germany, but not quite

This is where things fall short for IGN. The map is split into five zones (airport, city, walled city, mountains, autobahn), but the German identity stays very surface-level: a few signs in the language, vaguely European architecture, no accents, no distinctive-looking pedestrians, no real local atmosphere. The NPCs have no accent, no typical clothing — the map is there, but it lacks flavor. The reviewer regrets the lack of stronger cultural touches and questions the point of the "world tour" theme if every city ends up feeling the same.

The day/night cycle, adjustable on the fly across 4 times of day (morning, afternoon, early evening, and night), is praised, though IGN noticed no gameplay impact (traffic, passengers, events) during their session. That said, the lighting does its job well, giving the map a different feel depending on the areas visited and the lighting conditions.

GameSpot Preview:

A few open questions

• Generative AI: GameSpot revisits the controversy around its use, vaguely disclosed at first before Sega clarified that no AI-generated content will be present in the final game. The reviewer admits they couldn't actually verify this on the build they played.
• Visual polish: IGN points to fairly generic vehicles and NPCs, lacking personality and sometimes feeling like they came straight out of an asset store — a perception that ties directly back to the German map's lack of character.

Still smiling, though

Despite these reservations, both reviewers came away convinced by the driving fun and arcade energy of World Tour. GameSpot describes a genuine smile after their session, while IGN says the game finally made them understand the appeal of the franchise — an appeal the journalist hadn't experienced back in the day. Crazy Taxi World Tour is set for release in 2027, leaving time to polish things further, with a network test coming in the next few weeks.

At Recalbox, we're keeping a close eye on this game's development — Crazy Taxi shaped many of our childhoods, and the Crazy Taxi cabinet served as our reference hardware for developing steering wheel support on the Recalbox JVS. Needless to say, we can't wait to get back behind the wheel with Axel!

Enjoying the Recalbox team's work? Support the project by becoming a Patron!