Asphalt 9: Legends is undoubtedly a luxurious game that is rightfully used as a benchmark for the latest mobile devices. It’s a superb spectacle, with unrivalled next-level effects, lighting and even realistic weather. But this polished exterior hides an arcade racer and theme park that feels more like a technical demonstration than a fully realised game.

For many hours of action there is no sense that the required improvement has taken place. Progress here is not hard-earned or personal; it’s about treating the game like a meaningless time sink, coming back again and again for more upgrades, blueprints, coins, etc. Horizon games is a series of games that strike a balance between arcade fun and persistent self-improvement.

Asphalt 9 is a complete disappointment.

Not particularly interesting are the branching paths full of crooked ramps and ridiculous paths. There are so many that you can’t avoid them. This approach works surprisingly well, helping to keep the freshness of the professionally crafted locations, from Scotland to Shanghai, over the long haul. Again, the sense of discovering an alternate path is dulled by the game’s reliance on upgrades rather than skill, brute force instead of fearlessness.

Perhaps the disappointment would be less if there was no expectation that the hours spent would still pay off. One wants to see at least half of what’s here. It’s hard to imagine a version of Asphalt 9 that can’t be played for free. These elements are so deeply ingrained in every aspect of the experience. In many ways, the elements of free-to-play are a game with a certain sense of spending more time and effort browsing menus, checking timers and opening a pack of cards than actually racing.

The main drawbacks

The latter hope does remain in the touch-screen controls part of the game. Navigating through the lists using the Joy-Cons is a challenge that not everyone has the patience for. However, it takes time to get used to the disadvantages and even to get the hang of it as the action progresses. But user interface issues do accompany the gameplay throughout.

Another disadvantage of Asphalt 9 is the frame rate for the more intense races. A bunch of particle effects, jitter and noise are conspicuous. In addition, the connection to the game servers often drops, causing you to have to wait from 5 seconds to act again.

These are all problems that can be ignored on mobile devices. But coming to Switch, Asphalt 9 now offers comparisons to the excellent Horizon Chase Turbo and Grip: Combat Racing. Technically it may be a brighter, more recognisable AAA package. However, the full enjoyment of the gaming experience is still extremely difficult to come by. The product will appeal to less demanding users or even newcomers to this “world”. Avid gamers will still find quite a few downsides.