What The Car? – A Hilarious, Wacky Ride You Don’t Want to Miss
Check out my review of What The Car?, a hilarious indie game by Triband where cars run on legs! Explore wacky levels, absurd challenges, and tons of car puns in this fun physics-based racer
Welcome to the Good Game Lobby review of What The Car?, the latest release from Triband, known for What The Golf?. Let's rev our engines and race to the finish line!
A Game With Legs
Right from the start, you honk to get the party going, then pop off all four wheels, and out come two long legs. You are a car with legs, for car’s sake! Each level begins with you stuffed into a cannon that shoots you out, with the title of the level in big letters describing what new way you’ve been changed to complete it. Keep in mind that this review you’re listening to, and the game we’re talking about, is littered with car puns. Now, let’s steer the conversation back to the game.
You race on foot to the finish—that's What The Car? in its simplest form. The second level dives into the absurdity with a car that has too many legs, and you cartwheel your way to the finish. Now we’re officially in this wacky, hilarious world, full of more puns than I could even fathom.
Gameplay
What The Car? is set up in episodes with themes that bring a fresh take on how to reach the finish line. After five episodes, I felt like things were getting too repetitive, and then, right on episode six, you're introduced to a summer vibe beach land. Instead of driving, you're now diving into water and jumping out like a dolphin in the ocean. The smooth mechanics of this could easily be its own full-fledged game. I loved it so much, I replayed some levels just for fun. With each new way to race to the finish, you face obstacles, like barrels you bump into that slow you down. Each level is rated with three crowns—gold, silver, or bronze. If you feel you won’t make it to the end with gold, you can always restart. Some levels also have hidden collectible photos that are tough to reach, so you’ll have to replay them to collect everything.
Graphics
There seems to be a distinctive look to all of Triband’s games. A palette of colors that, once you see it, you know it’s one of their titles. The green grass, maroon accents, and egg yolk yellow stand out on blue backgrounds. The art style is simplistic, but bumping into things, knocking over obstacles, shattering glass, and more add depth to this physics-based world. It runs smoothly, with title cards for each level's beginning and end adding a nice touch. Confetti explosions at level completion and cannon blasts at the start of each level look fun and polished.
Later episodes expand on the themes, ranging from industrial, sewage-based levels to a beach area with swimming, race car tracks, and one whole episode inspired by Mad Max, where you run from a storm while bombs and vehicles try to destroy you at every turn. It’s a “car-tastrophe.”
Soundtrack
Typically, I highlight the soundtracks of games, and here, most of the same music plays during the levels. It’s dominated by tuba-like sounds and vocal melodies. In fact, many of the sounds and music have a vocal tone, adding to the silliness of the experience. Bears are scattered throughout the levels, and when they bump into things, they sound like squeaky toys. Boosters across levels make a sound similar to someone mimicking a car zooming by. Hitting the ground hard with your bike or using up your rocket fuel sounds like a pan shot. When you enter a level, a horn fades out slowly, as if the car itself is screaming. At the end of each level, you're met with more honks, tire screeches, sneezes, and crashes. The sound design perfectly complements the game’s wacky physics
Overall
If you're familiar with What The Golf? and had a great time with it, you'll love What The Car?. Sometimes you just want to shut off the world and goof off, and this game does that beautifully. It took me roughly five hours to power through the main game, and I plan to revisit it with friends and family to see their reactions and collect all the gold crowns. Replay ability is key here. They have plans to add more content, and with user-generated levels and collectibles, there's plenty to come back to, even after completing all nine episodes. Trust me, you won’t be tired!
Graphically great, absurdly funny, constantly topping itself with each new level's oddball themes and charismatic puns, What The Car? is my ride-or-die must-play and one of my favorites from 2024.
Thank you for watching my review of What The Car?. Have you tried out their previous titles or have any other goofy games you'd recommend? Let’s honk it out in the comments!
🎮What The Car? | Steam
🗓️Release Date | Out Now!
Nice review! It's a really quirky and unique game.