Is Lanesplit Worth Playing? Demo Impressions & First Look

LANESPLIT is in active development by a solo developer FunkyMouse, and it shows. My first impression of the current demo was negative, but my opinion of the game has improved over subsequent play sessions. LANESPLIT is the kind of game that has the potential to captivate players with the excitement of speeding a motorcycle through traffic. Dodging in and out of cars on the freeway can be exhilarating, so let’s start there.

So what is LANESPLIT?

LANESPLIT is a high-speed, solo racing game where the player is challenged to keep a score counter rising by dodging around other cars on the highway while maintaining as much speed as possible. It’s almost like a video game version of those toys I’d find as a kid at places like RadioShack in the early 2000s. The main difficulty lies in keeping on the throttle and knowing when to let off and drop speed for turns. You’ll know when you’re succeeding because the music gets louder and more energetic. The game is really as simple as that: chain speeding and reckless vehicular endangerment together without crashing for as long as possible.

The idea is undeniably fun when executed properly; the simplicity behind this concept is potentially lightning in a bottle.

However, the game is not finished, and it can be glaringly obvious at times.

To begin with, my first impression was ruined by an apparent bug with my controller. For some reason, my Xbox controller’s thumbsticks weren’t calibrated correctly, which made my inputs pathetically weak. Without being able to steer properly, I was stuck ping-ponging around the city map. Truly a miserable experience. I was ready to write this game off entirely, but playing a second time using mouse and keyboard was much better. Once I was able to actually play the game, I found another bug. It was actually very easy to bounce out of the map. This is obviously something that will be fixed before launch, but leaving the bounds revealed that the maps are not actually very large. At the moment, there are only three maps available, and each one has its own style, but they are limited in scope and scale.

So would I recommend LANESPLIT?

The short answer is: Proceed with caution.

The long answer is: I like what I’ve played, but there is nowhere near enough content present to justify a purchase. There are only three small locations, nothing in the character select screen, the points grind for a new motorcycle is unappealing, and the controls for the default bike are weak. With all of that said, I think LANESPLIT has potential. When your bike gets up to speed and the music comes in, the rush of excitement is hard to deny. Likewise, I can imagine a more sedate multiplayer session of two friends chatting while cruising the highways. If the finished product is able to deliver more maps, perhaps a minimap option or the ability to set waypoints, and a dependable multiplayer suite, then I will absolutely recommend this to a friend.