Asphalt 9: Legends, or simply Asphalt 9, is rightly continues the series’ tradition of offering the next-level gaming experience. It features incredible speed – something a true racing game should have – and other realistic effects that make it extremely immersive. Released by Gameloft in 2018 on Android, iOS, and switch, Asphalt 9 has the same dynamic of destruction, intensity, and danger characteristic of previous instalments.

However, to say Asphalt 9 is just like the rest is a disservice to the game’s true genius. Although ardent lovers of the Asphalt series will find this game familiar, this game takes everything to another level. The 3D graphics is beyond mind-blowing, and the soundtrack? You have several musical tracks that provide enough entertainment on their own. The controls are better now, and you have new cars and tracks.

When It Comes To Visuals, Asphalt 9 Is Stupendously Stunning

One of the most impressive features of the Asphalt series is the visuals. Installment after installment, the visuals have only gotten better. They often set the stage for mobile games of that era. In Asphalt 9, we see the best graphics yet. The game easily has the best graphical elements we’ve ever seen in a mobile game. You get this completely realistic experience that holds nothing back in captivating you.

When you consider the visuals of a mobile racing game like Asphalt 9, you have to take a look at speed. When the car motion is kind of drab, the entire display of the game will be slow and uninspiring. On the other hand, when motion is smooth and fast, you have a stunning piece. In Asphalt 9, the developers seem to have put the puzzles together finally. They employed the motion blur effect in giving everything a more dramatic display.

Another area where Asphalt 9 astonishes me is the incredible HDR lighting that literally lights up the game. The game vividly employs the bloom effect in blurring, exaggerating bright areas to create a perfect contrast with the less bright areas. Another interesting feature of this game is the particle effect. The sparks that glow up when the car lands on the tracks; the shattering of objects as the cars plumage through them, and other brilliant effects all contribute to the visual excellence of Asphalt 9.

Of course, there’ll be no Asphalt series without cars. In Asphalt 9, you find the most realistic cars you’ll ever see in a mobile game. That’s no exaggeration. Every detail has some sorts of fine-tuning that make the cars come to life. When you run those terrific tires over ice or dirt, they pick them up. As you perform a drift, the sight of the dirt, ice, or water blowing off is amazing. The wheels are perfect, allowing you to move in different directions.

A New Control System That Changes Gameplay

Asphalt 9 does make a big change in controls. Now, you have the TouchDrive, which takes off a large part of the player’s control. The car can accelerate, slow down, and turn without your help. The only controls you have include nitro and drift. While you have control over which path the car should go, your action only involves swiping between the options that appear on the screen.

This new control system is polarizing. Some gamers hail it as a brilliant addition, and others wish everything would go back to the way they were.  However, you have the option to turn off TouchDrive. Doing so allows you to move the car steering by tilting your device screen to the direction you want the car to go. Even with the TouchDrive disabled, the brakes and acceleration remain untouchable. So, you still don’t quite get full control of the driving.

When in a race, you watch on as your car accelerates and brakes. You only turn the steering to avoid running off the tracks or collision. With no ability to do the driving yourself, you can only pray to survive the race battle. It’s hard to understand why Asphalt 9 is denied manual controls, but having it as an option would have been so much fun.

Aside from the controls, the gameplay is not so different from what other games in the series offer. There are several race options to choose from, and each race has specific objectives you have to complete. Meeting these targets lifts the locks on other race options. For gamers like myself, racing clean is absent in my Asphalt vocabulary. Ripping off cars create the kind of carnage that pumps my adrenaline. In Asphalt 9, you can do a 360-degree spin that is exhilarating in all sense. 

More Cars, More Fun

With better cars, you’re likely to win more races – and winning races is what a racing game is all about. In Asphalt 9, there’re car collections that beat what you find in other Asphalt games. The game taunts your patience by letting you work hard to get these cars. With no option to buy cars in the game, you have to win races to get them. It leaves you with the chicken and egg problem: to win races you need fast cars, no get fast cars, you need to win races.

For every game you win, you get some blueprints. You can then exchange these blueprints for a car of your choice. Each car has a specific number of blueprints that can unlock it. You can only imagine how many races you’d need to win to get a super-fast car. If you aren’t cut out for that case, you can buy blueprints with your in-game credits. Unsurprisingly, you can get these in-game credits by spending some real money. That gives some advantage to big spenders.

An exciting multiplayer environment

The multiplayer environment in Asphalt 9 is an exciting one. You battle on the race tracks with other real people who want the same thing as you – victory. The excitement can quickly crumble if you don’t roll out new, expensive cars. So if you want to stay atop and enjoy the craziest, reckless, and enjoyable multiplayer races, you have to invest in terrific cars.

The Verdict

Asphalt 9 is as cool as you can get. It’s a free-to-play race game that’s almost addictive. The visual elements are an improvement on that of other games in the series. While the largely auto control system takes the fun out of driving, the game still has enough thrill, violent cruises, and automobile madness to hold you spellbound.