I have recently had an amazing time for the past three hours, engaging in a mixed reality activity of racing mini cars within my apartment.
Czech indie studio Brainz Gamify has achieved a small stroke of genius with its debut work. With Track Craft for Meta Quest 3, the developers impressively demonstrate how to use simple means to awaken the play instinct in adults, make them completely forget about time, and at the same time demonstrate the immense potential of mixed reality in a simple way.
Track Craft is a Mixed Reality Hot Wheels Track
I decided to check out the Track Craft demo trailer a few days ago, intending to take a quick glance. However, it turned into an extensive mixed reality session, only ending when the battery of my Quest 3 with Elite Strap and additional battery ran out.
Caution: Track Craft is highly addictive.
Track Craft is basically what many of us used to have in our children’s rooms: a toy motorway. The only difference is that here it virtually blends into the physical space through the Quest 3. The tracks are full of obstacles, loops, half-pipes and tight bends. The aim is to maneuver a small vehicle from one end to the other — and that’s easier said than done.
Fun driving physics and Evel Knievel stunts
The physics of driving in this game are specifically created to enable you to perform various daring tricks. For instance, when you drive over a ramp and manipulate the joystick, the small car will execute somersaults or spin around in circles. While performing jumps, it is crucial to maintain the car’s balance and skillfully navigate it towards the next turn or the finish line by executing clever turns.
If you exceed a certain speed, you will be ejected from the turn and the virtual car will land on the actual floor. Similarly, if you apply excessive or insufficient acceleration during the loop or jump, you will face the same consequence. Additionally, there are patches of green areas or oil and water puddles that can cause your vehicle to slide.
The pre-designed courses exhibit impressive creativity and progressively increase in difficulty as you advance through the levels. Certain tracks even span multiple floors, requiring you to traverse small portals in order to reach the next level.
Simple to grasp, challenging to excel at
The controls of Track Craft are wonderfully intuitive. At the beginning, the app introduces you to the game mechanics in a pleasant way, using short clips to explain how to control the small vehicles and adjust the size of the track.
If you position the controllers on the track and press the grip button, you have the ability to freely move the track within your room. Adjusting the distance between your hands will determine the size of the track, either expanding or shrinking it.
Use the right trigger to accelerate, the left trigger to brake or go backwards, and the left joystick to steer. As each toy car drives differently and the tracks become increasingly chaotic, the game remains pleasantly challenging.
Unleash your imagination to its fullest extent.
So far, there are three different types of tracks with over 50 unique levels that you can unlock bit by bit. Both the tracks and the little cars are lovingly and creatively designed and full of little details.
My personal favorites are the Malibu tracks, made of virtual cardboard boxes, which you drive around in a rickety VW bus with surfboards on the roof. Once you have completed all the tracks in just under two hours, you can use the track editor to create your own.
The cardboard tracks with the small VW bus are particularly challenging. | Picture: Brainz Gamifiy
In the editor, you have the ability to establish a beginning and ending point. Within this range, you have the freedom to strategically position and even customize different track components, hurdles, gateways, or embellishments. If desired, you can transform your entire house into a miniature racetrack — and that is exactly what I intend to do at this moment.
Track Craft is now available in Early Access via Meta’s App Lab for Meta Quest 3, Quest 2, and Quest Pro and costs just under $10. The game will be continuously expanded. In the coming weeks, the developers want to introduce a ghost multiplayer like on Trackmania, a live multiplayer mode and many other features.
