Confused? Allow us to fill you in. Ed & Edda are the mouse mascots of the German theme park Europa-Park, set to star in an upcoming racing themed CGI movie that’s conveniently hitting cinemas during peak tourist season. This kart racer is a tie-in, launching the exact same day as the movie itself. That’s at least in Germany – UK movie goers have longer to wait. Lenny Henry is lending his vocal talent for the English dub, which is a sure sign of quality if ever there was.
The best way to describe this tie-in, and in a way that’s by no means offensive, is as extremely European – more so than any Smurfs, Asterix or TinTin game before it. In addition to Ed & Edda – who definitely aren’t koalas, as we initially thought – there’s a sinister crow named Nachtkrabb, and a spritely goat called Böckli. Not exactly names that roll off an English-speaking tongue.
Not European enough for you? Not only are the racetracks sponsored by supermarket chain Lidl, but there are Lidl themed blue and yellow racing liveries to unlock too, while the tracks themselves are set in real world European destinations such as “Westminister Bridges” [sic] and “Triomphe Roundel.” The presence of numerous red phone boxes on London’s streets had us rather confused considering they’re seldom seen these days.
Then there’s the small case of the race narrator, who speaks with such a strong European accent that it’s hard to decipher what they’re saying. It probably doesn’t help that some meanings have seemingly been lost in translation, with one fine example being “That looked like it hurt as much as leaping out of a building without wings.” They’re prone to going off subject too, at one point mentioning kissing a girl on a beach. We won’t deny that their musings aren’t unintentionally amusing.
Now the tone has been set, let’s dive into the actual racing aspect. There’s a choice of 8 racers, each of which have their own kart with different stats. By equipping new engine parts, unlocked by levelling up, these stats can be adjusted slightly. Even so, it’s very easy to end up with a good all-rounder. Many enhancements are also barely noticeable. The three difficulty levels are linked to vehicle speeds, and there’s a finicky drifting model in place that results in a speed boost. By collecting blue orbs, a separate boost gauge can be filled, and this is the key to winning races as it increases speed significantly. Most tracks have a row of orbs just before the finishing line, helping to give an essential boost to any racer with a partly filled gauge.
The gadget (item) assortment fails to rouse the imagination. Instead of Mario Kart’s shells, we instead get coloured drones – with the red drone seeking the nearest racer, and the blue drone going straight to the race leader. These can be blocked using a sci-fi style bubble shield. Slime blobs, ice walls and bombs can be dropped behind to slow down racers, the lullaby box puts every racer to sleep for a few seconds, while the “Spikes” item lets out a pulse and will harm anyone in proximity. Turns out it’s more useful than the blue drone, guaranteeing a lead.
The tracks are set in mostly sunny locations and have a few pleasant sights to take in, such as the Tuscany Beach stage with dolphins visible off the coast. The dusk-set Arc de Triomphe track is also quite alluring. Track design is however inconsistent, with lots of straights that lead into sharp turns, narrow maze-like sections that can cost you a race, shortcuts that aren’t any shorter, and jumps requiring heavy steering to land. Most tracks have hazards, with a reoccurring theme being rolling boulders; which even appear in the London stage. One of the better designed tracks has a spinning roundabout that changes direction, requiring you to pay attention before entering. Other tracks have citizen vehicles that’ll bump you off course.
The fact that the crowds are static 2D images gives the package a cheap feel. This would be understandable for the Switch version; on PS5 and Xbox Series not so much. Some by-standers are even frozen mid-clap, making them resemble cardboard cutouts. The music meanwhile is a mishmash of rousting racing themes and tunes reminiscent of the early 3D Sonic games.
While there’s no online play, it does support up to four players in local split screen. I was able to test the two-player split screen mode and didn’t notice a drop in performance. However, I did notice that the controls were set-up differently in multiplayer, using the right trigger to accelerate instead of ‘A’. I can only assume the developers forgot to set the default control scheme to, well, default. Elsewhere, using ‘RT’ to accelerate is the alternative set-up.
In terms of content, there’s a Free Race mode with a choice of AI difficulty and a toggleable gadget selection, along with Time Trial races and a score-based Point Chase mode – in which instead of the final placing it’s your score that counts, increased by driving through gates, boosting and drifting. While these modes are all decent enough, the focus is on maxing out XP levels and winning the three Grand Prix cups on all three difficulties. Sadly, it doesn’t do a very good job of charting progress towards a 100% completion.
I’ve had access to Ed & Edda: Grand Prix – Racing Champions for a couple of weeks, and while I certainly didn’t dislike spending time with it, the inconsistencies and shortcomings only became more obvious over time. The drifting model is awkward yet I found myself getting used to it because, well, it’s essential to master to secure a podium finish. The gadgets aren’t much fun to use but are serviceable, in the sense that they work, and while not a single track stands out, none are detestable either. Nothing here is broken, but most areas would have benefited from refinement or additional polish. A few months from now, it’s likely only to be remembered for its slightly out of place adverts for Lidl.
Tivola Games’ Ed & Edda: Grand Prix – Racing Champions is out 24th July on PS5, Xbox Series, Switch and PC.