Early Game Review: 'Speed Crew'

If you get a game called "Speed Crew," you might imagine the focus would be squarely on racing.

That's not the case, though, in this effort from developer Wild Fields. This is a pure, simple pit crew simulator, and the name of the game is resource management and deployment.

You and as many as three other players can grab your wrenches, jacks and spare tires, with the goal of getting the cars that roll in front of you back in top shape.

Dry and simple, the gameplay leaves much to be desired. There is a nagging, mobile game-style feel to the Switch title. There are also strange, incongruous design choices, such as the need to grab a new wrench for every tire that needs to be attached rather than use the same tool for all of the tires.

The story is something of a satire of the "Fast and Furious" franchise, with the protagonist taking the name "Dominion Torrento." Your put work helps your crew win several racing titles, with the setting evolving from the 1970s to the 2000s over 48 levels.

While there is some fleeting fun to be had here, the concept grows stale, and there's little payoff to the tedium.

If "Speed Crew" accomplishes anything, it's making you feel as though you're doing all the grunt work just so others can get the fame and glory. 

That feeling is the pits.

Publisher provided review code.