''Gear.Club Unlimited'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

developed by

Eden Games Eden Games (formerly known as Eden Studios) is a French video game developer based in Lyon, France, that mainly focuses on the development of racing video games. History The company was formed as a development group within Infogrames' European ...

and published by

Microïds Microids (formerly Microïds) is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris. Founded in 1985 by Elliot Grassiano, it attained early success with games published through Loriciel in France and other partners (including Activisio ...

for the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

. It was released on November 21, 2017 in North America, in Europe on December 1, 2017, and in Japan on December 14, 2017. It is an expanded version of the iOS/ Android mobile game ''Gear.Club''. A sequel, '' Gear.Club Unlimited 2'', was announced in 2018. It was released on December 4, 2018 for the Nintendo Switch, as well as the Ultimate Edition on November 30, 2021 for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 i ...

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...

, and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

Gameplay

''Gear.Club Unlimited'' is a racing video game where the player controls a car to race it from the starting line to the finish line. The game has 32 cars, divided into 4 classes, A, B, C, D, which are in turn divided into multiple sub-groups. The game starts off where the player is lent a

McLaren 570S The McLaren 570S is a sports car designed and manufactured by British car manufacturer McLaren Automotive. It was unveiled at the 2015 New York International Auto Show. Design and specifications The car is powered by a new iteration of the 3 ...

to test out the controls and gameplay. With enough money to buy a

Nissan 370Z The Nissan 370Z (known as the Fairlady Z Z34 in Japan) is a 2-door, 2-seater sports car (S-segment in Europe) manufactured by Nissan Motor Company. It was announced on October 29, 2006, and was first shown at an event in Los Angeles ahead of th ...

or a Chevrolet Camaro 1LS. The player starts off in the lowest championships and starts racing to get enough stars to unlock new zones in the game's map, which represents

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alb ...

. There are three types of racing, Race,

Rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

and Time attack. The game also has a "rewind" feature that can be used if a mistake is made, enabling the player to effectively turn back time and try to recover from their errors. The game has 32 cars including the W Motors Lykan Hypersport, the

Acura NSX NSX may refer to: Stock exchanges * Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) * National Stock Exchange (Jersey City, New Jersey), US (NSX) * National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) Other uses * Neon Swing X-perience (NSX), a US musical group * Honda NSX ( ...

, the

McLaren P1 The McLaren P1 is a limited-production mid-engine plug-in hybrid sports car produced by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Automotive. Debuted at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, sales of the P1 began in the United Kingdom in October 2013 and al ...

, the Pagani Huayra Roadster, the

Ford Mustang GT The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

, the

AC 378 GT Zagato The AC 378 GT Zagato is a sports car designed by the Italian design company Zagato and built in South Africa by Hi-Tech Automotive. It was unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The design of the 378 GT was previewed in 2009 as the Perana Z- ...

and more.

Development

The game started development in late 2014 when

became an independent games studio free of

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

. In June 2017, publisher

announced a line-up of games they were releasing for the

, one of which was believed as a port of the mobile game ''Gear.Club''. In early August 2017, Microïds revealed via ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...

'' that the title is in fact ''Gear.Club Unlimited'', which is an expansion to the free-to-play mobile game with additional cars and modes. Later that month, Microïds confirmed a 1 December 2017 release date, although they later clarified in October the December release date only applies to Europe, and announced the game will release in North America on 24 November 2017, with a limited physical release exclusive to

GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...

. Prior to the game's launch, Eden Games collaborated with

DriveTribe DriveTribe is a Social networking service, social networking platform founded as an online hub for auto enthusiast content and digital socialising. Founded by presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond alongside entrepreneur Erne ...

for a giveaway to its members, whom were eligible to receive a limited quantity code that allowed them to unlock the

Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...

br>50th Anniversary
car in the game. In an interview with

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

, developer Eden Games clarified that ''Gear.Club Unlimited'', unlike its free-to-play mobile predecessor ''Gear.Club'', is a full premium title and has no

microtransactions Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransact ...

. They added that the game capitalises on the Nintendo Switch's power and attributes, stating the graphical fidelity will be

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...

at a steady 30

fps FPS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "F.P.S." (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''), an episode of the TV show ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * '' fps magazine'', a defunct magazine about animation * ''The Fabulous Picture Show'', a televi ...

in docked mode, and that the game supports splitscreen local multiplayer with up to four players using a single

Joy-Con Joy-Con are the primary game controllers for the Nintendo Switch video game console. They consist of two individual units, each containing an analog stick and an array of buttons. They can be used while attached to the main Nintendo Switch cons ...

controller. There are also plans for future downloadable content.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

with a score of 64. It was consistently praised for its graphics, gameplay and lack of

, but criticised for its short and repetitive races and its weak AI.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.gearclubunlimited.com/
''Gear.Club Unlimited'' on nintendo.com
2017 video games Eden Games games Microïds games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Switch games Nintendo Switch-only games Racing video games Video games developed in France