Off the Podium — One Last Lap

Off the Podium — One Last Lap is a ChoiceScript game set around a GP race, where you play a middle-of-the-ranking driver on their last race, before they retire. Through conversation with your team, friends and family, you can learn about the state of your driver and how they ended up in this situation. You can also train for that last race, modify your vehicle, set a game plan and… start driving!

I don’t know much about racing competitions, aside from knowing cars go around a track as fast as they can without getting into troubles. Even through the technicalities of the sport (turns out there’s a lot more that goes into the driving), I was pretty engaged, trying to min/max my car’s stats so I could win the race (I never managed, is it even possible?). I learned a couple of stuff about the sport even (like you need some serious muscle neck strength).

The writing itself is separated into face-to-face dialogues and online/text exchanges between you and other characters (or voice commentators describing the race). There are a handful of non-race-related choices, though they mainly affect pronouns or names, rather than the story. There were also at times where you borderline on monologuing, creating pretty long paragraphs (maybe a bit too long for ease of reading).

I’ve done a few rounds, one losing the race badly, one reaching a qualifying spot (7th), and, unless I didn’t reach a high-enough spot, it seems the game only has one ending. And, strangely maybe, losing the race felt more fitting to that ending…