Asphalt 8 Plus Review

Asphalt 8 Plus Review - Worth It?

Gameloft has a long history of creating fun, easy-to-play mobile games. Their Asphalt series is no exception, beloved by racing fans looking for engaging, competitive arcade-style racing games with a variety of cars, tracks, and modifications. The newest game in their long-standing series, Asphalt 8 Plus, is a reimagining of a previous release, Asphalt 8.

The newest addition to their long-running series, Asphalt 8 plus is a rerelease of Asphalt 8, originally released in 2013. Unlike previous free-to-play installments, Asphalt 8 Plus is only available to play on Apple Arcade, an Apple gaming subscription service on iPhones and iPads that costs $4.99 a month. Asphalt 8 Plus includes more than 250 vehicles, some previously only available during certain events in the original Asphalt 8, all the original 65 breathtaking tracks, twelve racing modes, Career mode, Multiplayer, Car Mastery, Events, and much, much more.

The Career Seasons now have more races totaling twenty-seven race events a season, and reward players with more stars. Stars earned in Career Seasons allow players to unlock more races and progress to the next Season, unlocking more vehicles and upgrade options.

The core gameplay mechanics remain the same in Asphalt 8 Plus, allowing for easy immersion for returning players. New players of the series will have no trouble crashing, smashing, drifting, and using nitro to boost their way through the many game modes, events, and challenges available.

There are some drawbacks to Asphalt 8 Plus, however. Players of the original Asphalt 8 hoping to sync their old data will be disappointed to learn that will have to start from the beginning. This can be frustrating for old players who had unlocked many different vehicles, upgrades, and more, but this gives players the chance to relive the nostalgia of progressing through the game, unlocking cars, earning higher car ranks, kits, upgrades, and Mastery rewards.

With so many cars to unlock and upgrade, some players may worry that Asphalt 8 Plus will have car prices reaching the millions, but don't worry. Car prices are modest, and easily obtainable through grinding. The most sought-after car, the Lamborghini Centenario cost a modest 550,000 credits.

Players can now replay Car Mastery, a game mode that consists of 15 Master Challenges that increase in difficulty and require higher vehicle ranking. Replaying Car Mastery allows players to earn credits, car kits, car upgrades, and licenses, making farming for certain currencies easier than in the original game. Rewards from Mastery Challenges now have a larger selection of vehicle options to unlock.

Another thing returning players won't find in Asphalt 8 Plus are in-app purchases, not including the $5 Apple Arcade subscription fee. Some players will find this welcoming, with all players having to earn vehicles and not being able to pay to start with the best cars, but players who don't wish to spend dozens of hours grinding may find this frustrating.

For those that don't wish to spend $4.99 a month, Asphalt 9 is available to pay for free, although the amount of gameplay is vastly limited.

Overall, Asphalt 8 Plus is exactly the experience that fans are looking for: nothing locked behind paywalls, hundreds of game hours, countless customizations and upgrades, and new events every week.