{"id":802963,"date":"2025-12-05T14:51:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T14:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ZMozfPrp94rusm76QLfyuS"},"modified":"2025-12-05T14:51:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T14:51:58","slug":"yellow-taxi-goes-vroom-delivers-imaginative-3d-platforming-without-a-jump-button","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/yellow-taxi-goes-vroom-delivers-imaginative-3d-platforming-without-a-jump-button\/","title":{"rendered":"Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom delivers imaginative 3D platforming without a jump button"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I'm falling to my death again and I'm completely okay with it. It's hard not to smile while playing Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom, Italian micro-indie outfit Panik Arcade\u2019s debut game. This automotive collectathon platformer is bright, loud and constantly riding a fine line between genius and idiocy, starting with its core concept: What if a platformer didn\u2019t have a jump button?<\/p>\n

It feels like an experimental game jam project from Itch.io, replete with that slightly raw but exuberant vibe. While not a huge game (maybe around six hours to reach the ending, and then several more for post-game exploration and secret hunting), it feels just long enough to properly explore the concept, even if there\u2019s the occasional rough edge and corner cut, like limited character animation and the meager story being delivered through still images and text narration.<\/p>\n

As the title subtly hints, you play as a yellow taxi in this vaguely N64-styled collectathon: Vehicles notable for going vroom, but seldom seen jumping. All you\u2019ve got are controls to accelerate, brake, turn left, turn right and dash, like a cute little arcade racer. A couple powerups aside (which are added to the world a la Mario\u2019s Switch Palaces), that\u2019s all you\u2019ve got from start till credits roll. No jumping. So, off you drive, to ramp off things and collect shiny objects.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lovely little world to drive around: a vivid assortment of scenic islands, dense cityscapes, neon arcades and more abstract strangeness like the dreams of Morio, the legally distinct portly Italian creator of the Yellow Taxi. Levels fall into three main categories. There are ones dedicated to exploration at your own pace, ones with a ticking timer that you refill with pickups or by delivering people to their destinations Crazy Taxi style, and a couple stages (my least favorite, but over quickly enough) with fixed overhead views that experiment with mechanics like limited controls or even a little bit of stealth.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re all lively, bustling spaces full of wandering NPCs and moving parts that remind me a little bit of the Katamari games and their mad sight-gag dioramas. Each map is accompanied by a banger of a soundtrack too, not limiting itself to any one style or any kind of retro restrictions. Levels demanding faster movement are accompanied by high-BPM, propulsive numbers with a dash of Eurobeat, while more exploration-friendly levels channel a bit of Grant Kirkhope\u2019s (Banjo Kazooie, etc.) style. A lot of the melodies are still bouncing around my head.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not often I call \u2018spoiler\u2019 on basic game mechanics, but here we are. A lot of my fun with Yellow Taxi came from cracking the puzzle of how to move around its world, a process mostly involving trial, error and a few great Eureka moments. It\u2019s a part of the game I found especially satisfying and smart, so rather than spoil it, I\u2019ll just let you skip this part, if you\u2019d rather jump in and work things out yourself. Spoilers below the video!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n