Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom delivers imaginative 3D platforming without a jump button

SoftwarePlatformsYellow Taxi Goes Vroom delivers imaginative 3D platforming without a jump buttonWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Panik Arcade)

Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom

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’s 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’t have a jump button?

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’s the occasional rough edge and corner cut, like limited character animation and the meager story being delivered through still images and text narration.

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’ve 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’s Switch Palaces), that’s all you’ve got from start till credits roll. No jumping. So, off you drive, to ramp off things and collect shiny objects.

It’s not often I call ‘spoiler’ 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’s a part of the game I found especially satisfying and smart, so rather than spoil it, I’ll just let you skip this part, if you’d rather jump in and work things out yourself.Spoilers below the video!

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Spoilers end!

Image1of16(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)

Image1of16

(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)(Image credit: Panik Arcade)

(Image credit: Panik Arcade)