Desert Child is a real tribute to some of the greatest in 90s pop culture, and it is also a good and innovative racing game.

This relaxing arcade game with some light micromanagement gave me the joy of figuring out its mechanics by myself and kept me blissfully stuck in the “one more race syndrome”. [02/2019, p.46]

Lightweight, carefree and minimal, perhaps excessively contained and not always adequately focused, Desert Child is certainly an original and rewarding experience for those looking for titles with a high artistic and stylistic value.

A decent little game, tightly designed with some laughs along the way, as well as offering really good audio and visual design. However, it does fall down under more prolonged scrutiny, with undercooked world-building and a tendency to push you towards grinding out money by means of repetition meaning that some may lose interest before reaching the finale.

Desert Child attempts to capitalize on nostalgia with a mish-mash of references from different decades. There are some mildly funny moments, but other than that it’s a side-scrolling shooter dressed up in a cyberpunk motif.

By the end of it you'll realize that there's not much more to Desert Child than what you got in those opening minutes.

Desert Child stands out because of its charming style. The combination of racing and light RPG elements is loads of fun, but the repetitive gameplay that lacks depth does not make this game very enjoyable.