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‘CTR’ Unveils New Game Mode for its “Neon Circus” Grand Prix

Come one, come all! And welcome to the most N-Sane Show on Earth… or… wherever Bandicoots come from. That’s right folks, it’s a new month and that means a brand new Grand Prix for ‘Crash Team Racing’ – the Neon Circus! Last month, things got pretty spooky; but now we’re heading to the big top for a season of… ‘Koalaty’ content. Sadly there’s no ‘Grand Prix News Brief’ for this Grand Prix; but there is a trailer! So let’s watch the announcement trailer below and then meet up afterwards to discuss everything that’s being added – including a brand new track, racers, rewards and game mode!

New Track, Racers & More! – A “Neon Circus” of Fun:

Like with any other Grand Prix, the “Neon Circus” will give us several new Racers, a new track and loads of customization options. This time around, players will be able to find Pasadena O’Possum and Ebenezer Von Clutch in this season’s Pit Stop. As the headliner of this Grand Prix, Koala Kong will be the main feature of this season’s Nitro Gauge. Though there’ll actually be a 4th secret racer for players to unlock – in a pretty unique manner. Throughout the Hub Worlds of Adventure Mode, you’ll be able to locate and collect hidden ‘Golden Eggs’. Once you’ve found them all, you’ll be rewarded with King Chicken as a racer.

In addition to the racers, there’s of course a new track. This time around we’re heading to Koala Carnival – an absolutely massive track that is giving me some Rainbow Road PTSD. Though I will brave it because this season has quite the unique ‘customization’ offerings. In addition to the usual skins, stickers and karts, the road-map also hints at “animated” paint jobs! Will karts change colors? Will they look holographic? Whatever ‘animated’ paint job means, I’m super intrigued!

Neon Circus Grand Prix Road Map
Credit: Activision/ Beenox

New Game Mode – Ring Rally:

In addition to all the usual seasonal content and additions, we have an entirely new game mode called ‘Ring Rally’. It’s a solo challenge much like the Time Trials, but reminds me more of the Speedway/ Flight challenges from the Spyro series. In Ring Rally, you will race through rings on various tracks – obviously – but as you pass through each ring, you’ll get a time boost as well as points. Though unlike regular racing modes, the fun doesn’t stop at 3 laps. Afterwards, the rings will begin to change size, color, and distance. I’m not sure if the ‘time bonus’ given by these rings starts to decrease or if it only seems like it decreases due to the distance between the rings. Though I can confirm that the rings will give you bigger speed boosts. In fact, if you make it up to the blue rings, it’s actually possible to achieve the highest speeds in the game (aka ‘Blue Fire’).

In past seasons we’ve seen alterations of existing game modes and tracks; but this is the first entirely new game mode to my recollection. It’ll be interesting to see if this will stick around for just the season or is a permanent addition. Either way, I’m super excited to try out this new game mode and make my way through the Neon Circus season of content!

CTRs new Ring Rally Game Mode
Credit: Activision/ Beenox

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