Developed By: Focuspoint Studios
Published By: Current Games
Category: Action
Release Date: 12.23.25
Price: $34.99
*Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review
Five years ago, Taxi Chaos was released. It was a spiritual successor to Crazy Taxi, and I loved that game growing up. So I was really excited when Taxi Chaos was announced. But disappointment is too nice of a word. You can read an old review I did of the game here. To sum it up, the game just wasn’t fun for more than a few minutes at a time. Fast forward to late 2025, and Taxi Chaos 2 was released with the hopes of redemption.
I never had anything against the developers or the quality of the game itself. It just didn’t feel like the game should have been released the way it was. There just should have been more so that I could be interested for longer periods of time. This month, I was able to get my hands on the sequel. This one was made by a different developer, and I was hoping that things would go differently this time around.
I’m happy to say that the game is more fun that the original and has a lot more to do. But it’s still a mess. You play as Vinnie, a retired taxi driver who was once the best driver in the world. When AI taxies threaten to put human drivers out of business, Vinnie comes out of retirement to restore balance. This is part of a brand new story mode that adds a lot of content and replayability.
Throughout the story mode, you earn cash that can be used to buy upgrades and new cars. I’m addition to the story mode, there’s a classic arcade mode too. The story mode adds a lot of value, and the city itself is much bigger and bursting with life and challenges. This makes driving around way more fun, but that’s where the praise ends.
First off, the visuals and performance are dreadful. Driving is good and the designs of the cars and city are okay, but the rendering is atrocious. Trees and other objects won’t pop in until it’s too late and NPC’s will spawn mid-air inches away from you. This happens constantly, and it’s always distracting. The AI taxis didn’t help either. They’re always trying to drive you off the road, and this was the worst aspect of the game.
You can’t avoid the AI taxis, once one is chasing you, it’s inevitable that it will hit your car. But even a gently tap will cause your customer happiness to drop. If more than one AI taxi is following you, completing your fare becomes a game of chance. The physics will occasionally hurt you too, because you’ll crash and flip over for no reason. Don’t get me wrong, the gameplay is a lot of fun, but there are a bunch of minor inconveniences.
It’s still nothing like the original Crazy Taxi, but it’s significantly better than the first Taxi Chaos. The story mode adds purpose and the world itself is better. While you’re sitting around hoping for an actual Crazy Taxi game, the Taxi Chaos sequel is a serviceable replacement. The price is a bit much though. It’s the same price as the original, but even with its improvements, I can’t really recommend paying more than $25.
7/10
