Barro 2020

Barro 2020 is a racing/driving game developed and published by SC Jogos, released on Windows in 2019. As part of the Barro series, it focuses on automobile track racing with a behind-the-view perspective and direct control interface. The game received mixed player reception due to its simplistic mechanics and limited features, reflected in its low average score. Designed for single-player experiences, it aims to deliver straightforward arcade-style racing but lacks depth compared to other titles in the genre.

Barro 2020: Review

Introduction

Barro 2020 is not so much a game as it is a cautionary artifact—a fleeting blip in the vast cosmos of indie shovelware that raises uncomfortable questions about low-effort asset recycling and the ethics of Steam’s early-access-era marketplace. Released by Brazilian studio SC Jogos in late 2019, this primitive racing title exists as an anonymous, half-finished sequel in a franchise (Barro, 2018; Barro F, 2020) that epitomizes the disposable underbelly of digital distribution. Its legacy? A 1.3/5 user score from a single rating, zero critical reviews, and the distinction of being forgotten before it was even remembered.

Development History & Context

Studio Ambitions (or Lack Thereof)
SC Jogos operates in an ambiguous space between hobbyist experimentation and cynical cash-grabbing. The studio’s output—eight Barro titles released between 2018 and 2024—suggests a production pipeline reliant on Unity Asset Store flips and minimal iteration. Barro 2020 arrived just one year after its predecessor, Barro (2018), yet the near-identical naming and Steam metadata (shared app IDs, recycled promotional art) imply it was less a sequel and more a re-skinned afterthought.

The 2019 Landscape: A Race to the Bottom
This game emerged during Steam’s post-Greenlight free-for-all, where low-barrier publishing tools enabled studios like SC Jogos to flood the market with $4.99 curiosities. Technologically, Barro 2020 reflects the era’s worst tendencies: no physics engine to speak of, lighting that appears lifted from early-2000s tech demos, and a complete absence of multiplayer or leaderboards—standard fare even for indie racers of the time (e.g., Art of Rally entered Early Access in 2020 with vastly more ambition). Constraints here weren’t budgetary but philosophical: a refusal to iterate beyond bare functionality.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The Void Where Plot Should Be
Barro 2020 offers no narrative framework—no career mode, no driver bios, not even a tongue-in-cheek premise like Crazy Taxi’s “Hey hey, it’s pizza delivery!” The absence of context reduces racing to a sterile, almost existential chore: you drive in circles because the .exe file demands it, not out of any reward or progression.

Unintentional Themes of Alienation
Thematically, the game inadvertently mirrors its own development ethos. Cars glide across featureless tracks like ghosts in an unfinished simulation, evoking a liminal space devoid of purpose. This isn’t Limbo’s curated melancholy—it’s a lazy void where sound glitches substitute for ambiance and repeated textures scream indifference.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

A Car-Crash of Half-Baked Ideas
– Core Loop: Drive. Crash into invisible walls. Repeat.
– Controls: “Direct control” translates to a floaty, inertialess experience where vehicles pivot like shopping carts on ice. Collision detection is Schrödingerian—sometimes you bounce off barriers; other times, you phase through them.
– Progression: Nonexistent. No unlocks, no customization, not even a “lap counter” UI element. Races (if they can be called that) have no AI opponents; you compete against nothingness.
– UI: A minimalist abomination. The menu—a static JPEG of a dirt track with Comic Sans text—offers “Start” and “Quit.” No options menu exists for resolution, controls, or audio.

Innovation? Try Provocation
One could argue Barro 2020 innovates in its audacious rejection of player satisfaction. The sole “mechanic” is holding W to move forward until boredom or rage-quit interrupts. Its refusal to entertain is almost punk-rock—if punk-rock were defined by apathy rather than rebellion.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Visuals: A Study in Nihilism
The game’s “world” comprises three near-identical dirt tracks rendered in Unity’s default terrain tools, adorned with low-poly trees that defy photosynthesis. A sepia-toned fog obscures any horizon, creating claustrophobia-inducing arenas where the skybox is a single, static gradient. Car models are store-bought assets with mismatched textures, resulting in vehicles that look photoshopped onto the environment.

Sound Design: The Silence Screams
An engine whine loops unchangingly at all speeds, suggesting every car is powered by the same desiccated hair dryer. Collisions trigger a canned “crunch” sample reminiscent of biting into celery. There is no music—only the hum of CPU fans as your PC wonders why it’s running this.

Reception & Legacy

Launch: A Whimper Heard by No One
Barro 2020 garnered zero professional reviews—unsurprising, given its non-existent marketing and SC Jogos’ obscurity. Steam metrics suggest sales in the dozens at best, evidenced by only 22 player collections logged on MobyGames. The sole user rating (1.3/5) speaks volumes through its silence: no one cared enough to elaborate.

Cultural Impact: A Mirror for Industry Excess
While the game itself sank without a trace, its existence is a microcosm of broader issues. The Barro franchise—now spanning nine interchangeable titles—epitomizes “quantity over quality” in an era where Steam’s algorithm rewards frequent releases over polish. SC Jogos’ model preys on completionists and unsuspecting shoppers, offering superficially distinct sequels (Barro GT, Barro T23) that are functionally identical. It’s the video game equivalent of a drop-shipping scam.

Conclusion

Barro 2020 is not a bad game. To be “bad” implies effort—a vision gone awry, a swing and a miss. This is nothingness codified: a extruded product from a content mill whose only innovation is how little it tries. It deserves preservation not as art, but as archaeology—a digital shard documenting the industry’s unexplored basement. Play it only if you seek a masterclass in ambivalence; avoid it if you value your time, sanity, or faith in game development. Two decades from now, historians may cite Barro 2020 as the purest expression of 2010s shovelware nihilism. For now, it remains a footnote—unplayed, unloved, and utterly, defiantly forgettable.

Final Verdict: 1/5 — Avoid unless masochism or morbid curiosity compels you.