Steam’s within the midst of a racing fest in the intervening time, and as you possibly can most likely think about if you happen to’ve not taken to tuning out the litany of driving-related phrases I’ve carved into the tree that homes the esteemed RPS treehouse within the brief time I have been right here so far (consider me, I do not blame you if in case you have), I am in my aspect.
One of many video games I’ve noticed on account of this celebration of all issues car-ish is Star Racer, which does not contain automobiles in any respect. It is a retro-style ship racer that allows you to blast your fellow rivals to bits, feels very a lot impressed by the likes of F-Zero and Wipeoutand simply emerged from early entry the opposite day.
This 1.0 launch comes a 12 months and a bit after Star Racer devs Whatnot Video games pressed go on a 12 months and a bit-long early entry drag race in March 2024, having raised funds through Kickstarter.
“It feels so good that we had been in a position to get to at the present time,” developer Brennan Anderson wrote on Steam“However this 1.0 launch is just the start. We now have deliberate work to repair bugs and optimize the sport. There are numerous extra options we need to carry to Star Racer (sure, together with on-line multiplayer), extra platforms we need to be on.”
As a part of hitting 1.0, Whatnot’s devs have up to date Star Racer’s free demo, which I’ve given a go to get a style of the blippy and bloopy adrenaline rush it has to supply. When you’re restricted to only a handful of tracks and characters on this free model, in addition to a tutorial that will help you get began, it is a good blast. I began off in an everyday race as an alien being referred to as M.O.M who pilots a ship dubbed the Flipping Frog.
Whereas it is easy to expire of vitality and crash out if you happen to increase too exhausting or neglect to strafe-drift via the lengthy, sweeping bends that loads of the programs boast, there is a great zippiness to the flight. Some sections see your ship stick near the bottom and others ping it up into the air so you possibly can correctly fly for a bit.
Then, in direction of the top of a race, police ships dubbed “The Fuzz” rock as much as attempt to take you and your fellow rivals out, like a cartoonish model of Want For Velocity’s sizzling pursuits. There are additionally loss of life races, which as you would possibly anticipate revolve round taking out your entire foes with well-timed spinning and ramming, quite than outpacing them. All of that is soundtracked by some cool tunes from composers Grant Kirkhope, of Donkey Kong and Banjo-Kazooie fame, and Mason Lieberman.
Lastly, I can not not point out that one other character within the demo’s a detective-looking fella referred to as Thrash Whiplash, which must be at the very least milling across the pantheon of finest online game names to ever online game identify. You’ll be able to test Star Racer out on Steam right here.
