The most recent Steam Next Fest showcased many games, but one stood out from the rest in the form ofStar Racer. There have been many games aiming to replace the more modern-day F-Zero games like GX and F-Zero X in the form of the FAST series on Nintendo consoles or PC racers like Super Pilot and Aero GPX, but nothing that aimed to go for the SNES and GBA-era F-Zero games in terms of visuals and overall gameplay. Star Racer was a pleasant surprise for Next Fest because it so perfectly-nailed the gameplay feel of those games while also up-ressing the art style to something more modern.
Brings to Mind What Made F-Zero Special
Whatnot Games aimed to replicate what made the first F-Zero game so special and as someone who got that as one of their first four games on a Christmas morning alongside a new SNES, it comes mighty close. The original game stood out in an era of games like Outrun because you had this far-future setting and one of the greatest soundtracks in history backing up the action. Big Blue was relaxing, while Silence had a haunting atmosphere. Music was used in a way to fill the tracks with a different vibe and each entry in the series set out to further that motif to varying degrees. While nothing has come close to nailing the killer presentation of F-Zero GX, Star Racer comes the closet yet for the pixel art-era of the series.
The menus are easily laid out and easy to read and the core gameplay is spot-on. Nailing the feel of an F-Zero game has yet to be done this well and even the most highly-regarded games like Fast RMX don’t match it this well. By going with the pixel art style, it also allows for a vibrant color palette to be used – akin to what the jump was visually from the NES to SNES or on a practical level, what we saw going from the SNES to GBA and the massive jump in detail for the tracks themselves.
Having a game like Star Racer also bring in things like split-screen multiplayer allows for even more replay value and that’s going alongside a gameplay setup that encourages replaying courses to not only master them and improve your skills, but also increase your overall rank if you fall behind or just want to beat your own best times. You can check out Star Racer in action via its launchtrailer.
Review: F-Zero 99
Where the series' debut Tetris proved that strategy can stem from every moment, F-Zero 99 asserts victory can come and go in just as fast a speed.
