High-speed racing meets aerial-combat in the F-Zero and Star Fox inspired title “Star Racer”, which just launched a Kickstarter campaign.
This brand new retro inspired arcade racer is being independently produced by What Not Games.
And it does not shy away from its inspirations, two of the best SNES games of all time.
They are really nailing the retro aesthetic here, and have included some modern touches that bring this game into the modern era. So let’s take a look!
Star Racer
Star Racer is an arcade combat racing title that feels like if F-Zero and Star Fox had an (awesome) baby. Surely that gives you an idea of what to expect from this new indie title.
Like its primary inspiration, F-Zero, the race environments of Star Racer are packed with tight turns and big airs.
And there are unique aerial sequences where you take launch off the track and have the ability to shoot down your competition.
Star Racer utilizes half-pipes, tunnels, jumps, checkpoints, road material variations, obstacles, dangerous road conditions, crazy speeds, and a bunch of crashing vehicles.
The game’s soundtrack has been developed by Grant Kirkhope. You’d know their work from classics like GoldenEye, Banjo-Kazooie, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Minecraft Dungeons, and the infamous Donkey Kong Rap from Donkey Kong 64.
Clearly he knows a thing or two about making some inspiring music to keep us immersed in the action. So I’m looking forward to hearing more from the game upon its full release.
The pixel art for the vehicles is being developed with Brandon Rodriguez. Who is a member of the Game Boy community and has worked on games like Annihilator under the name Salt & Pixel. I was pleasantly surprised to see this name included in the credits for Star Racer.
More Modes Filled With Mayhem
As you’d hope from an arcade racer, there is a competitive 4-player local multiplayer mode in Star Racer, as well.
There is even a full course builder within the game, allowing us to experiment in creating the most intense race tracks possible. You can publish your tracks for others to access online, which is an incredible feature.
So, we are anticipating online leaderboards and online races to round out the contemporary additions to the finished game.
Kickstarter Information
The Kickstarter campaign to support the development of Star Racer has just been launched. And they are already past their initial goal. Which means that we are guaranteed a release for PC and Steam Deck.
But with more stretch goals fulfilled, the team can also expand their release to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox. So we’re hoping to see more support before the campaign ends at the end of the year.
There is currently a demo available for Windows PC and Mac OS if you’d like to give the game a try before making your decision about supporting the project.
If you’d like to be an early backer of this future retro-classic, we encourage you to hop in the passenger seat.
