Star Racer

It looks authentically old-school but don't let that fool you because Star Racer is a highly technical racer that'll thoroughly test your skills.

Star Racer is an indie F-Zero through and through, and both parts of that sentence — ‘indie’ and ‘F-Zero’ — are very much emphasised. While you won’t get the grand production of a modern Nintendo game, you will get a fun, technically adept space racer that will push your skills to the absolute limit. That’s particularly great if you have friends masochistic enough to also learn and play along with you. Careening around tight futuristic tracks, dodging hazards ranging from ice patches to casino buffers — balancing speed, quick deceleration, and skilfully incorporating the power slide — will be beyond a lot of gamers, but for those ready to step up to the challenge, this labour of love is a worthy option.

To some degree, I think Star Racer bites off a bit more than it can chew. The more complexity a given stage adds, the less polished it tends to feel. As such it can be hard to convince yourself to go back enough times to unlock everything Star Racer has to unlock (and there is a lot). When it works it works well, and the course creator opens up some possibilities for post launch longevity. That said, as it is now, Star Racer is largely inoffensive, but you may find it a little too rough around the edges to stick with long term.