Radial-G : Racing Revolved (Tammeka Games)

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Buy your Early Access copy on the Steam Store page 

Demo
Download and try out the Radial-G Single Player Demo

The phrase “anti-gravity racing” might be synonymous with the Wipeout series, but the demise of Studio Liverpool (Psygnosis) left a void in the market. Surprisingly enough, no developers seemed very eager to pick up the gauntlet until Tammeka Games revealed Radial-G: Racing Revolved. There are some very talented and experienced individuals behind this title, so we jumped at the chance to check out the Early Access version of the game.

Radial-G allows you to hop into the cockpit of one of three different anti-gravity vehicles and then take to the tubular tracks for some high speed racing. Thanks to the design of the courses you can rotate around them completely, but you’ll also encounter sections where the track splits apart and you can fall off if you are not careful. One of the things that set Radial-G apart is the fact that it was designed with the Oculus Rift in mind and a lot of care has gone into making it as immersive as possible when using the headset. The developers have also figured out how to provide players with 360 degree viewing motion without the usual drawbacks. However, anyone who are not able to get their hands on an Oculus Rift can also enjoy Radial-G thanks to the 3rd person view camera.

Currently the game can be played offline in single player against fifteen AI opponents or online. While online mode is currently restricted to 16 players the developers aim to have up to 32 players racing against each other by the time of the first full release version. The only environment available at the moment is the mining sector, with Training Ground, Future City and Dust Pits listed as “Coming Soon.” In addition, each environment will have a couple of different tracks, including unlockable mirrored and reversed versions, so there should be plenty of places to race.

Speaking of racing, there are a couple of different modes to choose from. The championship mode was not yet available in the version we played, but we could choose between normal and elimination races. Each of the ships on offer handle differently and while racing you also have the ability to sacrifice some of your shield in order to gain a speed boost. Apart from not crashing into your opponents you also need to avoid the red barriers on the tracks while aiming for the green speed pads. The sense of speed is very good and thanks to the vibrant visuals the game looks great.

The promise of customizable ships and pilots, new tracks as well as the championship mode have us looking forward to the full release of the game, but the Early Access version is already very playable. If you have access to an Oculus Rift this is obviously a must have title, but even without it the game is a blast. The next update, which should be out soon will feature new tracks, new music, leaderboards as well as speed classes. Since the full release will feature a price increase it might be a good idea to snap up Radial-G while it is still in Early Access. It shows a lot of promise and the developers are definitely committed to delivering a top notch anti-gravity racer.

This preview is based on the Early Access v0.61/0.43 version of the game.