If the recent excitement over an ill-fated F-Zero Twitter was anything to go by, there's still plenty of love to be found for futuristic racing games. Once a staple part of the gaming landscape, the subgenre's seen a decline in recent years and has been relegated to inconsistent indie releases. Pacer is trying its best to offer gamers a chance of that speed fix once more.
Pacer is an anti-grav futuristic racing game, where pilots rely on fast reactions and a selection of weapons to try and break into first place. Those who have played the Wipeout series will know what to expect and with good reason: this is a spiritual successor from some Wipeout alumni over at developer R8 Games. Initially called Formula Fusion and launched out of early access to mixed reactions in 2017, Pacer has been upgraded and is now set for another release.
At a surface level, Pacer certainly feels the part based on its preview build. It's chock full of neon-tinged tracks, pumping electronica from CoLD SToRAGE (who did the music to some of the original Wipeout games), and the obligatory unnecessary speedometer for players to keep track of their ridiculous speeds. But will it land with those most disappointed by the unwanted surprise of that F-Zero Twitter ?
Based on the build, there's certainly some potential here. This preview of Pacer gave access to four tracks, seven game modes and a fleet of customization options for the game's five types of crafts. These crafts have their own pre-built specialities such as defense or drift, but can then be tweaked with some upgrades.
Of course, a game like Pacer needs to put its racing as a priority. For the preview this was available through the Quick Race option, and the game includes four speed categories to choose, from extremely fast through to excruciatingly so. The tracks can then be expanded upon with the easy-to-earn in-game currency, too, adding reverse modes and night races.
Pacer plays exactly how fans of the genre might assume. The tracks available were all varied in their terrain, from metropolitan areas to arid canyons, and each provided a different challenge. This could be sharp twists and turns with speed boosts locations to memorize, or wide straights with multiple power-up options to choose from.
It all works extremely well. Pacer manages to match that excitement of the older examples of the genre, at least within its pure racing form. It's undoubtedly at its best when the night levels are unlocked to make the most of the neon future setting, and choosing anything other than the higher speeds is a bit of a waste of the game at its most potent.
There is a selection of other game modes too. Elimination is easily the best of the bunch, with the last place racer dropping off after a certain time limit, resulting in drastic, last-minute overtakes to try and stay in the game. Pacer works best when it pushes the player to go as fast as they can, meaning that the Flowmentum mode, which steadily increases the player’s speed, also has a certain charm to it.
It's not all winners, with other modes feeling a little hit and miss. Destruction - which is all about destroying opponents - suffers because of an imbalance in the game's weaponry. Overall Pacer feels very light on firepower, and so this mode can be extremely slow-going and more a test of endurance when trying to avoid hitting enemies or walls. Futuristic racers should never feel boring, yet players may find themselves running down the clock if they're desperate for a combat-focused experience.
If players are looking to actually race opponents rather than blow them up, Pacer is shaping up well. Its arcade racing feel is refreshing, with an emphasis on ing boost spots and where to pick up shields to avoid embarrassing respawns. Its control scheme, which prioritises drifting through the trigger buttons, feels a little different from a lot of its peers, and although it's a bit strange to begin with it soon becomes an intuitive way to drive.
There are still some elements to work on before the game launches in September, though. Weapons feel like a bit of an afterthought, and there are some graphical glitches and bugs that need addressing (as to be expected from a preview build). If the single player campaign is as robust as suggested, and there’s enough take-up to make the multiplayer worth it, then it could be one to watch for future racing fans.
Pacer releases 17 September 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purposes of this preview.
