New Star GP Brings Arcade Racing Thrills to Early Access on Steam - Hardcore Gamer

09.08.2023 - 23:07 / hardcoregamer.com / New / Hardcore / New Star

There are a lot of arcade-influenced racers on the market, but few that would actually completely work in an arcade. New Star GP is one such game. In the vein of classics like Virtua Racing and Daytona USA for arcade fans and Hotshot Racing, it’s a checkpoint racer with some twists because it’s a PC game. As a result of the platform it’s on, it’s available in early access for a lower price point – $17.99 gets you the game with all of its current content and future free updates as well. One problem a lot of the classic arcade racers have had was a lack of content – outside of games like the OutRun games and home conversions of Daytona adding in more tracks, they usually are a bit lean while Hotshot had some big free content updates over the years to keep it fresh.

The early access period is expected to last two to four months and will give players a career mode with ’80s and ’90s eras represented for open-wheel racing. The use of that vehicle type definitely evokes Virtua Racing more than Daytona, but down the road, the goal is to add in more vehicles – so maybe we’ll see some stock cars added to the mix later on. As it stands, the career mode does have two decades of racing with 56 races between them – including venues like Brisbane, Quebec, and Tokyo. There are also three championships to go after either solo or with a platformer and you can play with up to three friends at once with split screen or remote play.

With 56 racing events already available, there’s already a lot to enjoy and one thing I love seeing in a game like this is a rewind feature. It’s something we see in a lot of major racing games, but not in a lot of indie or arcade-style ones. It’s a godsend in a racing game since a single nudge at the wrong time in the wrong direction can spell the end of minutes of progress and if you’re in a points-based championship run, then it costs even more time because you may have to restart the whole thing due to a poor standing in a single race.

The devs are using Twitter, Steam forums, and Discord to vet ideas and get feedback in real-time and it’s always fascinating to see projects go from early access to a more fully-formed version down the line. We’ll be checking the game out soon enough and there’s no such thing as having too many good arcade-style racers on the market. There are other arcade racers coming soon, including SP Grand Prix, which will get a demo soon.