Racing games come and go, but the best of them manage to combine memorable visuals with fantastic handling and game modes. New Star GP is a racer that looks firmly to the past while crafting a racing game of the future, with retro-influenced visuals – think Sega classics like Virtua Racing and Daytona – but a thoroughly modern outlook. While it’s currently out in Early Access on PC, you can hop into a brand new demo on Xbox right now, all in preparation for the game’s release in 2024.
Arcade racing is the order of the day here, with a Formula 1 style which sees you racing for supremacy one moment, and getting your pitstops right the next. The nods to Virtua Racing are extensive – though there are admittedly real-life F1 grand prix where you’ll see a Ferris Wheel – but there’s a great mix of the old and new going on here, with the trailer’s lead car wearing a colour scheme that the folks at McClaren might have a closer look at.
The soundtrack is certainly straight out of the 90s, with adrenalin-pumping synth tunes that will have anyone of the mildly older generation wondering what happened to their lives, and why don’t their thumbs work as well as they did thirty years ago. There’s a full career mode to sink into to test out those ageing reflexes, and you can upgrade your car as you progress, turning yourself from a back-of-the-pack unknown into the next Verstappen or Hamilton. Actually, maybe it’ll turn you into the next Damon Hill or Michael Schumacher instead.
Fans of local multiplayer will be more than happy to learn there’s split-screen support for up to four players too!
You can download the new Xbox demo right here, and if you’re locked in on PC, the game is currently available in Early Access on Steam for a very
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