With all of the iconic video game worlds that Nintendo has created over the years, there were bound to be some games that fell through the cracks. One such iconic series that Nintendo has ignored over the past few years is the futuristic racer F-Zero. First appearing on the Super Nintendo in 1991, Nintendo's take on futuristic racing brought cool ships, colorful characters, and great music to the masses and spawned a diehard fanbase that is still around today.
Although Nintendo might have forgotten about F-Zero, its fans never have. Luckily for those fans, the indie game sphere is once again taking over to deliver a homage that is F-Zero resurrected in all but name. Due to release sometime later this year, Voidspeed Outlaw aims to bring back the F-Zero's breakneck speed wrapped in a throwback visual aesthetic. Voidspeed Outlaw is the F-Zero follow-up that fans have been waiting for; it's just not developed by Nintendo.
Voidspeed Outlaw is set in the not too distant future of 21XX, on a Mars that has been colonized and tamed by humanity. Of all the entertainment available, not much wow the crowds more than the unbelievable speed of the Voidspeed Racing League. Players take on the role of one aspiring racer who dreams of becoming champion of the outlaw races run by the seediest villains of the Mars Underworld. Players will have to start at the bottom and make more than a few shady deals with unsavory characters to make it to the big leagues of the VRL. Voidspeed Outlaw features a full story mode that will see players get a ship and try to survive long enough to become a real racer in this fast-paced world of danger.
One of Voidspeed Outlaw's most striking features is its visual aesthetic. Voidspeed Outlaw combines pseudo-3D modeling with pixel art to make everything look like just like it did back in 1991 and even manages to lovingly recreate the famous Mode 7 scrolling effects that were so widely used in the Super Nintendo era. Voidspeed Outlaw in action scrolls the tracks under the hovering ships at ludicrous speeds, bringing to mind classic arcade games of the era like Namco's Pole Position and the iconic Out Run series by Sega. The ships are colorful and unique, bringing back the classic designs of the original F-Zero ships, and watching them glide around the tracks in the game's trailers looks excellent.
At first, it may seem that Voidspeed Outlaw is an authentic F-Zero homage. However, developer Cydonian Games is actually trying to do something even more original. Voidspeed Outlaw doesn't just recreate the thrilling speed of F-Zero; it also incorporates weapons combat similar to PlayStation's equally forgotten future racing series, Wipeout. This mashup of the two series is a brilliant idea that can bring fans together in a follow-up that does each series justice.
Players will hurtle through Voidspeed Outlaw's levels, barely holding on to the tracks, dodging deadly weaponry while firing off salvos of missiles and plasma guns. Tracks bank and turn at a moment's notice, and only the racers with pinpoint reflexes, the best weapons and a whole lot of luck can hope to survive. Players will travel to the moon Titan and Europa to take on rivals and earn victory through speed and combat. Voidspeed Outlaw also features a robust and unique upgrade system and outfitter to customize speeders with, as well as an arcade mode and several racing types for players who want to get straight into the action. Voidspeed Outlaw will bring its dangerous racing to Steam later this year for those who feel the need for speed.