Super Laser Racer – PC Review

After my parents almost grounded me for life after they saw me playing Carmageddon back in the days and after I simply destroyed my keyboard when Destruction Derby 2 killed my sanity, I decided that combat racing is not my genre and maybe it would be best for me to stick to playing family-friendly games.

But, boy, that’s a hard thing to do, especially if you hear that New Star Games, the same indie studio that brought us the amazing New Star Soccer 4, has now released Super Laser Racer, a title that is being described as “Geometry Wars meets WipeOut” (or something like that). Now what sane person could resist the urge to play such a game? I know I didn’t and now I don’t regret a single second (nor is my keyboard broken).

Because Super Laser Racer proves that the combat racing genre has evolved a lot since Carmageddon has been released (even though there is hardly any resemblance between the two games). Your job is to race intensely, madly and lightning fast across different tracks and win the day by shooting aside rival racers (and even “helping” them occasionally to go and see heaven or hell…). The whole game is minimalistic to the bone and fans of Geometry Wars will indeed see some visual resemblances, but the concept is obviously different (and I would dare to say that, in the end, the result is even more satisfactory).

There is a huge array of cars to choose from, all with different stats and obviously fit for different approaches to the game. Most of the cars, as well as the tracks and tournaments, are locked and you will only be allowed to unlock them if you manage to burn some rubber as a real combat racing should: the enemies’ first, then yours. Which makes complete sense, right?

There are also three difficulty settings – “easy” is indeed easy, while “hard” might be a bit too hardcore for some, including me – and different race modes, from the classic tournaments and single races to a “survival” mode I never managed to beat yet. But there is still time!

The gameplay itself is, as I said, minimalistic but flawless, it is intense and simple and fast and, no matter if you find the visuals strange or simply enjoyable, you will still get glued in front of the screen because of the amazing gameplay. And that is something even the big budget games fail to offer!

There are also some little problems with Super Laser Racer. For example, I found it strange that you can’t set your name or change your driver’s name. Second, I found the lack of a multiplayer mode a big loss since split screen would’ve been great, while full online play would’ve been amazing. But you will still be able to blast the monotony away with the track editor and create as many tracks as you want.

The soundtrack really managed to grab my attention and I decided that it is simply an amazing one that goes hand in hand with the game perfectly. And that comes from a guy that’s nowhere near a fan of the music you’ll hear in Super Laser Racer!

Conclusion

New Star Games doesn’t fail this time either and, with Super Laser Racer, manage to deliver an amazing game that takes us back to the basics, when gameplay was indeed all that mattered, when intensity and excitement were triggered by only a few buttons: acceleration, steering and the “Shoot” button. I honestly recommend SLR to all the fans of the genre (and not only): it’s simple. It’s charming. It’s SUPER!

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Would you like to purchase this game? Get it from it’s official website!