The clear comparison point here is Wipeout, Psygnosis’ sleek, EDM-backed PlayStation speedster from way back in the 90s. Sure, it might not be able to pull off that game’s cameo in Hackers, but Pacer’s certainly hitting plenty of the same notes in this new trailer.
Mind, this is the first we’ve written on Pacer since it ditched its old moniker. See, R8 Games already tried a release in 2015, bringing the game out of early access under the name Formula Fusion two years later. After a somewhat mixed reception, however, the devs decided to rebrand and remove the game from sale early last year. So now it’s called Pacer, and it’s coming out again next month. It’s got five vehicles, same as before, but the track count’s been raised from 8 to 14 (with mirrored, nighttime and reverse variants) and four speed classes topping out at a steady 1000kmph. We’re not exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to arcadey future-racers these days. Redout’s gone and turned into an outer space dogfighter, while BallisticNG sticks firmly to its throwback retro looks. What Pacer promises is a proper continuation of Psygnosis’ lineage, going so far as to get Wipeout musician Tim “CoLD SToRAGE” Wright on board for the game’s soundtrack. I’ve always had a soft spot for sci-fi hover racers, mind. There’s simply nothing quite like turning the countryside into a smeared blur as you tear through in a Chriss Foss-adjacent rocket tube as eurotrance blasts out the speakers. Let’s hope Pacer can set a better par time when it tears out on Steam on September 17th.
