Summary
Aero GPX is a blindingly fast zero-gravity racer that takes F-Zero's tight controls and difficulty and then expands upon them with a few new mechanics and control quirks as it tries to establish its own identity. In short, I believe it has done an excellent job of providing a new experience that still feels like the F-Zero games I got myself hooked on years ago. I'd gladly recommend it to anyone looking for that same adrenaline rush.
Pros
- It's F-Zero baby (in all but name)
- Stupid fast and stupid responsive
- Combat is fluid and satisfying
- Fantastic track design
- New and old mechanics alike create a "high risk high reward" gameplay loop
- Drill diving adds a fresh coat of paint to F-Zero X's double-tap diving
- Literally everything about final burn, it is god's gift to this game
Cons
- Content is limited, game still in early access
- Speaking of limited content, no multiplayer (yet)
- Missing some "advanced" tech from F-Zero I'd have liked to see
In Detail
The instant I started up the tutorial race, I could tell I was in for something good. Too many times in the past I'd gone and checked out a new zero-g racer hoping to fill the F-Zero-shaped hole that exists deep within my soul, only to find that the game in question was a spiritual successor to Wipeout, which just isn't the same to me. Looking at you, Fast RMX - you're fun but just not what I wanted. However, with Aero GPX, it was immediately obvious that I was playing an F-Zero title in everything but name. The controls are extremely sensitive and the machines respond rapidly to any input. Boosting, quick turning, crazy mid-air dives to push your machine's speed beyond any reasonable threshold - all these and more find themselves ingrained into Aero GPX's handling. F-Zero's combat mechanics are back with a vengeance - you can fling yourself and any unfortunate soul who find themselves alongside you across the track, put yourself into a spin to smack away other drivers, the whole nine yards. It's still just as fun to fling your machine into whatever schmuck has the misfortune of pulling alongside you and watching what's left of them go flying off in a little fireball. Additionally, Aero also introduces a handful of new driving mechanics: namely drill diving and burn, which add a fun new high-risk high-reward element to racing. The drill dive feels like a natural evolution of F-Zero X's double-tap dives that have been bound to a button instead of requiring a slightly convoluted set of inputs to perform. Holding the button (RB by default) causes the machine to roll wildly and dive downwards, severely limiting your machine's steering but granting it absurd speed in exchange. Releasing RB with correct timing before hitting the ground allows you to maintain most of your momentum when you land. Aero GPX introduces "slipstreams", portions of the track covered in a huge tunnel of wind where your machine enters free flight and can make the most of the drill dives. It also adds a burn mechanic which sounds harmful at first but actually brings some of the most fun I've had with the game yet. There are little fireballs scattered throughout some of the tracks that give you a nice speed boost and a jump when you hit them at the cost of replacing some of your HP with burn, which gradually decreases over time. If you replace your entire health bar with burn, you'll activate "final burn" which essentially causes your machine to ascend to godhood with the tradeoff of your entire health pool now being permanently replaced with burn. Even additional HP gained from health panels will be replaced with burn. Life is fleeting and your health even more so but it is SO worth it. Nothing in this game was more fun to me than the tracks that let you try to activate final burn. The new mechanics and tight controls are allowed to shine thanks to the excellent track design, as well. Seriously, I love the tracks. They're fantastic.
The game isn't without its downsides, however. Primarily, as of the time of writing, Aero GPX has only been released in early access and is thus pretty limited on content. While the available machines and tracks are enough to make it feel like a decently complete experience, I'm still highly anticipating the content that hasn't made it yet - primarily multiplayer. Also, a lot of the advanced mechanics from F-Zero such as GX's MTS chaining (mostly) and momentum throttle do not find themselves carried over to Aero GPX, so I can only hope that as I really get better at the game there is some new sort of advanced tech to try and learn to keep myself busy trying to push my lap times even lower. Thankfully, this is mostly offset by just how quick you can go even without crazy tech.
Essentially, this is probably the closest we'll get to a true F-Zero game on PC and I'm not complaining. I'm looking forward to seeing this one develop further and expect to keep playing for some time.
