AiRace Speed

AiRace Speed is the newest release from Polish developers QubicGames. A sequel to the well-received AiRace, it departs from its predecessor by zipping into a futuristic world of neon lights, awesome techno, insane space age architecture, and incredibly stylish space ships.

One thing the original AiRace was appraised for was its controls, and in this AiRace Speed does not disappoint. With your standard flying controls it’s very easy to pick up and play, and the handling is virtually perfect. Flying is smooth and sleek, whether around tight turns or in and out of obstacles. The difficulty curve complements this, with later levels introducing newer obstacles and multiple paths that up the challenge just enough to create a truly rewarding experience.

The sleek techno tunes have the perfect tempo to inject an extra burst of adrenaline and really deliver a thrilling experience.

Something the game does extremely well is setting, making courses an absolute delight to fly through. It really says something about good level design when you can fly through a revolving model of the solar system or a giant turbine at extremely high speeds and still appreciate the design that went into them. A great contributor here is the soundtrack. The sleek techno tunes have the perfect tempo to inject an extra burst of adrenaline and really deliver a thrilling experience. This all comes together to make AiRace Speed really feel like a futuristic racer, and a frigging cool one at that.

There is no real premise for the game itself: you are the pilot of various ships, zipping through winding obstacle courses at high speeds in order to get the best time you can. A plot would get in the way here, particularly as there is no real ‘racing’ in the usual sense. As opposed to the original, this is not really a competitive racing game. Instead, there is a global and local ranking system, and this is one area where the game disappoints. It feels like taking the rivals and weaponry from the original game and adapting it into this new setting would have been brilliantly fun: the weaponized planes of Diddy Kong Racing meets the style and setting of F-Zero. What we get instead is fine, though with only 18 levels the lack of any multiplayer removes a lot of the potential drive that could have remained after completing the game.

Overall, AiRace Speed is a must-have for anyone who loves space ships, adrenaline, and kick-ass techno. In many ways, the experience is limited. Lacking actual competitive racing or multiplayer, what we have is 18 levels of winding obstacles and high speed flying. Thankfully, the game does this very well. The controls are fluid, the setting immersive and the courses enjoyable to play. The game demands a level of skill that leaves the player feeling rewarded as they progress, and though this feeling will vanish once the game is completed, for just £4.99 AiRace Speed is an experience that is truly super-fly.