WipEout and F-Zero have established themselves over the years as the premiere sci-fi racing games available. Redout is a good alternative, with some stellar VR support to boot. Overall though, I’d argue that WipEout Omega Collection VR on PSVR amounts to what very well could be the best VR racing game I’ve played to date. It’s just that fast and that good. Now Coplanar Games, a small indie studio, just released their own take on the sci-fi racing genre for Oculus Go in Void Racer and I’ve gotta say it caught me by surprise.
It’s a simple little game that uses the Oculus Go’s controller for everything. You strap on the headset, boot it up, and hop into a match against a handful of AI bots. You can adjust the difficulty, pick from a few tracks once unlocked, and choose your hover bike. Then you’re all set.
As you can tell in the trailer above, Void Racer is a very fast game. The Go’s crisp visual clarity and excellent lenses really help make this experience feel smooth, especially as you crane your neck around to marvel at the twisting, turning track that extends upward and all around you. Honestly I’m surprised it runs so well on the Go.
Steering is achieved by rotating the single Go controller in your hand either left or right. You pull the trigger to speed up, release it to slow down, and click the touch pad to use your item. That’s it. Super simple and intuitive.
The only major issue with this limited control scheme is that there is no way to drift or initiate a handbrake or sharp turn of any kind (a feature that helps make WipEout VR control so well) so if you hit a curve going too fast then you’ll just have to deal with taking damage from the non-track zone.
Littering each course are boost pads, gates, and item crystals to nab, as well as obstacles and dark sections that cause damage. Keeping up with your opponents is only half the challenge as dodging everything and staying on track is the actually tough part.
Void Racer is a solid sci-fi racer for a headset that is surprisingly lacking in this genre. There’s no multiplayer support and not really much of a campaign to speak of, but it’s a solid game to pop on for a few minutes and show to friends and family.
Void Racer is currently available on the Oculus Store for Go at a price point of $4.99.
