Pacer is a nostalgic-feeling arcade style racer that is a true spiritual successor to the likes of Wipeout. The game is pretty much perfect for fans of an older era of arcadey racers, but compared to options like Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing, it opts for a less cartoonish style and more complex subsystems. But while the game plays very well to its target audience, it may have trouble drawing in players who aren’t already fans of the older games that inspired it.
In Pacer, players take control of hovering race cars that rocket through twisting, gravity-defying courses, steering with airbrakes on either side of the vehicle. There are shield- and weapon-replenishing powerups to grab, a wide variety of armaments to deploy against enemy racers, and a huge amount of customization options for changing the handling characteristics of any given car. At the same time, the number of game modes is immense, which is great news for players who want enough depth to keep them playing for a long time.
The campaign is decent, with a pretty comprehensive rundown of the game’s content but somewhat opaque objectives. However, it feels like the real star of the show is multiplayer, which is where players will likely spend the vast majority of their time. The racing gameplay is quite engaging and very satisfying to get the hang of, but the game doesn’t offer much for players who might not be accustomed to similar systems. The training tutorial doesn’t even give a rundown of the controls or any gameplay tips – it just puts the player into a slightly easier than normal race.
However, once everything is figured out, the gameplay really shines. The vehicles are so agile that they can turn more sharply than even the most narrow hairpin approached at maximum speed. A full turn in either direction will never be overpowered by the car’s momentum, meaning that the real danger is hitting the inside wall rather than skidding out. That means the game is about finessing turns and drifts to avoid hitting the sides, rather than managing power to take corners right at the edge, as in more realistic racers.
Finding the right balance, setting up a fun build that combines handling and useful gadgets, and carefully threading the needle between narrow corners while boosting in the straights is fantastic. Despite a bit of a learning curve, there is a lot of room for mastery of the finer points of the game’s mechanics, and enough depth in customization and game modes to keep players experimenting with new content. Unfortunately, even with good core gameplay, Pacer doesn’t offer enough to appeal to a wide audience.
It’s a great throwback, but has a very specific audience in mind. The visuals are fairly standard and the complicated customization and tons of game modes will be great for fans, but might be overwhelming to more casual players. For $40, Pacer is focused on those who miss this type of game and know exactly what they want out of it. Still, there’s a reason that the games it emulates are considered classics, and it nails that core gameplay.
Pacer is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.
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