Mario Kart Meets Wipeout in Gripping Racer, Free to Play

Mario Kart and Wipeout fans will want to check out this gripping new racer that is free-to-play.

As much as I love modern racing games such as Forza Horizon 5, Gran Turismo 7, and Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, there’s something extra special about games that were released in the 90s and early 2000s.

Between SEGA Rally Championship, Micro Machines, Need for Speed: Underground and F-Zero GX, it was a great time to be a fan of the racing genre, no matter your platform of choice.

However, perhaps two of the most iconic racers of their time were Mario Kart on the SNES and Wipeout on the original PlayStation. Two totally different kinds of racers, one being cute and cuddly and the other being a sci-fi, anti-gravity blast, but each was immensely fun and surprisingly challenging.

Thankfully, in this day and age, if we want to take a trip down memory lane to revisit a bygone era, it’s easily done, even without owning a retro console. Platforms such as PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo all have easy-to-access digital offerings that allow us to play retro games in an instant.

Gemini Rush Is a Blast From the Past

Gemini Rush, Gemini Games

However, sometimes it’s nice to play a brand new game inspired by the classics that came before. One such game could be Gemini Rush, developed and published by the indie studio Gemini Games.

“Gemini Rush is a LAN racing game where each player controls a single-wheel vehicle on a circuit made up of two constantly parallel roads,” reads the synopsis of the game on Steam. “The player has the ability to switch between the two using a skill. The vehicle is highly amenable and very fast.

“The race is composed of three biomes (neutral, cave and fog), making the entourage beautiful and memorable! The players drive on these roads in order to stay in first place. However, all the players leave a trace behind them on the ground, a speed trail, that remains for 6s on which the other players can follow in order to gain a speed boost as long as they stay on it.”

After watching the gameplay trailer for Gemini Rush, it not only gives me Mario Kart and Wipeout vibes but also F-Zero and Rez.

At the time of writing, Gemini Rush has only just been released on Steam, so it’s too early for user reviews. It’s hard to tell whether this game is as fun as it looks, but it certainly seems well worth a try - especially as it's free. If your PC can handle it, you can always download it or just wait to see what the community says.