I want to have faith that Ion Driver is a proof of concept for something bigger and better from Gammera Nest, but what currently exists is less of a test of racing skill and more of a test of patience for a futuristic racing enthusiast. The lack of content, inconsistent hit detection, and buggy racing experience will leave you disappointed. You will see everything Ion Driver has to offer within a few minutes of playing the game, so don't expect an experience of progression, futuristic and high-speed racing, nor skill.
I have hope for the future of the sci-fi racing genre, although fewer and fewer games that would fall into that category are released every year. While I did not play any of the F-Zero games that nostalgic Nintendo fans rabidly discuss on Reddit, I did play my fair share of the WipEout franchise from the PSP onward. The idea of obtaining insanely high speeds and making tight maneuvers in futuristic environments can be thrilling, especially when you’re racing on racetracks that seem to be alive with flashing lights, evolving billboards, and glittering futuristic skylines. I’ve been able to occasionally get my share of sci-fi racing nostalgia by replaying WipEout Omega Collection, but I need more (and I know I’m not alone, here). Thus, when I was presented with an opportunity to review Ion Driver, I was excited to get a fix of high-speed and futuristic racing. That excitement did not last long, unfortunately.
Ion Driver presents itself as an intergalactic racing game that prioritizes racing skill over fancy powerups, meaning you won’t be playing a battle racing game like WipEout. The game advertises 12-racer races, breakneck speeds, and intergalactic racetracks. The description on the PlayStation Store will give you a lot of hope, but when you sit down and play the game, the barren menu will give you an idea of how tempered your expectations should be.
The character select screen features six characters to choose from, each with different stats and personalities. After you select a character, however, you’re taken to what I believe is a stats modification screen. The stats lacked labels and seemed like they were added to give me the feeling of artificial power. I tested out different combinations of these stats, but I did not feel a meaningful difference in how I played. I would have liked some labels, at least, as the images don’t convey the meaning of what I was modifying.
There are two racing tracks in Ion Driver. Yes, two. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I was choosing a track to race. There must be additional tracks to unlock, right? I answered that question after (somehow) winning several matches: there were no other tracks to unlock. What I saw on the menu is exactly what you’re going to get, and I’m incredibly disappointed with the barren nature of Ion Driver’s racetracks. The racetracks looks interesting and relatively futuristic, but the frustration of playing the game broke the immersion of these intergalactic tracks.
A sign of futuristic racer’s quality exists in its racing controls and hit detection (especially at the fast speeds). Ion Driver‘s controls are decent at best: There’s a button to accelerate, a button to temporarily boost your speed, and triggers that assist you in making hairpin turns. Moving with the joystick feels relatively fluid at lower speeds, but higher speeds lead to erratic behavior from the game in terms of collision detection and controlling your ship. If you lose control of your ship and hit a wall, you might become stuck in that wall OR get instantly teleported back a short distance (interrupting your race). Even worse: The second track’s anti-gravity portion is prone to bugs in the form of your ship becoming embedded in the track or managing to drive upside down. There were several instances where I accidentally clipped into a barrier and lost the sizable lead I had over the other racers.
I want to have faith that Ion Driver is a proof of concept for something bigger and better from Gammera Nest, but what currently exists is less of a test of racing skill and more of a test of patience for a futuristic racing enthusiast. The lack of content, inconsistent hit detection, and buggy racing experience will leave you disappointed. You will see everything Ion Driver has to offer within a few minutes of playing the game, so don’t expect an experience of progression, futuristic and high-speed racing, nor skill.
