Power Drive 2000 is an '80s inspired arcade racer

Power Drive 2000 looks like a cross between Far Cry: Blood Dragon and another recently Kickstarted racer, Drift Stage. The first reference point is the most important though, because the most striking thing about Power Drive 2000 is its beautiful, chrome-hued 1980s sci-fi aesthetic. One part Tron and one part Isaac Asimov paperback cover, it's mesmerising and nostalgic.

It's a game too, of course. You race a "technologically advanced" sports car through a selection of minimal environments, with six game modes to choose from. All are pretty standard: apart from the vanilla race mode there's a Collector mode, which tasks with driving over diamonds; Outrun mode, which sprinkles hazards throughout the track and has a police helicopter pursuing you; Vaporizer mode, which punishes with instadeath if you plough into the walls, and Gauntlet mode: a procedurally generated offering. Best of all there's a Turbo mode offering unlimited boosts, which is what I'll be playing, thank you very much.

The Kickstarter page is over here. Studio Megacom Games has racked up just over $11,000 of its $45,000 goal, with 14 days left in the campaign.

Here's footage:

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.