Retro Top-Down Racing: Hellstrom Racer Version 0.9.8 - Game still in development.

　　Hellstrom Racer is a retro racing game, done in top-down, minimalist style. If you are a fan of old-school, retro racing games from the NES, Commodore 64, Spectrum, Master System, SNES, and Mega Drive/Sega Genesis - or even Amiga and Atari ST, then Hellstrom Racer may just be the game you have been looking for.

　　Inspirations for this game come from many years of playing excellent driving games on 8-bit and 16-bit systems. Favourite retro driving games include:

　　Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road RacerDanny Sullivan's Indy HeatBuggy BoySupersprintBadlandsRock & Roll RacingMicro MachinesGrand Prix SimulatorLotus Esprit Turbo ChallengePitstop II Stunt Car Racer Outrun While Hellstrom Racer is top down, and some of the excellent driving games listed are 3D in comparison, the elements of fun in them all was something that I tried to recreate in this game.

　　Buggy Boy elements, such as hitting soccer balls, avoiding walls, and other obstacles, are something that feature heavily in HR.

　　

How to Play

Controlling the game could not be more simple. Your car automatically accelerates (on mobile devices), so there is no need to press a button. You simply have to steer your vehicle, using reverse when 'in a pickle'.

　　Mobile Controls TOUCH the left or right half of the screen to turnHOLD both sides of the screen at the same time to brake/reverse Desktop Computer Controls Left and Right arrow keys to steerUp to accelerateDown to brake/reverseGamepad also works

Gameplay

You choose a racer based on attributes that suit your own driving style. You may like speed, but are terrible at steering, so choosing a driver that suits your own style is crucial.

　　Once you have chosen a driver, you can race in two ways:

　　Single RaceChampionship In single race mode, you select a track to play, then choose how many opponents to race, and choose how many laps.

　　In Championship mode, you play one of 15 championships, consisting of 5 races each, in an elimination style. Here's how it works:

　　Race 1: 32 carsFinish in the top 16 to qualify for the next roundRace 2: 16 carsFinish in the top 8 to qualify for the next roundRace 3: 8 carsFinish in the top 4 to qualify for the next roundRace 4: 4 carsFinish in the top 2 to qualify for the next roundFinal Race: Head to HeadWin this race to win the championship Each championship has a unique set of tracks, obstacles, and day/night races. By winning a championship, you prove that you are able to:

　　Win races with many other drivers - which can sometimes be chaotic affairs.Win races with several hazards such as:icesandoilwatergravelconestyresturbineswallsgravestoneszombiesWin races in head to head format Racing in Hellström Racer is a test of several disciplines - and requires a lot of luck as well as skill. Get off to a slow start by being caught by a turbine's blade, and it could be a long race!

　　Damage and Pitting By hitting other cars (or them hitting you), as well as hitting various obstacles and track walls, you accrue damage which slows down your vehicle.

　　You have two ways of getting back to full health, which are:

　　driving into the pit lanehitting a beachball or soccer ball Hitting a ball also gives a second speed boost that makes you travel really fast, but also makes steering a little more difficult.

　　

Drivers in the Game

I thought that it would be fun to add my favourite retro-loving 'Youtubers' in the game as playable drivers. In total, I chose 54 people, and you can see them here:

　　

　　

Platform(s)

The game is intended for Android (and hopefully IOS) platforms. However, as some people have requested, it may also be available as a download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

　　

How has Hellstrom Racer Been Made?

The game is built with the very underrated Construct 3 game engine, alongside some excellent addons and plugins. Any graphics work that I have done has been done with Aseprite.

　　

People to Thank

Whilst I have developed this game alone, a few others have helped me with graphics, sound, and some code help. They are:

　　Chiffa - graphicsHorace - soundsdop2000 - code help The end.