Formula Fusion, an anti-gravity city-racer is confirmed to be leaving early access on the 1st of June, with PS4 and Xbox One versions set to follow.
Sony, for reasons only known to them, shuttered Studio Liverpool (formerly Psygnosis) back in 2012. The studio had an extremely rich history from its days as a publisher, but during its time as a developer under Sony is probably best remembered for the long-running, anti-gravity Wipeout series.
Members of the team formed up into R8 Games, and emerged a few years later, in 2015, with a Kickstarter for a successor to the series in Formula Fusion. The campaign was a success, and the game launched into early access later on that year.
For those unfamiliar with Formula Fusion, or the series that inspired it -Wipeout- they’re fast paced racing games which see you racing along walls, upside-down, and in all variety of peculiar directions as you boost along sky-ways in jet-powered hover-cars. The game uses the powerful -and notoriously lighting/shine friendly- Unreal Engine, as well as artwork and design assistance form The Designers Republic, a group who have also worked on the Wipeout series previously.
I played a build of the game at EGX Rezzed earlier in the year, and had a short chat with executive producer John Purdie regarding the feel, and handling, of the game. Unexpectedly the game’s controls had a feeling of weight behind them, with the vehicles feeling as though they were shifting weight rather than turning as opposed to traditional turn/pivoting. He spoke of tweaks that had been made to UE4 as to amplify the feeling of speed, and pointed out a few points of the levels which were on show which were due to receive more powerful boosting links; loop-de-loops and sweeping corner arcs.
We also discussed 34BigThings’ Redout, (which we reviewed in text & video form late last year) as the two games have drawn a lot of comparisons from audiences; both being futuristic, adrenaline racers. He revealed that the two teams talk regularly, and that there’s more than enough space in the genre for the two of them; that’s before we talk about differences, Redout’s off-track gameplay vs Formula Fusion’s impressive cityscapes.
Formula Fusion is also specifically built with competitive play in mind; leagues and tournaments are planned from launch day – the game’s ship and upgrade selections serving as foundations which then divide players into competitive skill groups.
The game hits full release on June 1st, with console versions set to release in the future.
Source: Steam
