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When Distance released in 2018 it felt like a big deal. It’s a grimy sci-fi arcade racer blending the nightmarish vibes of Thumper with the cheerful time-attack moreishness of Trackmania. It’s both zen-like and quietly disturbing. It’s blisteringly fast, but it has a strange tranquilizing effect. I adore it, and I don’t know why people don’t talk about it more often.
In addition to a long campaign that manages to blend psychedelic set pieces with precision-oriented racing, there’s dozens of arcade tracks ranging from seamless high-speed sprints through to elaborate freeform trick arenas. It also has Steam Workshop support, so there are thousands of user-made tracks to download and play. Not all of them are Mario Kart remakes and vaporwave tributes either (don’t worry: there are a lot of those if you want ’em). There’s online and splitscreen multiplayer too, though after years of playing Distance I’ve never touched either.
Sorry to be that guy but you have to get it: it’s currently 90% off on Steam, bringing it down to $2.49. It was one of the first games I installed when I got a Steam Deck, and I was immediately blown away by how gorgeous it still looks. Other sci-fi racers like Redout have a more elaborate art style that wends closer to WipeOut, but Distance is more like WipeOut’s cyber-goth cousin: less eager to please and more fun to be around. It’s kinda special in the sense that it’s a sci-fi racer that doesn’t seem completely indebted to Psygnosis’ vision.
The Steam Racing Fest kicked off earlier this week and, as you’d expect, there’s lots of racing games on sale. If you’re after other racers that aren’t Forza, WRC, F1, and Assetto, check out the following:
