PlayStation 4 code provided by Astragon Games
One sport we don’t get to see enough representation of is drone racing. Astragon Games took note of this and have been crafting drone focused racing games for a couple of years now. Their latest, Liftoff Drone Racing widens the horizon of access to gamers by releasing it not only on PC but on the PS4 and Xbox One as well. But how well does the game project the drone racing community? It’s a mixed bag of pros and cons but there just might be something worth seeing here.
Gameplay
Liftoff’s strength is in making its controls extremely realistic to how you would control a drone in the real world. It’s a very challenging feat and luckily there’s a bunch of learning that the game shows you through its many tutorials. It’ll start you on a newbie setting called “assist mode” which most gamers will feel comfortable with after a few moments of trying it out. Over time, you’ll learn the “real” controls and be able to do tricks and float through the skies like a pro. Honestly, I don’t have that much co-ordination so I played on the newbie setting for most of my time with the game. I always did, however, come back to test my skills and try to get my head around the normal controls.
The drones have different weights and stats that give each one its own characteristics that best suit your control style. They all feel really great to control with their weighty yet zippy movements. There’s a steep learning curve when it comes to using these things correctly. It’s a true simulation in that regard and it’s awesome to see. Sure, you’ll definitely hit a tree or get stuck upside-down very often but getting comfortable with these drones is very rewarding once you put in your time and get used to them.
From learning the controls, the main campaign allows you to test your skills on the racing courses against other racers. These served the game well and the rivals you’d go up against did not ease up. From the very first race, I could tell that I would have to work hard just to even place. I loved the fact that the competition wasn’t easy. Although I wasn’t good at the controls it did give me the incentive to do better so that I’d get closer to a first-place win. Doing races gains you XP as well as unlocks for new parts and models of drones for you to work with at your workbench, which I’ll get into later.
Besides the campaign, you’ll be able to play online races, a quick play that includes races and freestyle mode, and work on drones at your workbench. Since launch, I’ve tried to find games online but haven’t had the luck of connecting to anyone. This should be the peak time for players and it’s like a cemetery. I’d always get a message while searching for a game that basically said there wasn’t anyone online. Playing this game online with friends or other gamers would’ve been really interesting. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t players but I think I know what may be deterring them. I’ll get to that soon.
Quickplay was cool because you can choose whatever map you’d like as well as it’s many different variants. There’s a lot to see and the levels are pretty large, offering a lot of play space to get to know each and every one of your drones. I do wish that there were some other kinds of ways to play with your drones besides either racing or doing tricks in freestyle. I’m sure if the devs put their heads together a bit more they could cook something up. These environments beg to be utilized even more than they are!
The workbench is a truly unique thing that’s been added to this game. It’s extremely in-depth and it felt cool to see what the drone racing enthusiasts do for their hobby or job. I do think that there should’ve been some instructions on how the building works though. Because it’s so in-depth I found myself constantly putting pieces together that weren’t compatible but never had indicators that this was happening before the fact. I know that there are tutorials for the game but I couldn’t have made it far enough to even find workbench tutorials because I couldn’t master the flight controls. Had there been instructions on the workbench screen this would’ve helped and immersed me further.
Besides the intricacies of the drones themselves, the Liftoff allows you to really trick them out cosmetically. You can unlock new camos, paints, and so on through the game’s loot boxes. Luckily, I didn’t see any sign of these being purchasable with real money so kudos to the devs for not sinking low on that. I really enjoyed being able to make my favorite drones unique to me. I think the workbench might be a strong reason for people to pick up and try this game even if they aren’t necessarily into drone racing. I had a ton of fun with it myself.
Visuals
This game doesn’t have strong graphics in any sense but I think it does well enough. The night courses are actually really pleasant to look at and the devs did fantastic with their use of lighting and neons. This is where graphics shine and these are the courses that I really enjoyed. The drones themselves look splendid and FPV expert, Joshua Bardwell’s avatar in the tutorial sections looked really well done. Overall, the look suited the game in my opinion. Great stuff!
Audio
When looking at the audio for this title, there wasn’t too much to have to nit-pick or dive into. There are some pretty catchy tunes that get the blood flowing and they aren’t stiff. The drones all sound very fresh and the hums coming from the propellers and engines did really satisfy my eardrums.
Replayability
Drone racing enthusiasts are going to have a blast playing this for sure. Especially with the ongoing pandemic, I’m sure that these championships and get-togethers may be fickle for a bit. This serves as a great outlet for those fans to enjoy them from the comfort of their own home. It also serves as a way for newcomers to get a taste of what this sport has to offer outside of the game world. It really got me interesting in the drone racing world, so in my opinion, it did what it aimed to do.
The controls are really easy to get used to in assist mode but I always found myself trying to master the regular controls so that I felt more in-tune with the capabilities of my drone. That too is just what the devs wanted players to try. With all of this being said, I wish that there were players for me to enjoy this delightful title with. Even without other random players, I’m sure there are folks playing with a few mates playing together and enjoying what fun there is to be had. The races and maneuverability in the game are superb and shine brightly.
What It Could Have Done Better
As soon as I booted up the game I could tell that there was something off about the menus. I couldn’t swap to the different choices and then I finally realized that you have to use the shoulder buttons to navigate them for some reason. It’s not a horrible design choice but there aren’t any notifiers letting you know that the shoulder buttons control it. It took some getting used to but I started to become familiar.
As far as gameplay goes there are some bugs that I witnessed myself. I often got stuck in fences and it did tick me off as it happened commonly. When it happens you’d think that it would just reset you and let you go. This isn’t the case as every time I’d get stuck the entire race would start over. Hopefully, they patch this because it was my only real issue with the actual game.
The biggest issue with the title may be its price. It’s currently priced at $35 across all platforms and I think that this could be the reason why I couldn’t find anyone to play with. I believe that there is a margin of players who could enjoy this but I also feel that some are going to be scared away from wanting to try it if it’s out of their price range. Enthusiasts shouldn’t have to worry too much, but it’s folks like me who would love to try it but may not want to try something unfamiliar to them at this price.
Verdict
Liftoff Drone Racing is something that changes the game for what’s expected from sports titles by offering its players the chance of actually learning the fundamentals of the sport whilst getting to have fun with it at the same time. Though it may be a little rough around the edges, it’s hard not to commend the developers on nailing exactly what the game was set out to accomplish, being a realistic and engaging drone racing simulator. I may disagree with the actual price for what’s offered but it isn’t a deal-breaker if you have a solid understanding of what this game is and what it gives you. If you have the money and want to try something new and possibly pick up a new hobby, then give Liftoff Drone Racing a try.
