Among the clouds

Since the days of Copernicus, man has dreamed of flight…games to make a resurgence. And lo’ the gaming gods has seen to bless us and while Microsoft’s award-winning Flight Simulator will steal all the realistic flight fans; Skydrift Infinity from Digital Reality is here for those who “feel the need for speed”

Skydrift Infinity is an arcade flight racing game, with a battle twist. It isn’t as big or as deep as Flight Simulator, but its single-player campaign consists of about seven stages which feels about right for the title. Each of those stages consist of various events, and if I performed well enough I would unlock the next. As for the events themselves these are varied between basic races which consist of going as fast as I could through rings that will provide with a speed boost that will be necessary for success. A Power Race which can be a blast (pun intended) to play. This mode is like Mario Kart but in airplanes, so the course will be littered with pickups ranging from shields to rockets.

MSRP: $14.99
Platforms: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC

Players can hold two of them at a time, and if they collect two of the same it will increase the power of the attack. This can mean four rockets instead of two, or if you’re the sneaky type and prefer traps they can get three mines that revolve instead of the standard lone weapon. If one chooses to not use their weapons they can instead burn them with a press of a button and it will be turned into fuel for the boost tank. The last of these modes is Survivor and honestly Skydrift Infinity’s best. Its setup is simple, when the timer stops don’t be in last place. As I zoomed through the course I would find weapon drops which I needed in order to ensure my place at the top. The survivor races provide such a tense experience in perfectly balancing the need to expertly navigate this course but also do it as fast as possible. More than once I got overwhelmed and smashed into a mountain because I just couldn’t slow down fast enough for a turn and ended up being last because of it.

But even with a wreck due to human error or because of an enemy machine gun, Skydrift Infinity never feels cheap like Mario Kart. Respawns are almost instant and give enough time to recover and maybe even exact some revenge from the opponent. Combat feels solid in the game, unlike some racing titles I never felt like there was ‘rubber banding’ at play when I wiped out. As I said players are given a number of offensive abilities but there are some defensive ones as well. Repair kits and shields were life savers when I was about to hit a mine, or even catch a missile up my exhaust; balancing defenses can be just as important as offense. As players complete each of the tracks they will unlock new craft as well as skins to customize their fleet. Skydrift Infinity has about 16 vehicles in all and since its published by THQ there are even ones customized around some of their franchises like Darksiders. All of these craft have various differences in stats like speed, maneuverability, armor etc. So ideally players won’t use one plane for everything, they each have an inherent purpose built into them.

Outside of the campaign mode Skydrift Infinity also offers local and online multiplayer with the added Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes, sadly I wasn’t able to test it as I couldn’t get into a match. The few lobbies that I was able to connect to the people never readied up or I was kicked and after trying multiple times for days I gave up. Take that for what its worth, if you are looking at getting this game for multiplayer. It really is a shame I wasn’t able to get any matches because I actually really want to play this game against people. The races are quite enjoyable, and I can only imagine how much better that would be with people who will act unexpectedly.

While Skydrift has some great visuals on the Series X, it sadly offers very few maps to show them off. While players will race on some of the tracks from the reverse angle, Skydrift Infinity only has six tracks in total. It’s not a huge deal because of the fun and engrossing gameplay, but after so many runs in the ice caves it will only be natural to become bored of the surroundings. Another issue is the illusion of freedom the game gives on certain tracks. Since I wasn’t racing a car, I had more ways in which to move. If I wanted to fly above that tree, or through the waterfall I should have been able to do that, but at times this game would deny me. The problem is that as I was zooming through the courses these shortcuts looked like viable options, but upon taking them I was destroyed by an invisible wall. It’s fine if I wanted to stay within these boundaries, but they needed to be clearly marked, especially in a game where I am in the air and can move 360 degrees.

In a lot of ways Skydrift Infinity feels like the airborne version of the old Hydro Thunder racing games. The sense of speed, the lens flare and power ups are all present in Skydrift, and it really took me down memory lane. Skydrift Infinity is a really fun game that needs more content, more tracks and maybe more events would be nice. Local multiplayer is nice if you have friends in the same house but without an audience in multiplayer I can’t recommend this game as someone who is looking for online only racing. However, if you want a solid arcade flying racer and you feel the need…. the need for speed; then this could be the game for you.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.