Building crazy tracks and then racing your miniature cars was a childhood staple, but now you don’t even have to clean anything up.
A game developer from London released a mixed reality game called SlotCar VR that can transform anywhere in your home into a full-blown race track. This game breathes new life into the slot car craze from the ‘60s and gives us a nostalgic reminder of the fun we had with those bright orange Hot Wheels tracks growing up. Incorporating mixed reality into the world of mini car tracks is a no-brainer, since now you can fit your wild track designs into any room without having to worry if any furniture gets in the way.
NO TRACK TOO CRAZY
It’s easy to see myself getting lost in SlotCar VR for hours designing a custom circuit with friends, even as a grown adult. While the demo is short, the track-building mode looks like it has enough options to make the design of your dreams, whether that means including tall loop-de-loops or hairpin turns. You can even add some props, like spectator stands and trees, for that final touch.
The developer said in a Reddit post that the cars can fall off the track if you’re going too fast around a corner, so there is some realism here. Currently, the game has a stability health counter that takes a ding when you take a corner too fast so it doesn’t exactly work like gravity. On top of that, cars can still drive upside down so they don’t fall off when hitting those big loops.
IN OPEN BETA NOW
SandfordTech recently released this game as an open beta, meaning you can try it for free with your Quest 3. The developer says the trailer gives you a good sense of what’s already doable with the open beta, but there are still some kinks to be worked out.
SandfordTech wants feedback for the game through its Discord so it can finetune the game before an actual release. We’re already seeing some solid ideas cooking, like being able to move the entire track as one piece. Personally, it’d make a lot of sense to have different modes, like an ultra-realistic mode to relive the joys of accurate slot car racing and a fun mode where you can go wild with things like gravity adjustments, speed boosts, and whatever ridiculous power up comes to mind. In terms of cosmetics, it’s hard not to see a Hot Wheels skin for the tracks fitting right in.
