Space Dust Racers is a couch combat racer inspired by Micro Machines

Spacedustracers

It's a truth universally acknowledged, probably, that there are too few kart racers on PC. Space Dust Racers looks set to change that, so long as its Kickstarter campaign succeeds. Developed by Melbourne studio Space Dust Studios, the racer supports up to 16 players locally, but you won't need 16 USB ports. Instead, you can use your smartphone or laptop as a controller, which is a nice touch.

As for the game itself, according to the Kickstarter page it's less Mario Kart and more Micro Machines. You'll spend more time trying to ram your opponents off the track then you will performing the perfect turn, and with the help of weapon pickups and road obstacles it feels like this game is more about obliterating cute aliens than it is beating them in cheerful races. As it should be.

In addition to local multiplayer the game will boast single player and online play. Three game types have been confirmed in the form of free-for-all deathmatch mode Knockout, a straightforward "first over the finish line" race in the form of Leader, and Survival, which rewards the last player standing.

Space Dust Studios has already completed a playable demo, but they're seeking $128,000 to get the game feature complete. You can help them out here. See some gameplay footage below:

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.