Skydrift Infinity | Xbox Review

August 11, 2021 Sean Coates

Maybe I’ve been living under a rock these past few years, but it seems like arcade-style games are making a bit of a resurgence lately. The gaming trends of the last decade have generally pointed towards a realistic approach, especially in the racing genre (I’m looking at you Forza). But I’ve been noticing that more games, especially on the indie circuit, have been recapturing a period of time that I have a great fondness and nostalgia for: the late 90s. Developed by Digital Reality and published by Handy Games, SkyDrift: Infinity is a well crafted but challenging racer that’s sure to appeal to anyone looking for a fun arcade experience, and not have to break the bank to enjoy.

An Upright and Locked ‘n Loaded Position

SkyDrift: Infinity is a fast-paced flight combat game mixed with elements of a kart racer. The campaign mode is broken into seven stages with each stage containing five races featuring different race events, primarily the Power Race. It’s this event where the object is to reach first place with the aid of power-ups you can pick up along the way. These power-ups range from offensive items like machine guns and missiles; to defensive items like mines, shields and an EMP blast.

On the surface it’s pretty standard stuff. However there’s a nice twist with these power-ups. Picking up the same item twice, for example, will double the effectiveness of said power-up. You can also transfer the item into your boosters to help you pick up some speed. It’s these twists to the formula that adds a nice bit of tactical strategy to the race. And you will need these power-ups if you want to get ahead. The AI opponents are not chumps and won’t hesitate to use them on you, so keep your guard up.

The other major race mode is Speed Race. It is here where power-ups are instead replaced with speed rings throughout the course. Flying through these gives you a generous boost, and flying through rings consecutively is imperative to achieving first place. And finally there’s Survival Race, which is just the Power Race but with an added elimination mode where the player in last place gets disqualified every 30 seconds or so.

Enjoy the View

Graphically speaking the game looks good for a budget title, as well it should. After all, this game is actually a remaster of SkyDrift released back in 2011 on XBLA and PSN. While it’s light in terms of new content, the enhancements are good for a late 8th generation release. Unfortunately, there’s just not a lot of variety in the locations, you will be seeing the same five environments over and over.

The plane designs look solid, and the flight arenas are exotic and scenic, despite the lack of variety and it all runs smoothly. The original 2011 version ran at 720p resolution and was locked at 30 frames per second. Infinity increases the resolution to 1080p and is capable of up to a steady 60fps. I’m told that on next generation consoles, the resolution can actually get up to 4K but at the cost of framerate. Performance and quality options are available, too.

The Finish Line

Overall, SkyDrift: Infinity is a fun and very well made, yet challenging, arcade racer. Up to this point I’ve been avoiding making comparisons to other games in this review as doing so would seem reductive. But to summarize I will say that it combines the aerial kart racing mechanics of Diddy Kong Racing, with the fast-paced action of games like Hydro Thunder or the San Francisco Rush series.

Listing all of the games that share DNA with SkyDrift: Infinity would be tedious and would need to be mapped out like a family tree. Nevertheless, this game is absolutely a worthy descendant. If you enjoy arcade style racing games reminiscent of Midway Games at their peak in the late 90s, this is totally worth your time. At a low price, you really can’t go wrong featuring enough content and a great challenge. Enjoy your flight.

To hear me talk more about Skydrift Infinity, be sure to listen to Episode 357 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 45:50 time stamp.

This review is based on an Xbox copy of Skydrift Infinity provided by Evolve PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.