It's hard to explain to anyone under the age of 30 what it was like to experience Sega's 'Super Scaler' coin-ops in the 1980s.

Titles like Hang-On, OutRun and Super Monaco GP used smoothly scaling 2D sprites to create the illusion of 3D movement, and while 'true' 3D would later be achieved via the likes of Ridge Racer and Daytona USA, I still have a soft spot for the pixel-heavy Super Scaler tech – which is precisely why Formula 2.5 has caught my attention.

I'm guessing the developer is a fan of Super Monaco GP, as the visual style is very similar. However, Formula 2.5 covers not just the '90s era, but everything from "1960s pioneers to the refined aero cars of the 2000s."

You can take part in a single race or undertake a full career, and there are 40 different cars spanning four generations of racing – the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 2000s. 10 different circuits are available, and you can race them under four conditions: Clear Day, Clear Night, Rainy Day, and Rainy Night.

Developer T&T game notes that some GenAI was used in the "early asset-creation workflow" but "these tools were used only to generate rough drafts or initial references, and all final in-game assets were manually edited, redrawn, or recreated."

If you want to check it out, Formula 2.5 is currently 10% off on Steam.