Loading ...
ARCADE
GeoJet Review: I Played This Retrowave Racer So You'd Know If It's Actually Good
Another retrowave game? In 2024? I loaded up GeoJet expecting F-Zero at home, but this three-person team somehow made me care about combo chains again. Barely.
Paul
February 2, 2026
6.8
Overall Score
"GeoJet is what happens when a small team focuses on nailing the fundamentals instead of chasing trends."
First Impressions (Or: When Retrowave Doesn't Immediately Disappoint)
Look, I'm tired. I've reviewed seventeen retrowave games this month alone, and they all promised me "high-octane racing" and "stunning neon visuals." What I got was usually unoptimized unity projects with stolen synthwave tracks. So when I clicked on GeoJet, I had my alt-tab finger ready. But here's the thing—and I hate admitting this—the game actually loaded fast, looked sharp, and within thirty seconds I was already threading through neon gates at speeds that didn't make my framerate weep. Three developers made this. THREE. Meanwhile, I've played early access racers from teams of twelve that can't maintain sixty FPS. The controls felt responsive immediately with my Xbox controller, the UI was clean enough that I understood the objective without reading, and nothing crashed. Do you understand how low the bar is that "nothing crashed" counts as praise? Yet here we are, and GeoJet cleared it on the first lap.
Gameplay: Score Attack That Doesn't Make Me Want to Quit
The core loop is simple—race through geometric courses, grab score boxes, snag boosters, chain combos, don't crash into walls like an idiot. It's arcade racing distilled to pure dopamine hits, and I'm annoyed that it works on me. The combo system rewards flow and precision rather than just raw speed, which means you actually have to think about your racing line instead of holding forward and praying. Boosters feel impactful without being overpowered, and the game punishes sloppy flying by breaking your combo chain when you slam into geometry. I've played this genre since Wipeout on the PS1—back when racing games required actual skill instead of cinematic cutscenes—and GeoJet understands what made those games tick. The gamepad controls are tight enough that every crash feels like my fault, which is infuriating but also exactly what I want. My only complaint is that the courses feel limited in number, and after an hour I'd memorized optimal routes. I need more tracks, developers. You've earned that feature request.
Visuals and Audio: Retrowave Done Right (Finally)
I'm going to say something controversial: most retrowave games look terrible. They slap purple and cyan gradients on everything, add some VHS scanlines, and call it a day. GeoJet actually uses its neon aesthetic to enhance gameplay—the score boxes glow distinctly, the course boundaries are clear, and the whole visual package serves function over pure Instagram bait. The geometric environments pop without overwhelming your eyes, and I could actually see where I was going at high speeds, which is apparently too much to ask from most indie racers. The lighting effects when you hit boosters feel satisfying, and the overall presentation has a cohesive art direction that screams "we actually planned this." My only gripe? The audio is serviceable but forgettable. I wanted a soundtrack that would make me feel like I'm racing through a Carpenter Brut music video, but what I got was decent background synth that I forgot the moment I closed the game. For a retrowave racer, that's a missed opportunity. Still, the visual feedback is strong enough that I stayed engaged, and the clean aesthetic meant I never lost track of objectives in the neon chaos.
What This Game Needs (And What It Gets Right)
Let's talk about what's missing, because the developers asked for feedback and I'm nothing if not opinionated. First, more courses. Desperately. The existing tracks are good, but I exhausted the novelty in about an hour and started craving variety. Second, the score attack format would benefit enormously from integrated leaderboards—I want to see how my combos stack up against other players, because competitive grinding is the entire point of this genre. Third, some kind of progression system or unlockables would give me reasons to keep coming back beyond pure score chasing. That said, here's what GeoJet gets absolutely right: the core mechanics are solid, the controls respond exactly how I expect them to, and the game respects my time by loading quickly and jumping straight into action. The three-person team clearly focused on making the fundamentals work before adding bloat, which is the opposite of how most indie games develop. They built a tight arcade experience that doesn't waste my time with tutorials or pointless story modes. For a game positioned as a test build inviting feedback, this is shockingly playable and fun.
Rating Breakdown
Quality
7
For a three-person team working quickly, this is shockingly polished—no crashes, smooth performance, and I didn't encounter a single bug that made me want to uninstall.
Innovation
5
It's Wipeout meets geometry dash with score attack layered on top, which is fine I guess, but I haven't seen anything truly novel since Outer Wilds in 2019.
Value
8
Name your own price for an actually functional arcade racer? Even my cynical wallet can't complain about that.
Gameplay
7
The combo-chasing loop kept me playing longer than I'd admit to my therapist, and the gamepad controls feel responsive enough that I can't blame the game when I crash.
Audio/Visual
8
Finally, a retrowave aesthetic that doesn't look like a rejected Hotline Miami asset pack—the neon courses actually pop and the visuals serve the gameplay instead of just existing for screenshots.
Replayability
6
Score attack games live and die by leaderboards and variety, and while I kept going back to beat my combos, I'd need more courses before this becomes a permanent fixture.
What Didn't Annoy Me
Responsive controls that actually work with a gamepad like the developers promised
Clean, functional retrowave aesthetic that enhances gameplay instead of just looking pretty for screenshots
Combo system that rewards skill and flow rather than mindless button mashing
Runs smoothly without technical issues, which is apparently a rare achievement in 2024
Name your own price model means even broke gamers can try it without risk
Three-person dev team that clearly understands arcade fundamentals better than most studios with ten times the budget
What Made Me Sigh
Limited number of courses means you'll memorize everything within an hour
Audio is forgettable for a game wrapped in retrowave aesthetics—where's my face-melting synthwave soundtrack?
No integrated leaderboards for a score attack game, which feels like leaving money on the table
Replayability depends entirely on self-motivation since there's no progression system or unlockables
Final Verdict
GeoJet is what happens when a small team focuses on nailing the fundamentals instead of chasing trends. The controls are tight, the combo system is satisfying, and the retrowave presentation actually serves the gameplay. I went in expecting another disposable arcade racer and came out having genuinely enjoyed my time, which is the highest praise my exhausted brain can muster. Yes, it needs more content—more courses, leaderboards, maybe some progression hooks—but what's here works better than games from studios with triple the budget. For a name-your-own-price game asking for feedback, this is a polished proof of concept that deserves your attention. Proletary Games clearly knows what they're doing, and if they keep building on this foundation, they might actually make something I'd recommend without seventeen caveats. Download it, give them your feedback, and maybe throw them a few dollars. They've earned it, and I hate admitting that.
GeoJet
Tags
arcade
racing
score-attack
retrowave
3d
casual
short
singleplayer
Are you a developer and want to remove this review?