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Reakktor Studios has launched its futuristic action flight sim G-Rebels into Steam Early Access, promising high-speed dogfights, a seamless open world, and an optional native VR mode.
G-Rebels launches with up to 20 missionsNative VR and HOTAS support includedG-Rebels Early Access price and roadmapIt’s hard to believe it’s over a year since I last wrote about G-Rebels, but indeed it was the end of June before Gamescom, where I, as usual, banged on about Blade Runner at every opportunity.
Described as a spiritual successor to the cult PlayStation classic G-Police, G-Rebels places players behind the controls of heavily armed aircraft patrolling a dystopian archipelago dominated by sprawling megacities.
The Early Access release follows an extended public demo period, during which German developer Reakktor Studios gathered feedback from players ahead of the full launch. Publisher Senatis says community input will continue to play a major role as new missions, locations, and features are introduced.
G-Rebels launches with up to 20 missions
The opening Early Access build includes the complete first chapter of the G-Rebels campaign, consisting of nine main story missions and ten optional assignments.
Players can take on escort operations, smuggling jobs, assassinations, bounty hunts, outpost battles, races, patrols, and aerial clashes surrounding enormous freighters.
Several additional activities are also scattered throughout the game’s open world, taking the total number of available missions and curated events to around 20 at launch.
Much of the action takes place above Daevos, one of several densely constructed megacities found across the Atlas Archipelago. The Early Access version also introduces further regions outside the central metropolis, allowing players to explore more of the game’s dystopian setting.
G-Rebels uses world-streaming technology to deliver a seamless environment without traditional loading screens. Dynamic weather, volumetric clouds, surround sound, and a full day-night cycle are intended to make each flight feel unpredictable, particularly when weather conditions begin affecting visibility above the city.
Players with suitably powerful hardware can also enable an “Insane” graphics setting, which appears designed to push the game’s lighting, effects, and city detail as far as possible.
Native VR and HOTAS support includedOne of the biggest additions to the Early Access release is G-Rebels’ native VR mode.
Players can use a supported headset to experience the game entirely from a first-person cockpit perspective, flying between skyscrapers and across the rooftops of Daevos. A selection of HOTAS flight controllers is also supported for anyone hoping to build a more elaborate futuristic police aircraft setup around their desk.
According to Reakktor Studios, interest in the VR version was already strong before launch, with G-Rebels reaching the top of Steam’s Popular Upcoming list for anticipated VR releases.
VR remains optional, however, and the full game can be played on a standard monitor using more conventional controls.
The combination of cockpit combat, cyberpunk cities, and heavily armed law-enforcement aircraft is likely to immediately remind some players of G-Police, Psygnosis’ 1997 PlayStation flight combat game.
G-Police followed a pilot working for a corporate police force on Jupiter’s moon Callisto and became particularly memorable for its Blade Runner-inspired cities and surprisingly ambitious environments. G-Rebels is not officially connected to the old Psygnosis series, but Reakktor has openly positioned it as a spiritual continuation of that style of futuristic aerial action.
G-Rebels Early Access price and roadmapG-Rebels is available through Steam Early Access for €29.99. A 20% introductory discount reduces the price to €23.99 during the game’s first week on sale.
The launch also coincides with Steam’s Games Composed in Germany showcase, which highlights selected titles developed by German studios.
Reakktor Studios plans to expand G-Rebels throughout Early Access with additional missions, explorable areas, and support for more languages. The studio has not yet announced when it expects the finished 1.0 version to arrive.
G-Rebels is available now on PC through Steam, with its VR mode requiring a compatible headset and sufficiently powerful hardware.
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