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Game
Game2015
Slipstream 5000
Developer Gremlin Interactive, The Software Refinery
Slipstream 5000 is a 3D airplane combat/racing video game developed by The Software Refinery and published by Gremlin Interactive for MS-DOS in July 1995. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
122 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Aug 29, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
74
Fresh
86 positive · 30 negative
95% range 65–81%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 86 | 30 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
120 of 168 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
73% recommend · 89 yes, 33 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 122 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (316 of 413 positive).
Players praise the game as a classic 90s arcade racing experience with unique flight and combat elements. [1][2][3] Some note the game has aged poorly in graphics and controls, recommending it only for retro enthusiasts. [4][5][6] Many reviewers express nostalgia and wish for a modern remake or sequel. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
It runs on DOS BOX, controls are terrible as typical back in those days. The concept of the game is something i typically enjoy in a racer but this game is way past its days. Exiting to DOS i was met with the command line LOL. Some folks may find this enjoyable especially if you crave old school, but $5.99 normal price tag is asking to much.
- [2]
Good game for those looking a more unique racing experience and not bothered by primitive 3D graphics. Slipstream 5000 is a futuristic flight and combat racing game by Gremlin Interactive. This game is a child of the 90s, from times when future was not all apocalypse and racing games dared to have other vehicles than automobiles. The sounds of the planes, the craft and course design, radio chatter between …
- [10]
As a disclaimer, I'm not really a retro gamer, nor do I play many racing games anymore. But I have no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best arcade racing games ever made. The main draw to this title is the vertical component which gives you full 3D control of your ship in specially designed maps. There's also a combat component involving various types of missiles that you can fire at your opponents. It makes …
- [3]
It's like if WipEout and Descent had a baby... and it actually predates WipEout by a few months. This is a combat racing game for MS-DOS, wherein you fly anti-gravity-assisted aircraft (at least according to the included PDF manual). And thanks to DOSBox... XInput gamepads are supported. Mostly... you'll still need a mouse and keyboard to pause the game and navigate menus. Also, avoid going under the bridge on the …
- [1]
Super old game here, so you can't really judge the graphics but for 20 years ago it's pretty good! For primitive 3D graphics, it is impressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpf_cYnK0Bw I just tried it out and everything works as you would imagine. I was able to use an Xbox 360 controller right out of the box, and the split-screen works fine as well. Even has networking modes which you may be able to get working …
Summarised from 32 of the 128 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
73% of the 122 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Slipstream 5000. The complaint that keeps coming up: graphics and controls feel very dated. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Although sales were not very high due to stiff competition from consoles, the game was generally well received, having 3D graphics and gameplay advanced for its time. While it was soon superseded by console games with superior graphics, Slipstream 5000 was later described as having been years ahead of its competition. PC Gamer magazine US rated it at 89%. Next Generation gave the MS-DOS version three stars out of five.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 122 · most liked firstSuper old game here, so you can't really judge the graphics but for 20 years ago it's pretty good! For primitive 3D graphics, it is impressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpf_cYnK0Bw I just tried it out and everything works as you would imagine. I was able to use an Xbox 360 controller right out of the box, and the split-screen works fine as well. Even has networking modes which you may be able to get working at some point, essentially the game is untouched as it was released in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OMG. A 3D racing game released in 1995. Incrediable. Pros - Intensive acro background music - Intuitive instrutions - Friendly TTS ( Text To Speech ) - Clear road indicator ( Nowadays this is the standard for all racing games ) - It runs in DOS-Box, which is a nice solution for modern PC - AI racers is rock-solid in the game even though it was made in 1995. Cons - Mouse doesn't control too many things besides it can change settings - No basic control instructions if you are new to this game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There has never been a game quite like it since. Some have come close, but this is brilliant. Time for a HD remake?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game for those looking a more unique racing experience and not bothered by primitive 3D graphics. Slipstream 5000 is a futuristic flight and combat racing game by Gremlin Interactive. This game is a child of the 90s, from times when future was not all apocalypse and racing games dared to have other vehicles than automobiles. The sounds of the planes, the craft and course design, radio chatter between competitors and the pre-race TV hosts introducing the upcoming track are few of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It runs on DOS BOX, controls are terrible as typical back in those days. The concept of the game is something i typically enjoy in a racer but this game is way past its days. Exiting to DOS i was met with the command line LOL. Some folks may find this enjoyable especially if you crave old school, but $5.99 normal price tag is asking to much.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It’s difficult to rate the gameplay, graphics and concept of a game that’s been released in 1995. It really is. Slipstream 5000 was the kind of games I’d find myself playing 19+ years ago, with no complaints. This was the best that the video game industry had to offer back then. As one of the grandfathers of Retro Racing games of Steam, Slipstream 5000 has all the basic controls nailed down and made clear in the beginning (via Controls and Options in the menu screen). All the cars looked…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Slipstream 5000 - the game that broke my joystick. This game is a thoroughly enjoyable experience from start to finish. What if you cross a racing game with a flight combat game and make it arcady as hell? Slipstream 5000.
positive · AI labelView post →I will try to express how i felt in the game in long story short. Price: just right Pros: +None Cons: -None I cant judge the game becouse it was made 19 years ago but if i had game like this in thos times i woud be unreal happy. Playing this game reminds the good old time playing games on windows vista xD 10/10 <3
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1 - ) Open Idle Master. 2 - ) Drop cards. 3 - ) Sell them.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →5/10 let that one slip unless you're seriously into retro games. Slipstream 5000 has it's charms and it's one of those 90ies games that explaines what gamers find so incredibly cool about retro. It was designed for the back then dominant joystick controllers so it's quite hard to control with kb/m and not all modern controllers/pads will work. But if you can get past that, it offers a solid racing game with not-dumber-than-usual AI, a decent range of vehicles and weapons as well as a diverse…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A really good game, taking me back to when i was young. "Awsome grafiks" :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a disclaimer, I'm not really a retro gamer, nor do I play many racing games anymore. But I have no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best arcade racing games ever made. The main draw to this title is the vertical component which gives you full 3D control of your ship in specially designed maps. There's also a combat component involving various types of missiles that you can fire at your opponents. It makes the game deeper and more competitive than you might think. The maps are well…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a low-res, pixelated, old and much harder than I remember racing game. If that stuff doesn't discourages you then buy it but otherwise steer clear from this game as it is only for the real oldschool maniacs.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Playtime: 3.4h (100% achievement, finished both Single Player and Tournament) Intro Slipstream 5000 is a retro racing game where you control an airship in an airborne track. Weapons and turbo are also available to change the race outcome. The game has 2 modes: single-player and tournament. The first one has 10 tracks while the latter one is held in the first 6 tracks. Pros: - 10 tracks with varying difficulty - Shortcuts - Adjustable difficulty Cons: - Lanes with turbos are usually longer…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What's your "no one remembers but me" game? Mine is Slipstream 5000 A neat little rocket racing game I have no idea where it came from or what platform I played it on
neutral · AI labelView post →Slipstream 5000 is a very old game that has not aged very well. The game has some interesting features and gameplay, and they would be very good if I had played the game when it came out, but nothing that the game has is particularly groundbreaking now. In fact, the whole game is very dated. I know that it is unfair to judge a game from so long ago using today's standards, but as for enjoyability, it just lacks it unless you are playing for the nostalgia. I am going to give this a not…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is really fun/addicting for the games age.At first, i thought the game would be ehhh but its actually really fun. Graphics bring you back to the good ole days! Pros Trading cards split-screen mode Racing Got rear view mirrors to check Cons No option to change resolution
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Racing game with planes from the 90s. It doesn't offer much nowadays but at least it's a good arcade racing experience. Good to see such games on Steam. Compete in championships, each race have 5 laps. Plenty of different levels some are easier than the others. 10 vehicles to choose from each comes with unique pilot. Two modes that is boost or weapons mode. After each race customize vehicle - buy new weapons or stats improvement like better engine, weapons or boost. First levels start slow but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is what it is. Don't buy old games if you don't want to play an old game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Slipstream 5000](https://www.gog.com/en/game/slipstream_5000)  Probably the first and last racing game that I invested a lot of time in.
positive · AI labelView post →Slipstream 5000 is a game that I recommend because: - is a method to banish boredom - it is a racing game - it has action - it has trading cards Enjoy!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →They don't make them like this anymore. Nobody will read my review so I Will Eat 1 Tablespoon of ketchup For Every Like this gets.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Revisiting this gem of a classic! Wow.. Had it as a big box back in the day. It still feels fun also, or maybe that's the nostalgia goggles. :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →https://youtu.be/kihyVOuhfuE There is no doubt the gameplay has aged poorly in the 25 years since the original release. The casual racism/sexism offered up in this retro future game setting has aged much worse.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the stupid games i ever played . I played just for trading cards . This game is a complete trash .
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →YOU'RE BETTER OFF PLAYING A PROPER PS1/PS2/NES GAME THAN WASTING YOUR TIME ON THIS TRASH 0/10 SHAME ON THE GAME DEV
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →omg what times +++++
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →100% nostalgia. I still have the original 5x installation floppy disks somewhere.... Great game for those of us who remember DOS.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →such an old game. only get it if you remember playing it back in the day or have a thing for old games. i dont think its held up very well over the years lol
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Slipstream 5000 is an ancient game from 1995. It's a whopping 29 years old at the time of this review. The game lacks support for any modern gaming display resolutions (or widescreen monitors), hasn't been modernised or updated to run smoothly on modern gaming PCs. Despite this lack of modernisation, it carries a pretty high price tag for such an ancient game. This seems to have been put on Steam as a nostalgia gouge, or just a cash grab to try profit from abandonware. This is a simple 3D…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good quality and the idea is quite novel at that time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's like if WipEout and Descent had a baby... and it actually predates WipEout by a few months. This is a combat racing game for MS-DOS, wherein you fly anti-gravity-assisted aircraft (at least according to the included PDF manual). And thanks to DOSBox... XInput gamepads are supported. Mostly... you'll still need a mouse and keyboard to pause the game and navigate menus. Also, avoid going under the bridge on the London circuit, try to go over it instead. Every time I've gone under it,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not bad for a 25 years old game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Everything looks like puke. The ships handle a cripple on fire.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →so guys, before u even started, be sure that u born earlier then 2000. Checked? ---> 1st of all go to settings, change controls. Up arrow <--> Down arrow, cuz that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game have same inverted vehicle control, like in BF1. Made it? ENJOY HELL RIDE BeaCHEEES.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A classic is back!!! Great game, lot of hours spent playing this game when I was a child!! :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →May Have really bad graphics but the game is amazing
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The graphics have aged pretty badly, mostly due to it being enlarged for huge modern screens. If you can play it in a smaller window it is much prettier. Gameplay wise this was a perfect combat racing/flying game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried this masterpiece on a friend's DOS machine some time ago. I liked it. Imagine my joy recieving it for my Steam account. Now, this game is... Good, what to say? It's a classic game, it's fun, it has splitscreen (that's a thing I miss in new games, local splitscreen, just because I play videogames this doesn't mean I have no friends ffs), old-style keyboard controls need skill and pratice, it's a really, really nice add to your library. I am not an old-school gamer, I'm from '97 so I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Someone asked me recently – what would I rather give up, food or sex; neither! … I'm not falling for that one again, Wife!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →epic and awesome 2 thumbs up ^ _ ^
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is older than me, but considering that it is 23 years old it is actually fun to play. DOS-BOX emulates it very well, considering how badly other younger games run nowadays, this is a solid piece of software. Slipstream 5000 really helps you to get into this nostalgic feeling while playing, so sometimes the highly overused phrase "old but gold" is still just true. Metacritic: tbd / 100 Metascore tbd / 10 User Score
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great retro classic racing game! You can play alone or with friend next to you, so it feels like old times. There are many ships to pick from and funny personas flying. Fantastic gem!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoy it. Feels like a mix of Star Wars Episode 1 Racer and Terminal Velocity. Lots of unlockable levels. Controls are a little hard to get used to at first, but once you get it, it feels fairly intuitive.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has a bad control and is pretty hard to maneuver. It also feels pretty old, being pretty dated and not really that fun. There is not much in this game actually can make you have a good time. I don't really recommend it, but since it is somewhat cheap you may as well have some fun time with it. Either way, I can't recommend it. I played this game when I was younger, but I still find it pretty bad.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Slipstream 5000, developed by Gremlin Interactive and The Software Refinery and published by Funbox Media Ltd, stands as a distinctive example of mid-90s experimentation, blending futuristic racing with aerial freedom in a way that still feels unusual even today. Rather than confining players to traditional tracks or even hover-based surfaces, the game places you in anti-gravity aircraft capable of full three-dimensional movement. This single design choice defines the entire experience,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Did anybody else play Slipstream 5000 in the mid/late '90s? My brothers and I wore this one out. Surprisingly polished air racing game with graphics that were pretty advanced for the time. AFAIK it flopped and just kind of faded into obscurity. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNBM...
neutral · AI labelView post →I was suprised it comes with emulator, because it's very old game, but still I had fun. Only what's the point of championship if it doesn't unlock tracks even if you get the first place in the championship? Nowadays these graphics can't be judged, at the time of orginal release I assuming where good. But still I had troubled in Norway because I couldn't see where snow on mountain ended and sky started. Maybe keyboard controles aren't recommended for this game, but for me they were good…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Perfectly playable in 2021 by using the sole keyboard. Forget about the mouse control as the lack of any stabilizer to the view forces to constantly compensate. I personally bound the keys to an arcade stick with great results. Some quotes from the game: - "Loom fol two mole?!" - "No crisis for the ISIS!"
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm aware that this game is a piece of history. Originally it really came out like 25 years ago. And that is a really long time, that's for sure. Sometimes I love to play some older games. Especially the games that I am familiar with. But sadly: I was not familiar with Slipstream. I decided to give this a try anyways, though. And to put it quite frankly: It's really clunky. I absolutely dislike the controls of this gem. Sure, it's a piece of history, but it's just bad. Those controls are just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(Most of my playtime was offline but I spent at least 2hrs. on this game) Great racing game after a few minutes of practice to getting used to the controls, I liked the unique tracks and different looping "theme music" each character has if you view their profile
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game to add to my classics collection and its fun to mess around in but since it runs in dos box its very laggy and the audio is also laggy but i think its because my pc cant handle dosbox! other then the lag issue its kinda fun to mess around on!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good if on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was feeling nostalgic when I got this and I dont regret it all. Graphics are of course dated from a game released in 1995. Choose your ... vehicle ? and race, its that simple. Each racer has their strengths and weaknesses from being fast but not agile or just being able to hits walls at speed with more frequency there is something for every race style. As always highy recommends this old gem .... when its on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very old, from the time 3D graphics were done on software. Still, I've never played this game before and still had fun with it now, in 2018, since I like planes and races. The announcers are pretty cringey but they do a commented lap through the stages before each race, talking about the interesting points, and this I feel should be in more racing games. You can also skip it if you want to. The crafts do feel pretty slow though. Get it only in a bundle or on a sale, unless you feel nostalgic.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is like, older than like, me like, that's like, crazy man
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →https://youtu.be/D2sFyUEUQqQ Retro futuristic racing? Count me in. This game has stood the test of time pretty well. The AI is not bad, the ten tracks are varied and well laid out, and the career is interesting becuase as you win races you get money to outfit your racer to add more speed and firepower. One caveat, while you can race with the keyboard I highly recommend a controller or joystick/flightstick for best performance. So the cons? Well the fact that there are ten vehicles is nice,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a Old game so mentioning bad graphics, controls or gameplay mechanics won't really do this game justice, the nostalgia trip alone makes this worth a purchase. The game may not have been great even back then but it does bring back childhood memories and that alone is awesome for me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good racing game, not very polished but funny eniugh )
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an old game and it shows. I don't feel it aged well enough to recommend it. That is not to say it is a bad game. Once you get the hang of it, the controls are fairly solid. The graphics are decent (compared to when the game was created). AND it lets you easily exit to dos (which can be surprisingly hard on windows these days).
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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