Slipstream Review

Slipstream drifted its way onto the Xbox marketplace April 7^th of 2022 and did so sporting vibrant colors. Developed by Ansdor Games and published by Blitworks, this simple 3D animated drifting arcade racer is inspired by classics of the genre such as Outrun and involves drifting around corners to avoid other racers and vehicles. The goal is simple: win the race while avoiding as many obstacles to maintain your velocity and top speed. The game does a wonderful job walking a fine line of tailoring to gamers who prefer a challenge and those who want a simple relaxing drive in the past. There are in game settings that affect and alter the game speed as well as difficulty settings to make the other drivers impaired with weaker performing cars. There is also Automatic Drifting, which even I found myself using not long after starting this game up. The difficulty can be altered to fit the player’s preferred playstyle letting them customize these settings to fit their playstyle.

Visually, this game is true 1990’s art house, the aesthetically pleasing 90’s art patterns decorated throughout the menus making it a pleasurable nostalgia trip to look at. This game is vibrant with color switching between the tracks really shows off the beautifully crafted levels each unique and animated. The way the core of the game works is there are different areas and in order to reach them, the player has to choose the correct route. For example, the player will have to either go left or right at the end of a track but the connected tracks always stay the same. So, in order to experience all the tracks, it’ll take several runs of the tour mode. The graphics overall are easy on the eyes. There are some features that can agitate such as screen shake or heavy usage of vibration, but these are optional in the settings. The exotic levels cover the globe and are a joy to drift through. My personal favorite track based on the art was Highgate Cemetery, a vivid purple night sky illuminated by a full green moon.  

The gameplay for Slipstream is filled with drifting and not much else other than seeing the sights and experiencing the music as you race through the tracks. The physics in the game are simple enough, avoid other drivers to reach top speed and gain a lead. The cars fortunately gain speed rapidly regardless of inclines on the road and make it a bit hard to lose momentum thanks to a semi handy rewind feature. This rewind ability can only go as far back as five seconds, and will also require time to recharge before rewinding fully again. This is a handy feature for a game as fast paced and manages to make those sharp quick drifts in between racers easier to manage.

Of course, there is also Slipstreaming by drafting behind another racer and then overtaking them with a speed boost to try and climb the positions. If playing on some of the higher difficulties with no assistance, drifting is quite the challenge to master. I started out diving into the Battle Royale mode this game offers and had a tough time being faster than the other 16 racers. Battle Royale mode eliminated one racer each lap and you have to gain and maintain the lead for 15 laps to clear the mode. There are also other modes such as Grand Prix, Cannonball runs, time trials, and some minor car customization variant of each mode allowing the player to use their winnings for upgrades in between races. These upgrades aren’t permanent but are cheap enough to quickly earn through the races of Grand Prix. There are roughly 15 tracks plus reverse options so double if you count those. Between the five cars the player can choose from at the main menu all vary based on their three performance markers: Top Speed, Acceleration, and Handling.

The music is another major accomplishment for this indie title as there are selectable tracks to pick from in the pasue menu. The tracks are reminiscent of retro vaporwave beats. All laid back with some faster paced songs in races. I loved listening to the OST, truly. The audio apart from the in-game music is what is expected from a classic inspired arcade game. Menu sound effects and tire screeching while drifting. The general sound effects I turned down after a while to focus on the music instead.

The longevity of this title is worth the price you pay for. In my opinion, the game is rather cheap considering there is several hours’ worth of content for the player to enjoy if they are interested in earning in game 100%, which is easy to see what you are missing at the save select screen. There are many possible route combinations that will require many full runs through a tour. The player must also visit each track and win races throughout all the modes offered. There isn’t any customization beyond buffs for performance, but the game already offers so much for the current price.

Conclusion

I personally loved playing Slipstream, it grew on me with a bit of time enjoying the art and music designs. What was even more impressive is that this Indie title is from a one-man team and this is his third game, but first on console. Sandro Luiz De Paula is the man who made this masterful homage to classic arcade style racers and should be proud. It’s a simple game, but works with no issues I found. The variety of difficulty options allow for the player to establish their playstyle letting them pick the pace. The art style of colorful exotic levels makes it fun to race through over and over switching paths up each tour finding different exits. The game doesn’t offer a lot through variety of cars or customization options; however, it doesn’t need to. The game is relatively cheap for what is being offered with stunning visuals and audio design.