Again within the mid-Eighties, online game veteran Yu Suzuki went on a brief sabbatical round Europe, researching the unique backdrops for trendy arcade smash, OutRun. Virtually three many years later, the sequence’ distinctive blue skies and glowing oceans have grow to be one thing of a racing sub-genre; very like WipEout, there’s a model new crop of indie builders, all of whom have been motivated to create recent titles impressed by their youth.
Slipstream, developed by a single Brazilian auteur, is OutRun in all the pieces however identify. The principle mode, Grand Tour, sees you right-angle sliding your approach by means of a pyramid of glamorous backdrops, from sprawling emerald hills to golden Nationwide Parks. Alongside the best way you’ll face off in opposition to eccentric rivals – one a dead-ringer for Bob Ross – as you weave by means of visitors and sprint to the subsequent vacation spot. There’s no gear shift right here, only a slipstream system which sees your prime pace considerably enhance whenever you’re virtually touching the rear wheel of one other motorist.
There are a handful of various vehicles to drive, every with totally different parameters to grasp, and you should use these within the extra laps-focused Grand Prix mode, which repurposes places from the principle recreation and transforms them into circuits. One neat wrinkle right here is that you could select between inventory vehicles or an improve system, the place you earn cash primarily based in your place in every race, which you’ll be able to then use to personalise the parameters of your automotive as you need. Cut up-screen multiplayer, in addition to a handful of different novelty modes, like an elimination-inspired Battle Royale mode, spherical out a beneficiant roster of choices.
The gameplay feels nice, with these aforementioned 90-degree drifts requiring you to bounce on the analogue sticks delicately, and there’s a lightning quick tempo to the motion which is trance-inducing. The core course design isn’t significantly impressed – you’re both sliding or going straight, with little variation in between – however the tracks right here aren’t purported to rival the Nurburgring: that is pure nostalgia, with scorching synthesisers and optionally available scanlines. It’s a tantalising ode to a timeless period of arcade racers, and one we reckon even Yu Suzuki himself could be proud to place his identify on.
