Screamer, the racing/anime hybrid from veteran developers Milestone, harks back to racers of the 2000s, a time of Ridge Racer and Sega Rally, when the drift, rather than the well judged apex, was king. Gone is any pretence of accurate physics modelling and tire deformation, instead replaced by a mastery of a whole new style of control scheme and the reaction speeds required of an F1 driver.
You see, rather than just using the left stick to steer, Screamer requires the use of both thumbs to deftly steer your neon-streaked street-racer through the twist and turns of its many courses, the left thumb controlling the overall car position and the right dictating the angle of drift. It’s kind of off-putting at first but after a couple of hours and more than a little determination, you’ll be putting Daigo Saito to shame as you cleanly sweep through what seemed previously impossible. It took a while but I’ve grown to enjoy this new control method despite initial resistance.
It’s not only this new control scheme that differs from the pick up and play style of gaming that most racers offer. Screamer is heavy on narrative, provided in many, many anime cutscenes. It’s fair to say that in the opening chapters of the campaign, you’ll be spending more time meeting the many characters of the absolutely batshit story than you will on track. With a cast of almost every nationality on Earth, Milestone has crafted a tale that wouldn’t be out of place as a 24-part Netflix anime series, with beautifully drawn cutscenes detailing the lives of each of our protagonists, each drawn into the underground racing tournament for their own unique reasons.
From pop starlets to ex military contractors, there’s a whole lot of story here to wrap your head around, each speaking in their native tongue (which I definitely did not expect), each with a depth of character that I’ve not seen in the racing genre ever before. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan, as I much prefer to get stuck straight into the racing. But you have to give it to the team for bringing something different to the table.
Though it may seem more than enough to deal with a new control style, Screamer also has you hitting buttons in a “Gears of War reload” style, as you switch gears, adding boost to your Sync meter, a resource used for boosting at opportune moments. Holding the left bumper then releasing at just the right moment will see you fly past your opponents whilst also building up your other meter (Entropy), allowing you to go on the offensive, smashing through the cars before you with nary a care in the world or to cloak your car in a protective energy shield, preventing them from doing the same to you.
With characters each having a special talent, such as extra boost time when performing a perfect button press or building Sync continuously, Screamer offers more than just stupendously fast racing. There’s another layer of tactics here that can be used to out-play your opposition, should you have the manual dexterity and presence of mind to pull it off.
The meat of the game is made up of a tournament put on by the mysterious Mr A, voiced by none other than industry veteran Troy Baker. You’ll be taking part in a mixed bag of races whilst being provided off track drama in the form of fully voiced cutscenes akin to a visual novel. It’s certainly a more unique presentation of the racing genre and is very well executed.
Outside of the campaign tournament, there’s a slew of other options to whet your racing appetite. From time attacks, checkpoint races, customizable racing series, and online multiplayer to team races and four player couch co-op, there’s plenty here to keep you coming back for more, beyond seeing just how the stories of Hiroshi, Ritsuko, Gage,and Fermi (his dog, that can drive, obviously) play out.
I prefer the immediacy of these arcade modes and they don’t suffer from some of the difficulty spikes found in the main campaign. Whilst I’m not averse to a challenge, there were some races that had me gritting my teeth through a third or fourth attempt whilst I was breezing through many of the others. It’s nothing that a little post-launch tweaking wouldn’t fix but can be a tad frustrating in its present state. With a mode for every mood, it’s here that I’ve really gotten to enjoy the unique gameplay and style of Screamer.
Speaking of style, Screamer is a looker, whether you’re tearing through the brightly lit, night-time streets or sliding sideways across the asphalt through damp forests, with a chunky, cartoon-ish look that just comes across as really solid. With a vast array of customisable parts and colours, you can soon put together a look that’s perfect for you. Combine this with an anime presentation style that’s not a million miles away from a Persona or Danganronpa and you’ve got a game that stands out beautifully from the racing crowd.
The other notable stylistic choice is the soundtrack and it’s here that I have to take my hat off to Milestone for a fantastic selection of tunes that feel like they were hand-picked just for me. You know that it’s a killer selection of sounds when you find yourself pausing and looking up the artist on Spotify mid-race. Sounding a lot like what would happen if you threw Babymetal, Spor and Sewerslvt into a blender, I bloody adore it.
Screamer won’t be for everyone. It’s challenging. It’s unique. It’s different. But, for those that give up their preconceptions of what a racing game should be (myself included), there’s a lot to enjoy. Visually striking and sonically excellent, an arcade racer with fighting game sensibilities, Screamer deserves your time and attention, even if you aren’t a huge fan of anime.
