Slipstream | Xbox Series X Review

I really seem to be reviewing a lot of racing games lately, and why not? I absolutely adore the genre, starting with my time as a kid playing Super Mario Kart. Then my adoration pretty much solidified by the late 90s, around the same time arcade racers were at their peak. When writing reviews, I try to avoid drawing comparisons to other games as much as possible when describing its ins and outs. I feel it lacks credibility in my abilities as a critic if I’m constantly referencing other games to convey my thoughts.

However, when a game pays homage to another title to the point that it’s nearly identical, it can be damn near impossible not to draw immediate comparisons. Such is the case with Slipstream, a well crafted retro inspired racing game developed by Ansdor and published by Blitworks. The TL;DR version, it’s a love letter to OutRun.

Magical Sound Shower

Slipstream is a nostalgic throwback racer featuring 16-bit sprites, but with the dash of modern sensibilities and mechanics that make it stand out from its inspiration. Not only does it pay homage to OutRun, but also to the era it was released. Slipstream has a lot to offer in terms of various game modes and content. But apart from the primary mode, the others start feeling similar and repetitive, like a chef using the same five ingredients in every dish.

The main portion of the game is the Grand Tour mode, aka OutRun mode. In most ways it plays exactly the same; drive through a section, avoid traffic, only to come to a fork in the road and choose your next area before the clock runs out. But in Slipstream, you’re not just out for a pleasant drive with a woman way out of your league in the passenger seat. In each new area you enter, you’ll encounter a rival that’ll challenge you to a race, taunting and goading you along the way. The rivals you come across are an assorted bunch consisting of 80s archetypes or a pop culture reference. For instance, I spotted a Doc Brown and a Bob Ross look alike, to give you some idea.

As for the other race modes, it’s everything you’ve seen in countless racing games. Time Attack, Single Race, Elimination Race, it’s all there and they certainly add replayability, despite the repetitiveness. The game does have multiplayer, but I was unable to try it out since it’s local multiplayer only and I’m the only gamer in my household. I know that not having online capabilities can be a big turn-off for gamers these days.

Passing Breeze

Though not as punishing as OutRun, Slipstream isn’t easy by any means either. It’s just difficult enough to incentivize you to play one more round, much like an arcade game. Drifting is the most prominent, and also the most frustrating, mechanic when racing, as nearly 90% of the tracks have sharp corners and hairpin turns. Seriously, it makes Lombard Street in San Francisco look like a straight thoroughfare in comparison. I had a hard time mastering the drift, but luckily there is an option for automatic drifting which might seem like a cheat to some, but for me it’s a godsend. For the life of me I just couldn’t master it.

Second major mechanic is as the title suggests, the slipstream mechanic. Staying behind another vehicle for a few seconds will activate a boost, which is great for overtaking other racers and rivals. Executing the perfect slipstream maneuver and a perfect drift is difficult to pull off, but it’s amazingly satisfying when done. But more often than not, I found myself miscalculating a turn only to crash into other cars or the environment. Luckily if you do crash, the game is forgiving enough that you won’t lose too much momentum. But if you do crash and all hope is lost, there is a handy Forza style rewind feature that allows you to undo the last five seconds, but it requires a cooldown after each use. 

Step On Beat

The graphics in Slipstream uses old school 16-bit style sprites and as far as I can tell, no modern techniques were used in development. Everything was made using old school design methods like sprite scaling, rotating, and parallax scrolling. Just like Gravity Chase, another retro throwback racing game I reviewed, Slipstream was developed primarily by one person. The graphics are bright, vibrant, colorful, and pixelated. 

Each background environment is distinctive from the next and they are all quite pretty to look at. And as if this game isn’t already overflowing with 80s nostalgia, there are various filter options available to enhance the old school feel including adding scanlines and curving the picture for that tube TV look. When using the rewind mechanic, the image will distort and wobble like a VCR and will have “FFWD” and “REW” in big white letters in the corner. It’s a neat touch for sure.

Keeping in line with the era it’s emulating, the music consists once again of the synthpop, retrowave genre. Looking back, that’s now three games I’ve reviewed where I mention the soundtrack featuring a majority of synthwave music. It’s experienced quite a resurgence in the last few years and no one ever went broke selling nostalgia. At least having it here makes sense, as every ounce of this game is meant to trigger memories of yesteryear.

Splash Wave

Overall, this game is fantastic. Apart from the drifting mechanic and the difficulty curve, I can’t really think of anything else wrong with Slipstream. The fact that this was developed by one ambitious game developer just elevates my recommendation even higher, and I applaud their efforts. It runs smooth and plays smooth, and anyone who has fond memories of racing games released between 1986 and 1993 will have a blast playing this. Now if some ambitious developer out there could please make either a Hydro Thunder or San Francisco Rush successor, I’ll be a happy camper!

 

This review is based on an Xbox Series X/S copy of Slipstream provided by BlitWorks for coverage purposes. It is also available on Xbox One, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and GOG.