Sandro Luiz de Paula is a 34-year-old Latin American developer who likes retro racing games more than life itself. Leak. Chase HQ. Top Gear Race. These three games were the basis for Slipstream, a title that de Paula released on PC a few years ago and is now making the leap to consoles.
I vividly remember the first time I saw an Out Run arcade. I was nine years old and it was the strangest thing I had ever seen in my life. My dear grandmother noticed how bright my eyes were when I saw her and she threw some coins into the machine while she watched me play. This has been my biggest achievement in the video game world so far. Yu Suzuki’s mythical Out Run was magical, and you can tell it’s the foundation of what Ansdor Studio created with Slipstream. Pixelated roads and fields roll by at breakneck speeds while a jagged-edged sports car zooms around corners. The A button accelerates, and braking with B makes the car spin, skid and slide. The drift animation is done in two steps, and it’s two puny, silly frames that are so dated that they make everything look so easy. The game mechanics are fully digital and flat.
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Just like in Out Run, if you hit a tree or building, your car will spin in the air for a few seconds before landing on all four wheels and speeding on. The only innovation compared to the Sega classic is the rivalry part. Each track is a race against a specific opponent’s car. Your rival drives and teases you through pixelated dialogue, telling you his car is better, that you suck, and even what he’s eating that day. However, the rivals aren’t complicated, the races aren’t challenging, and they’re hardly close, causing the dynamics of the game to become monotonous. But Slipstream isn’t bad. It’s a retro game, charming and attractively designed, but the fun ends soon as all the challenges can be completed in about 25 minutes.
Considering that Slipstream was only created by a person whose childhood was filled with this kind of pixelated street games and crazy driving, it would be unfair to be too harsh, but for me this should be a free mobile game.
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