I finally purchased this game after it recently went on sale for $41 USD on Steam--the price was
always my biggest turn off. A game
this niche
cannot be asking full price. So many of the game's problems that I experienced would be solved with a cheaper price tag
even though I feel like this game was
made for me! The combination of a visual novel and racing game is something I didn't realize I was missing my entire life
which is why the price still baffles me to this day--the "casual" gamer (AKA those who are most likely to pick up and play something like Forza Horizon on GamePass) will 100% not have the patience for the gameplay loop this game offers.
Anyways, I wanted to touch on some points of the game because I just finished the story mode. It took me around 15 hours to do.
Handling: I was
extremely skeptical of the twin-stick controls ever since I saw my buddy play it. I thought the cars didn't respond to inputs very well and it had this skill floor that was pretty high to have an enjoyable experience.
Turns out, he just sucks at the game
I don't know if it's my bias/prior skillset, but having played the
extremely iconic Need for Speed 2015 (sarcasm), I found the controls tricky to learn but definitely manageable. The cars basically don't steer if you use the left stick exclusively like in NFS 2015 and, just like in said game, you need to master the use of the right-stick--drift stick, like brake-to-drift in NFS--to get the cars around corners with any speed. You also need to use the brakes
very often to make tight turns.
I think a
big reason why people don't like the twin-stick controls or the physics in general is because the game does a
horrendous job of teaching the player and letting them get to grips with the controls. In a design decision that
utterly baffles me, there is no menu or screen that displays car stats! The introductory team, The Green Reapers, all handle completely differently from one another, and the difference is more pronounced with the other teams. You'll get to some characters like Noboru and Hina whose cars absolutely destroy the rest of the cast in the corners, and others like Lavinia and Akemi who can't take turns to save their lives.
It just baffles me that the game has you swapping between characters very often in the first hour of gameplay instead of sticking with someone like Hiroshi, a very neutral character, to allow the player to get to grips with the control scheme. It doesn't help that there are a lot of visual novels sections early on, so you don't get much chance
to learn how to race. The addition of the Shift and Boost options so early on also made the learning curve pretty tough for new players--this is why the demo (which, by the way, was release
TWO MONTHS AFTER THE GAME CAME OUT, RIGHT ALONGSIDE HORIZON 6), has a negative rating on Steam. The game is asking for a
very specific player because casuals get bent trying to learn the game.
Story: I know the baseline/expectations for racing game stories is on the floor (in my opinion, the last "good" racing game story was Need for Speed: Heat, only to be ruined by a rushed ending), and we don't get many of them to begin with, but Screamer's story takes the cake as one of the best in the genre in my opinion.
Obviously a lot of that has to do with the game intentionally making its story a focus of the game via the visual novel sections. There are a total of about 20 characters in the game and I felt like each of them
genuinely could make an argument for why they should be the main character. The "main" overarching story reminded me a lot of Hot Wheels: World Race and Hot Wheels: Acceleracers (wow, shocker right?
); a mysterious benefactor recruits the world's best drivers for the illustrious Screamer competition, with the prize of (not a joke)
$100 BILLION DOLLARS up for grabs. However, it's all a ruse for something more sinister, with each of the five competing teams gunning for something alongside the cash price. (Almost) All the characters bring some of their personal baggage with them and there were some genuinely fantastic story arcs and resolutions that make me want to see more of these characters!
Milestone does too, but having the balls to present an ending that allows for a sequel is hilarious for a game that I doubt made enough return on investment.
Gameplay and AI: As mentioned earlier, for me at least, I was able to get to grips with the twin-stick control scheme pretty well. You kinda have to be "good" with it because the tracks range from simple oval-shaped city streets to dense, touge-style lefts-and-rights within forests and abandoned factories. Some drivers have better cornering ability and others have better straight line speed.
I haven't mentioned this yet, but a key part of Screamer is the combat system--to be flat out honest, I didn't like it very much because it is really finicky in terms of handling. There's no "lock-on" ability to target another car, meaning you just kinda activate Strike, try aiming at an opponent, and test your luck. I will admit that it is extremely satisfying blowing someone else up, but I do wish this part of the gameplay was easier to execute--I found myself often just gaining the lead and running away with it versus participating in the combat.
AI is pretty brutal too. I don't
think there's rubberbanding (I know for a fact there's no catch-up in case you find yourself in last), but I do believe the default AI is based on you having a decent handling of the driving. There are difficulty options in any case. I haven't played any of the other modes nestled in Arcade or Multiplayer yet, so I can't comment on that as of right now.
Graphics: I complained about this earlier, but it is kinda jarring that we have this anime aesthetic for the characters yet the environments and backdrops all look like they were pulled out of Cyberpunk 2077. The actual cutscenes look great--I wished the entire game looked like that instead of, and pardon the terminology, Unreal Engine-slop.
Soundtrack: Fantastic. Phenomenal. I found myself replaying the Anaconda Corp theme and Gage's garage them on repeat.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with the game and don't regret spending the $41 on it. However, I do want to
stress that this is
not at all casual friendly. You definitely need to sink time into the handling and combat to have a good time with the game. It's just too bad the terrible demo they released DOESN'T HAVE THE OPTION TO DO TIME TRIALS??? HUH??? DOES MILESTONE WANT THIS GAME TO FAIL???
I would LOVE to meet the people who said this game had to be sold at full price
