Screamer

While it slightly suffers from a few odd decisions about its default control scheme and the direction of the voice acting (though the acting itself is top shelf), you’ll definitely find the adrenaline rush you might be craving in Screamer. It absolutely oozes quality in almost all aspects. If Mario Kart is too silly and Forza is too serious, this might just be the perfect in-between for you.

Screamer is an exciting arcade game that likes taking risks, and for the most part, it succeeds in what it tries to achieve. The driving system, albeit annoying at first, grows on you, and eventually you feel like you’re one with your car. The game world is beautifully made, and the anime parts of the game are nicely done, too. Moreover, the game’s performance is great, I never experienced any major frame drops, crashes or something that would impede the gameplay. However, Screamer has a few issues. The story mode has forgettable characters and it’s not the strongest part of the game. Also, I felt that the sound design was not ideal. But as a complete package, Screamer is definitely an arcade racer that everyone needs to try out. The sense of speed is there, being able to attack others and work to load up your skills, that feels very satisfying. The game is very rewarding to play, and you will soon get past any of its mishaps.

Screamer ends up being exactly the kind of surprise that reminds you why you fell in love with racing games in the first place as a kid. It’s bold, a little chaotic, and completely committed to putting gameplay front and center, even when a few rough edges manage to show through. Between the unique twin-stick handling, the risk-reward chaos of the Echo System, and a story that leans hard into its over-the-top anime inspirations, it manages to carve out an identity that feels both fresh and nostalgic. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be because when everything clicks during racing, Screamer is an absolute thrill to play. For anyone craving an arcade racer with personality and depth with a riveting storyline, this is one worth taking for a spin at full throttle.

Screamer comes as a genuinely refreshing surprise for the genre. The anime sequences are striking, the story is bold and unpredictable, and the characters are vibrant, each driven by clear motivations. The addition of racing mechanics to a visual novel feels natural rather than gimmicky, blending seamlessly with the experience. On top of that, it’s both engaging and satisfyingly challenging to master.

While not for everyone due to its twin-stick controls, Screamer still delivers a memorable racing experience. It takes some getting used to and hurts the pick up and play nature of what would normally be an arcade-style racer, but the end result is a fantastic racing game that hits on all cylinders more often than not. Once getting in the groove with it, it's tough to put down outside of issues with rubberband AI hurting the more-important campaign races, and the inability to have single-stick controls does hurt the potential playerbase a bit. Still, Screamer has a killer soundtrack with a lot of effort put into its anime-infused storyline and voice work. There's a lot to enjoy for racing fans starving for some arcade-inspired action.

Screamer started as a frustrating reimagining of an arcade drifting racer, with a downtrodden, slow-moving plot. By the end, I wanted more, and I became a drift racing believer. I’ll never win an online match, but I’ll take losing for another chance to race in this universe.

Screamer delivers a bold take on arcade racing, blending high-speed action with layered combat mechanics and an unexpectedly deep narrative. Its innovative dual-stick driving system and interconnected gameplay systems add strategic depth, but also come with a steep learning curve and occasional pacing issues. While not the most accessible racer, those willing to master its complexity will find a stylish and rewarding experience with a strong sense of identity.

After many hours playing Screamer

Screamer is a rare Arcade racing game featuring both a rich story and a wealth of fun game mechanics and tracks to get lost in.

Screamer combines a variety of unique driving mechanics to create an engaging driving experience. Backed up by an electrifying soundtrack and some flashy visuals, Screamer should be on any arcade racing fan's wishlist. There are some curious design choices regarding car balancing and objectives in the story mode that can frustrate some missions, but by and large, Screamer is a positive experience.

Screamer is a mechanically brilliant arcade racer that successfully blends 90s nostalgia with a deep, technical twin-stick control scheme and a striking 80s anime aesthetic. While the ambitious 70-chapter story campaign suffers from uneven pacing and melodramatic writing, the actual racing feels incredibly visceral and rewarding, delivering one of the most intense and addictive driving experiences in recent years.

As a new entry in an old-school racing series, Screamer hardly bears resemblance to its origins. But at the same time, it shoots for a similar target. This is an over the top spectacle of a racer that needles in an interest in sim-adjacent car physics and handling. The target just looks a lot different these days, as the definition of “over the top” is subject to inflation here in the video game world. Three decades later, a realistic setting with cool, intense animations has translated to realistic physics in an epic-length anime story with similar production values and style to something like Dispatch. It’s absurd, but that absurdity is executed with such confidence that it sells the whole package, warts and all. Prospective fans who are more on the casual side will struggle, but in this case that struggle has an excellent reward system in the form of a storytelling strength you almost never see in this genre.

When you cut through the artificial difficulty nonsense, Screamer ends up becoming one of the tightest, stylish racers you'll play this year. It's just a shame you have to sit through a poor story mode to get to the good stuff.

Screamer is a fast, chaotic arcade racer that brings back the spirit of the classics with a modern twist. The speed and twin-stick drifting feel fantastic, but aggressive AI and rubberbanding keep it from reaching its full potential.

When it comes to racing games, Screamer asserts that realism is overrated. It’s an adrenaline-fueled blast from the past that feels current, too. Although it can be a bit repetitive and over-exacting at times, there’s a lot of depth to Screamer’s narrative premise and racing mechanics. Screamer is definitely worth a look for racing fans a bit tired of another lap around the traditional tracks.

Screamer (2026) reimagines the classic arcade racer with a bold anime-inspired identity and a unique twin-stick driving system enhanced by the ECHO mechanics, delivering fast, stylish, and surprisingly strategic races. While its accessible gameplay, strong audiovisual direction, and fresh combat elements stand out, the narrative remains secondary and the overall depth feels limited for its premium price. It’s a distinctive and entertaining arcade experience, but one that may not fully justify its cost for all players.

Unfortunately, the story campaign is too linear and dialogue-heavy, but Screamer's gameplay is a blast and satisfies the hunger for classic arcade racing fun.

Screamer is a compelling purchase for any racing fan looking to trade technical simulations for pure, stylish speed. Its unique twin-stick drifting mechanics offer a refreshing challenge for those tired of standard controls, while the sheer variety provided by the 32 tracks and character-specific abilities keeps the gameplay from feeling repetitive. With its vibrant cyberpunk aesthetic, a pulse-pounding electronic rock soundtrack, and a wealth of game modes that cater to both solo and social players, it delivers a high-value package that captures the best of the arcade racing spirit.

A lightning-fast and entertaining arcade racer that is slowed down by its wide array of game systems.

An immaculately presented arcade racer with a thousand good ideas, but the twin-stick drifting wasn’t one of them.

Screamer is an arcade racer with questionable handling and absurd difficulty spikes, while the AI uses some fairly unfair tricks. Still, the game turned out to be interesting thanks to its complex boost system, which turns monotonous races into a tactical battle of wits.

Make no mistake: Screamer is anything but an accessible game. Its unique, meaty gameplay demands a significant amount of time to master; its difficulty spikes—at times unfair, with visibility issues in certain overly cluttered stages—put players to the test; its progression mechanics are also rather shallow, and its stunning cinematics are few and far between. Nevertheless, it remains a racing title that dares to be different—one that frequently succeeds in hooking, thrilling, and intoxicating the player through the unique stylistic exercise it offers. It is a game of drifting and vehicular combat situated at the crossroads of a ruthless *Ridge Racer* and a brute-force *Burnout*—generous in both dialogue and tracks, and punctuated by an excellent soundtrack and art direction. Lacking any currency system or car upgrade mechanics, Screamer still falls short on structural depth to truly ascend to the ranks of the genre's greats; perhaps future updates will make the difference. In the meantime, Milestone’s offering is more than laudable, proving that the Italian studio can—and should—break free from the perpetual confines of pure simulation: flirting with arcade-style gameplay, science fiction, and Japanese animation really does pay off.

Screamer is as captivating as it is frustrating. Driven by a stunning art direction and thrilling gameplay, it truly shines when it lets players express their skills freely. However, questionable balancing choices too often hold it back, preventing it from reaching the heights it clearly aims for.

Screamer becomes repetitive, overly simplistic and needlessly verbose, a hybrid vehicle for narrative and racing where the only thing less engaging than the off-track drama is the driving itself. [Issue#423, p.114]