Screamer

Streamer ventures into a territory many games haven't explored in a while—the realm of arcade racing—through an experience that uses its solid storyline as a Trojan horse to deliver an engaging and surprisingly deep driving system, accompanied by attack and defense mechanics that may not be immediately intuitive but are a lot of fun.

Screamer is a 90s anime-inspired arcade racer with a strong narrative focus. Its stylized futuristic visuals and engaging story, though initially slow, pick up pace, revealing interesting lore and character motivations. The gameplay, while accessible, offers surprising depth, rewarding precise driving and turbo management. Destructible cars and an Overdrive mode add to the excitement. While the game excels in its core mechanics and visual presentation, its biggest flaw lies in unbalanced difficulty spikes, particularly in the story mode, where some challenges feel unfair due to an overly aggressive AI.

Screamer is a bold and exciting arcade racer that stands out among the many similar titles in the video game landscape. Milestone has made bold choices, and most of them work well, with the exception of a story with slightly overly wordy dialogue. The races are original and challenging, and once you understand all its mechanics, mastering them is very satisfying. Completing the experience is a clean and realistic visual style, combined with anime-style characters.

The rebirth of *Screamer*—in the form of a futuristic, cyberpunk-themed arcade racer set in the distant future—has truly won us over, delivering some of the most carefree hours we’ve spent with racing games in recent years. Its enjoyable handling model, lengthy Story mode populated by memorable characters (though, admittedly, this mode suffers from a few structural and pacing issues), and inspired art direction make it a highly recommendable title for any fan of the genre, regardless of their prior experience. It is a game born of an old-school development philosophy—one that has been modernized and made appealing once again to an incredibly diverse audience. While a few issues persist regarding track design and certain mechanics that feel less polished than others, by and large, this marks another bullseye for the Milan-based studio.

Screamer won’t be for everyone. It’s challenging. It’s unique. It’s different. But it deserves your time and attention, even if you aren’t a huge fan of anime.