Auto racing is fun, and even more so in retro and big pixel mode. Very arcade-oriented cash game, Slipstream, so it’s really nice… to stream it in your underpants? Grease your joysticks but keep your jeans, because here comes a serious competitor to the legendary Outrun.
Running made easy
Let’s start by acknowledging that competition, there is in truth no question between the dashing title of Andsor and its cult elder, published more than three decades ago. In its way of swinging us directly on the circuit, the family tie nevertheless bursts the screen as soon as the game is launched and the tutorial sent, light as it should be.
Disarmingly simple, the gameplay speaks for itself: I roll with A, go backwards with B and rewind with Y, in the event of a course error. More elementary, you die, my dear Watson. A very good point in favor of Slipstreamwhose immediacy of the grip is matched only by the speed on the asphalt.
At full speed
With unparalleled speed, our cars prove to be particularly responsive and pleasant to drive, moreover equipped with comfort options relating, in particular, to their weight: light, heavy or normal, the latter directly influences handling and the effective speed of the vehicle, including the skids achievable with a simple press of button B, can otherwise be fully automated. An aspect not to be overlooked for those who want to negotiate the many hairpin bends as well as possible, and thus snatch up precious seconds at the finish.
However, beware of too many skids, the one that will take you straight into the background after several rolls without your bodywork suffering, in the absence of damage management – retrogaming obligatory. What satisfaction, too, not to detect any scratches on the paintwork of the barely ten or so cars available in the game! That, however, is more than enough, like the game modes: free race, Battle Royale, championship and let’s go, the bouquet is quite full.
Back to the future
Well stocked, and nicely matched: visually, Slipstream perfectly fulfills the tacit contract, which consists in pushing the homage paid to its illustrious models, down to the smallest pixel. Circuits with ingenious layouts benefit from this retro patina, pixelated but not too much, smoothed without overdoing it, magnifying the whole game. Exhilarating, the sensation of speed borders on jubilation.
Equally enjoyable, the soundtrack is illustrated by its synth pads which, coupled with the graphics, are reminiscent of the song True Survivor, by David Hasselhoff – an opinion only binding on the author of these lines. Enough to keep up the pace during the beautiful ten hours it took us to complete, complete the title, which is also fully translated into French, and unlock its successes. An estimate nevertheless largely dependent on the investment of each, according to the pleasure felt controller in hand.