PC Gamer

You drive as fast as you can across
roads, racing towards a checkpoint
before your timer runs out. Hit one
and your time is extended, and you
choose whether to go left or right to a
new area. And then you do it all
again, and again, until
you’ve visited five
locations and win. Yes,
it is the exact structure
of OutRun. Slipstream
is a brash, confident
game, and that means
wearing its inspirations
on its sleeves, and on
its chest, and basically
as a full body suit – a second skin to
be modified and adjusted to fit.
There are four buttons. Left and
right keys handle steering, X is
accelerate, C is brake. Except you
should never brake, obviously.

I

t’s a shame that you can’t buy OutRun on Steam, GOG or any of the
digital distribution services – not since the disappearance of
OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast. OutRun is such a pure, uncomplicated
masterpiece, letting you experience the joy of skidding past traffic
as you race along winding roads, blasting out the absurdly (and
thus perfectly) named Magical Sound Shower. But while we’re severely
lacking in OutRun, we do now have Slipstream, and it’s almost as good.

Braking is for cowards – for people

who don’t deserve joy. Instead, you

tap the brake and immediately

accelerate, launching into a drift that

defies physics by making you go

faster. The trick to being good at

Slipstream is mastering

the drift, and navigating

around traffic as you

skid. It’s tricky, but

feels good regardless.

I found the standard

arcade mode – ie, the

classic OutRun

experience – pretty

difficult, even once I

started to get the hang of drifting. But

it’s gratifying to see your

improvement reflected in the

distance you travel, and there are

smaller progression markers

throughout that hold your interest,

such as rivals who challenge you in

each zone. The Grand Prix mode

feels more manageable. It’s a series of

races around a single track with no

traffic, letting you practice without

worrying about Sunday drivers

interrupting your flow.

GIVE ‘EM THE SLIP

Arguably the weakest part of the

game is the system it’s named after.

Get behind another car and the word

“SLIPSTREAM” is spelt out in the

bottom corner of the screen. When it

completes, you get a boost of speed.

It’s a fine idea, but only seems useful

when I’m trying to regain speed after

a crash. In those situations it’s handy,

but not so revelatory that it feels

worth naming the game after. Even

so, Slipstream is well worth your time.

After all, it’s basically OutRun, and

OutRunis great.

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?

I’m running out of new

ways to say that it’s

basicallyOutRun.

EXPECT TO PAY

£7

DEVELOPER

andsor

PUBLISHER

In-house

REVIEWED ON

Core i5-6600K, 16GB

RAM, GTX 1070

MULTIPLAYER

None

LINK

http://www.andsor.com/

slipstream

79

Barely deviates from the

OutRun formula, which is

probably why it’s such a

pleasant and enjoyable

arcade-style racer.

VERDICT

OUTRUN AMOK

Drifting into OutRun’s SLIPSTREAM. By Phil Savage

The trick to

being good at

Slipstream is

mastering the

drift

Slipstream

REVIEW

The further you get, the more

traffic you’ll need to avoid.

This is one hell of

a retro aesthetic.

Rivals include ghosts

and cyborgs.

Faster vehicles

drift erratically.