With a modern vision for classic arcade racing gameplay, distinctive visuals and a captivating soundtrack, BlitWorks say Slipstream will take players on a road trip around the world and beyond.
Spanish indie publisher BlitWorks has announced their arcade racer Slipstream launches this April 7, 2022 on Xbox, PlayStation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch at a price of £7.19 / $9.99 USD / €8.99. The game has been in the making for four years by Brazilian solo developer Sandro Luiz de Paula (ansdor), who built his own custom game engine that recreates the sprite scaling graphic techniques used in 80s and 90s racing games to bring the authentic retro experience to modern hardware, taking advantage of the extra power to provide smooth, constant 60 FPS gameplay.
The combination of the colourful pixel art graphics with a soundtrack that draws from synth pop and jazz fusion influences by Stefan Moser, aka Effoharkay, sets the tone for a race across a variety of exotic locations from all around the world, including cities, deserts, forests, mountains and beaches. Drifting, rewinding and slipstreaming mechanics add depth to the driving gameplay, and the result is a strategic, challenging and exciting experience.
GAME FEATURES
- The real thing: Built on a custom engine, Slipstream brings authentic 2D sprite-scaling graphics to modern platforms.
- Multiplayer: Local split-screen fun, up to 4 players!
- Time rewinding: Made a mistake? Press the rewind button to travel back in time for up to 5 seconds and try again.
- 20 Different tracks: Set on a variety of exotic locations all around the world… and beyond.
- 5 Playable cars: Inspired by classic models from the 80s and 90s.
- Accessibility Options: There are 3 difficulty levels to choose from, some visual effects can be turned off and, most importantly, the game speed can be reduced up to 50%, giving players more time to react, but keeping the game physics exactly the same.
- 6 Game modes:
- Grand Tour: Scenic trip through five stages, with rival racers to beat and branching paths to choose.
- Cannonball: Freely customizable race mode with optional traffic, rivals and other racers.
- Grand Prix: Championship mode composed of five races, with season scores and optional car customization.
- Single Race: Simple race mode, with customizable settings.
- Time Trial, a solo race against time.
- Battle Royale, an elimination endurance race mode.
- 5 Car models, each with its own specs and playstyle.
- Original soundtrack with 9 exclusive songs by Stefan Moser (Effoharkay) .
- Graphical Options: Including Pixelated, CRT and NTSC filters, for a faithful retro experience.
- And much more: Mechanics such as drifting and the slipstream, rival characters and secrets to discover…
We think the aesthetic is reminiscent of retro racers like Day’s of Thunder, which I definitely didn’t spend weeks of my time playing when it released for NES and it will be interesting to see the communities reaction to this style of Retro racer with so many choices of racing game today.
What do you think of Slipstream? Would you like to see it played on stream? Let us know in the comments below or head on over to our Community Discord and share your thoughts.
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