Screamer, the Most Adrenaline-Pumping Races Ever: What We Liked and What We Didn't

It's been 30 years since an ambitious project from a small Italian studio made its debut in the market. We are clearly talking about Screamer, an arcade racing game that aimed to compete with a giant like Ridge Racer, which was already set to light up arcades and PlayStation.

Why was it a success? Well, simple, Milestone wasn't Namco, but that small group of developers managed to offer an extremely competitive and just as fun experience. Since then, a lot has changed in the offices of Milestone: the studio now counts 300 employees, alongside external collaborations and partnerships that have led to the publication of official titles for competitions like WRC (World Rally Championship), Moto GP, and one of the most appreciated titles by motorcycle enthusiasts, Ride.

Three decades later, the studio decided to bring back the debut title, but only the name, because the paradigm has completely changed. Screamer, while representing a tribute to the very first game made by Milestone, actually shares almost nothing with its namesake from 1996, except perhaps the spirit. And to be frank, that's not a bad thing at all.

In a completely different market, which has seen pillars of the racing genre like Need for Speed or Burnout fall, Screamer represents not just a breath of fresh air, but also proof of a creativity that is wholly Italian and is perhaps too often underestimated.

A Tribute to Japanese Culture

Yes, Screamer is an Italian game, but it celebrates and recognizes those who, in the '80s and '90s, opened the doors of video games to the general public: Japan. While companies like Namco and SEGA energized the arcades, Nintendo, and later Sony, conquered the living rooms of enthusiasts.

Perhaps it was this motivation that led the developers to pay homage to three cornerstones of Japanese pop culture: video games, manga, and anime. Milestone has created a hybrid of these three media in a single product, consistent with all their precepts.

What we could define as a reboot of the series is inspired by various cult works of Japanese culture starting from Akira by Katsuhiro Ōtomo or Initial D (the latter inspiring numerous racing games in fact). Not by coincidence, the game revolves around a well-constructed plot that represents an integral part of the entire experience. This is not the usual circumstantial plot that has defined sagas like Fast and Furious or Need for Speed, where situations are quite recurring for the genre, but a well-articulated story.

An Engaging Plot

Let's start from the core of this adventure with Screamer, the campaign. The game indeed offers many hours for single players thanks to a story divided into 4 acts for a total of 100 chapters. Each chapter represents a race, during which we will compete with one of the 15 characters from 5 teams participating in the tournament.

It is precisely the tournament that the plot revolves around. The mysterious Mister A has called a championship after several years during which the Screamer had disappeared from circulation. It is not just the passion for these adrenaline-pumping and high-risk races that attracts the attention of teams, but also and above all, the hefty cash prize of 100 billion dollars.

An amount that appears incredible but is well contextualized in the dystopian universe of Screamer. However, as we progress through the game, we will discover that these 100 billion dollars play a secondary role, and there are far greater motivations pushing each team to participate in the Tournament.

Our protagonists, the Green Reapers made up of Hiroshi, Frederic, and Róisín, are mostly driven by a desire for revenge. Their only goal is to kill Gabriel, responsible for the death of their mentor and the leader of the mercenary group they belong to.

The whole story unfolds in a classic Cyberpunk universe, alternating between urban settings filled with neon lights and futuristic elements, and others in the open countryside, accompanied by industrial sites and other varied scenarios.

In addition to the fifteen main characters, there are also various secondary characters. The interesting aspect is that each character has different origins: each one has a different nationality and speaks their language. They understand each other thanks to a technological device that allows everyone to speak their own language while the others listen in the reference language. However, we as players do not have this device, which is why we will hear dialogues in their original languages and will have to rely on subtitles.

This is actually a component that we really appreciated, not because we were able to understand all the languages in the game, but because it has been nice to enjoy the completely different sounds and, especially, the profound characterization of each single character. From this point of view, we must acknowledge that Milestone had an unusual, almost daring approach, but achieved its goal perfectly.

A Demonstration of Ingenuity

It is also a demonstration of ingenuity: dubbing dialogues for all markets where the game will be distributed would have disproportionately increased costs. Thus, Milestone managed to perfectly integrate a single dubbing into the context but in many different languages. After all, inclusivity is one of the central themes addressed in the game, but in a decidedly effective and pleasant manner.

In this regard, we want to take a little aside and compliment Milestone. During the story of Screamer, numerous social and cultural themes are addressed, but with a naturalness that few other titles can boast: never a forced moment, never an insistence on a specific theme, never a decontextualization.

The campaign mixes sequences in visual novel style with real animated scenes entrusted to the Japanese studio Polygon Pictures. During the launch event, the guys from Milestone explained that to bring the true essence of Japanese pop culture into a video game, there’s no better way than relying on a group of Japanese experts, and indeed, we feel we agree.

As mentioned, the game draws heavily from Japanese comic and animation culture and does so in undoubtedly the best way. The animated sequences are pleasant, well-crafted, and engaging. Unfortunately, there could have been better dialogue.

On the one hand, they respect the essentiality and repetition of concepts, in pure Japanese style, while on the other, some sequences definitely feel stretched out too long. Some conversations are really too repetitive, others rather superfluous and do not add anything to the main plot or the various subplots.

Nothing serious, to be clear, but as we progress through the game, the narrative starts to lose its momentum. Furthermore, we expected a few more animated sequences, whereas for most of the game, we will see static half-body representations of the characters while reading the subtitles.

In conclusion, there are mixed moments where it’s like reading a manga with others where we see a real anime. However, we believe this alternation could have been managed better, even at the cost of sacrificing a few hours of gameplay. Beyond this, the campaign remains enjoyable, and it’s not too difficult to finish it, especially because, as we will see later, some elements wisely motivate the player to continue.

Technical but Arcade-style Gameplay

The gameplay is certainly one of the defining aspects of the game and perhaps the most polished component. As mentioned, Screamer differs from its predecessors and introduces numerous gameplay elements that make the driving experience decidedly more elaborate than in the past.

Firstly, let's clarify one aspect: hoping to play with the keyboard will be quite a daunting task. It becomes clear almost immediately that Screamer is designed for controllers. Sure, like practically every racing game, but Milestone’s title takes this concept to the next level. For this reason, we tested it on PC using an Xbox controller for our trial.

According to what was just said, a second premise must also be made: Screamer is not an arcade game from an arcade machine. Don't expect to adapt to the gameplay after a couple of races because yes, it’s an arcade but definitely more technical than the genre’s standards. Thus, you’ll need to arm yourself with a bit of patience before mastering the cars and tracks.

On this front, the campaign helps tremendously as it could almost be defined as a huge tutorial. In almost every chapter (race), there will be an objective, such as destroying a certain number of opponent vehicles, using boosts a certain number of times, or drifting for 'x' kilometers. Essentially, it’s the game guiding us step by step both in learning the driving technique and mastering the different abilities of each driver.

Every Screamer, and consequently every vehicle, has a unique ability that can be utilized during races. For example, a kind of “rage” can be activated that allows for multiple opponent destructions rather than just one at a time, or to gain bonus boost charges.

But there’s more, because even the traditional controls differ from a normal racing game. Sure, the accelerator and steering wheel are exactly where expected. However, you’ll need to use both analog sticks while driving.

While the left one manages the steering, the right one modulates the drift. Moreover, in most situations, simple steering will be entirely unnecessary, so before adapting to driving, one first must overcome the hurdle of “double steering”.

This is a mechanic that we actually liked; the left stick allows you to adjust the angle and adapt the drift to the curve. However, we must admit that it can also be quite cumbersome. In particular, on tracks with moderately wide lanes, the system is sufficiently forgiving, and it’s possible to complete curves in pure “action” style. But once the lane narrows, completing a clean curve becomes almost impossible.

Another interesting mechanic is that of the semi-automatic gearshift. Let’s clarify, the vehicle will shift gears regardless, but with a lag unless we do the shifting ourselves. This is because precise shifts (clearly signaled by the vibration of the controller) recharge the boost bar and always provide maximum acceleration. Conversely, the game becomes rather punitive, almost as if the car slows down in anticipation of a shift.

Moreover, the boost has been “complicated” by the developers. The boost, in fact, doesn’t activate immediately upon pressing the button, but upon release. By holding the button down, a small quick time event begins, and if the button is released at the right moment, the boost will last longer.

Using the boost fills a second bar: the Entropy bar. This allows for a short “boost” dash to destroy an opponent vehicle, of course, upon collision. However, this requires a certain level of finger dexterity because in most cases, given the brevity of the dash, you’ll miss your target.

In this regard, unfortunately, we did not appreciate the driving assistance systems. The game, in fact, proposes some solutions to simplify life - so to speak - for the less experienced. Unfortunately, the result is simply the opposite. The system that provides “assisted braking” and “lane keeping” will significantly slow down our lap times.

In summary, the lap will be clean, but all our opponents will practically overtake us immediately, up to the point of lapping us. Furthermore, assistance will prevent collisions. This means avoiding not only walls and guardrails, but upon activation of the Entropy, regardless of how close you are to the opponent, the system will immediately shift the vehicle to avoid the impact. In conclusion, the Entropy becomes entirely useless.

In short, if you expect an arcade to gain some familiarity in a few hours, Screamer might leave you high and dry. It has a system - sometimes unnecessarily - complex and that requires time to be mastered. Moreover, the title is quite punitive, so yes, whether you like it or not, you’ll need to master all the mechanics if you want to win races and complete the campaign.

Modes and Multiplayer

As for the structure of the game, there are elements that particularly entertained us and others that left us a bit underwhelmed. As mentioned, the campaign is the centerpiece of the single-player experience, but unfortunately, there is little else to experiment with. There are no cups, tournaments, or other modes to play solo, except for customizable single races by the number of participants and type (Checkpoint, Teams, Time Attack, etc.).

We instead deeply appreciated the split-screen mode which recalls titles of the past for which a “Multitap” was needed for Sony consoles to play together. Yes, Screamer allows up to four players to participate in races on the same screen, proving to be an ideal title for an “old school” evening with friends.

The online multiplayer, on the other hand, remains rather sparse. It is possible to create a private lobby, provided there are at least two players in the party. If you want to start racing alone and then have others join, that’s not possible. Likewise, public matches boast only two modes: “Race” and “Teams”. A competitive mode is expected to arrive, but at the time of publication, this feature is not yet active.

Naturally, we tried the online component, and all in all, we found it entertaining, especially the team mode. Sure, the competitive mode would offer a progression system that would likely motivate players more, but for now, those looking to spend a few hours of pure fun without worrying about strategies, tactics, and scores will find it rewarding.

Conclusions

What else is there to add? Screamer is a title aimed at a specific audience; it certainly isn’t directed at those looking for a simple, immediate, and intuitive arcade. The campaign (The Tournament) is essential for becoming familiar with all the game mechanics and enjoying a plot that, overall, is the core of the experience.

It is undoubtedly a fun game, rather technical, but which adapts to the type of player. The possibility of “slowing down” races is definitely an advantage to mastering the driving system, which certainly cannot be adopted online.

Overall, it meets expectations and truly offers many hours of gameplay alongside a structured plot and, with its ups and downs, is engaging in a way atypical for a racing title. In short, it’s not the usual clash between the reigning racing champion of the town and the newbie who just arrived, but a plot set in a dystopian universe that undoubtedly captures attention more effectively.

There is still room for improvement, perhaps starting with some unnecessary “complications” that could have been avoided, such as some mandatory objectives in the races and perhaps a driving system that is a bit too elaborate. However, it's worth noting that this aspect also depends on personal taste; some might appreciate the additional technicalities compared to a traditional arcade that, in fact, would have offered little, perhaps too little, gameplay-wise today.

In conclusion, it all depends on the type of game you are looking for. If you're looking for a pure arcade to play occasionally that requires just grabbing the controller to finish a race, then perhaps Screamer isn't for you. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for something more structured and challenging, while still confined to the arcade genre, then it’s definitely a title to have in your library.