Screamer Looks to be a Refreshing Take on an Arcade Racer

We’re living in an age where a lot of genres are making a comeback, which has been fantastic to witness. There has, however, been one glaring miss from these recent revivals, and that’s the revival of arcade racers. While I’ve not played the original versions of Screamer, released back in 1995 for PC only, I did grow up playing a lot of arcade racers such as Ridge Racer, Sega Rally, Daytona, and the fantastic Burnouts.

I missed the initial reveal for Screamer regrettably, but once it resurfaced with a fantastic trailer at The Game Awards in 2025, I knew I had to see more of this game. Fortunately, Gamer Guides were recently invited to go hands-on with Screamer, and the signs are promising.

View Full-size

Screamer sees the revival of an arcade racer with striking visuals. Image via Milestone.

The Screamer Tournament

As mentioned above, Screamer is something of a classic that never had a chance to branch out due to being restricted to a PC release only in 1995. While I never played it, it always caught my eye with its detailed graphics for the time. So, I guess it’s no surprise that the thing that caught my eye when I saw Screamer’s latest trailer was the futuristic anime art style it had. Naturally, this is a massive departure from the original, but it’s something that draws you in immediately, and there’s a good reason for it.

A massive focus of this new Screamer is the narrative, the Screamer Tournament, that sees teams of three battle it out to come out on top, and as the story continues, they’ll all begin to discover the dark truth behind it. This is told through a number of anime movies and visual novel-style cutscenes before each of the events, introducing you to the teams and their motivations for entering. All of this is voiced, with the respective characters speaking in their native language, giving a more authentic feel to it all.

View Full-size

1

2

(1 of 2) Screamer’s artstyle is perfect for the story it wants to tell. Image via Milestone.

View Full-size

View Full-size

Screamer’s artstyle is perfect for the story it wants to tell. Image via Milestone. (left), This is told in both cinematic and visual novel-style cutscenes, all fully voiced. Image via Milestone. (right)

I only got the chance to play the first 30 minutes of the story, but it already gripped me and added an extra layer to the game. It also does a fantastic job of teaching you the basics and getting you straight into the action. It remains to be seen how lengthy this story mode is, but it’s got its hooks on me with the vibrant anime art style and intriguing setup. I was curious about what came first in the design philosophy for Screamer, the story or the gameplay, and I put the question to Development & Creative Director Michele Caletti about this:

“The very first foundations were characters and story. The idea of teams arranged something like King of Fighters, because many of us are fighting game fans. So, if you start from the characters, the teams, the fighting inspiration, then you need to fight, and it was all consequential in this order.”

You can see this design philosophy throughout Screamer, with the emphasis on the unique ECHO system, the twin stick driving, and of course, the narrative.

Drifting to Victory

The first thing you need to know about Screamer’s take on an arcade racer is that it uses a twin stick control system. This means you control the car with the left stick and drift with the right stick. If you’ve not played a racer with this style before, it can take a bit to get your head around, but once it clicks, you’ll find it much easier to pull off stylish drifts. This is only the start of what you need to manage when racing, however.

The ECHO system is a unique one that blends a fighting game-style meter to an arcade racer, and oddly enough, it actually works, if needing a bit of time to get to grips with it. I asked Michele about this system and how it came about:

“Luckily, we had at the same table the writer and the game director, trying to convey something that works in terms of narrative and gameplay. So, we wanted something that is taken from the fighting games, like the bar is filling, the super moves, but we also needed to justify it in the story.”

As you drive, your Sync will gradually fill up the left side of the ECHO gauge, which has five segments on either side. As that left side fills up, you will be able to use a Boost and shift up in gears, thus increasing your speed and Sync rate. Spending that Sync on these moves will then grant you Entropy, which begins filling up the right side of the gauge. This will give you access to a Shield that protects you from the other move, Strike. When used, that will cause you to boost forward, and if you hit a rival car, cause them to explode and cause a KO.

View Full-size

The story mode does a good job of teaching you how to use the ECHO system properly. Image via Milestone.

The final piece of the puzzle to the mechanics in Screamer is Overdrive, which becomes available if you fully fill the Entropy side of the ECHO gauge. This will cause you to gain the effect of a boost, and any car you collide with will explode. It may sound incredibly powerful, but there’s a risk to it, as you will explode if you hit a track barrier. With all of these mechanics in play, it may seem like there’s a lot to manage, but after just a few races, it already felt like second nature and gave me both that nostalgic feel of the arcade racers of old, with a fresh new twist.

This is where the teams and characters come into play, too, as each character will have their own unique ability that affects the ECHO system in some way. One, for example, will allow you to extend your boost if you hit the button at the right time, while another will improve your Strike attacks. This especially plays out well in Screamer’s other modes, such as a fully customizable race mode, a Team Race mode, and, not to mention, a promised online mode.

So, while I only got a taste of what Screamer offers for now, I saw enough to get me excited for its full release on the 26th of March. It’s been a long time since an arcade racer was daring enough to grab my attention, now let’s hope it can keep it.