Slipstream aims to be the OutRun sequel we never got

Yu Suzuki’s OutRun is one of those rare, legendary racing games that was able to capture gamer’s hearts when it was released into arcades in 1986 and still does today. Many games have attempted to copy its style and gameplay to cash in on the ’80s arcade racer craze, but very few have managed to do so … until now, that is.

I think we’ve finally found a respectable OutRun-style game that longtime fans of the series will find true enough to the original formula to be viewed as an unofficial sequel.

That game is Slipstream by Nocet Studio and only needs $6,000 to reach its goal. There’s even a playable demo, and I’ve spent considerable time with it the past few days and can say the game is shaping up very nicely.

It handles more or less like OutRun, but with some big changes in the handling and gameplay departments. First off, there is drifting in the game, performed in an almost Ridge Racer style (gas-brake-gas), and as the game’s name suggests, slip-streaming is used extensively in the game, where you drive behind other cars to gain speed.

Instead of using the Ferrari we all know of, Slipstream’s demo goes with something a little more subtle, with you behind the wheel of a Nissan 300ZX. Noctet Studio plans to add more cars to the actual release, but only the Nissan in a variety of colors is available in the demo.

Nocet Studio envisions Slipstream to be more than just an arcade racer,  boasting a story mode, a race mode with other opponents, four different selectable cars and a whopping eight music tracks, going for an OutRunners feel where you can change music tracks in the pause menu.

Speaking of which, the soundtrack is really good so far. It’s not OutRun levels of memorable,  but the three tracks on display here are pretty good and provide a damn good ’80s vibe to the race.

Here’s hoping this game actually gets backed and released. It seems like a short deadline with only 17 days left in the campaign, but it would be awesome to see this one get made.

Slipstream feels damn good so far, and it’d be a shame to see it disappear into limbo, considering it feels like the closest thing to the original OutRun formula. Usually, I don’t really back things on Kickstarter,  but this is definitely one I am going to back; it seems too good to pass up.

You too can check out Slipstream’s Kickstarter page right here.