One thing I can say with absolute certainty is you will never play a racing game quite like Milestone’s Screamer, for better or worse. A bit of a passion project detour from a studio known for its extensive work in the racing/driving genre, 2026’s Screamer is actually a reimagining of Milestone’s own classic Screamer PC racing series from the 90s when they first went as Graffiti. This revamped, anime-coated new entry is less concerned with the intricacies of its mechanics (no pun intended) or simulation elements, and more concerned with giving you a roaring rush of adrenaline like you’re watching Initial D. To that end, it kinda works.



The story of Screamer – surprise, it’s a racing game with a full-fledged story – is set in the near future. The mysterious masked figure called Mr. A organises an underground racing event called “Screamer” in the neon-soaked city of Neo Rey, gathering different corporations and factions to enter the tournament while testing out groundbreaking Echo devices that restore both vehicle and driver after fatal crashes. Naturally, the different factions all have ulterior motives for entering the deadly racing tournament.



That’s about as much as I can say about Screamer’s dedicated story, experienced through the game’s uneven Tournament Mode. The narrative whiplashes players from one plot revelation and set piece race to the next, maintaining a frantic pace that made it a little difficult and jarring to keep track of, even as an anime fan. It’s hard to latch onto a story and characters when the plot is so hell-bent on moving as fast as its cars, but in the end, I think it comes together nicely and builds to a good climax, even if the entire narrative package is inconsistent.

It’s hard to latch onto a story and characters when the plot is so hell-bent on moving as fast as its cars...

Screamer’s cars are futuristically designed and eye-catching. Milestone clearly put a lot of attention into making each vehicle look visually appealing and fun to drive. The gameplay is where it might lose some players. You have your standard accelerate and brake buttons but turning, drifting and cornering is handled with both thumbsticks. This twin-stick drifting is pretty unique but not without some frustration since it takes a while to get used to. Each stick is used for different degrees of cornering. The left stick gently nudges you while the right stick is used for more extreme turns.



It’s difficult to wrap your head around the patterns and you’ll find yourself accidentally tilting the left stick when you meant to tilt the right stick, sending you flying off into a nearby concrete barrier or building. Vice versa, you can even send yourself spiralling in circles if you accidentally hit the right stick instead of the left. It’s a tricky balancing act that made the game’s controls its biggest challenge in the beginning. Eventually you get the hang of it and the controls become second-nature to the rest of the game’s racing mechanics, which is already a lot to chew on.

Apart from fighting the controls, you also need to pay attention to two metres that gradually build up on the top of your screen. One provides boosts like nitro while the other is the combat metre, which builds up by using the boost metre. The combat metre allows you to put up a shield or strike enemies while racing – yes, this is essentially Mario Kart or more fittingly, Blur. Furthermore, each character or racer comes with their own defensive and offensive capabilities and charged metres, meaning you rely less on your vehicle and more on your driver when you play. This metre system is seen in fighting games, but I appreciate that Milestone took a swing translating it into a racing game. It’s one of Screamer’s more unique and successful ideas.



Once you wrap your head around all of these mechanics, Screamer is a lot of fun to play. The racing reminds me of an eclectic mix between Mario Kart, WipeOut and Blur, harnessing those franchise’s best ideas and concepts. This ties together in Milestone’s most creatively inspired game in a very long time, possibly using its enjoyable Hot Wheels games as crash courses for the main dish to come. The racing itself is high-octane, fast, and chaotic with a great sense of speed, made equally thrilling by the fact that most drivers can take you out at a moment’s notice. There’s some finesse and strategy required to each race than just crossing the finish line. To that end, it’s a challenging game in its own right – often with difficulty spikes that can easily infuriate you if you aren’t locked in at all times.

The racing reminds me of an eclectic mix between Mario Kart, WipeOut and Blur, harnessing those franchise’s best ideas...

On the technical side, I played Screamer on PS5 Pro and encountered a few hiccups. In one instance, my car had clipped through the floor and refused to respawn, requiring me to restart a race, while some framerate stutters were noticed during especially busy moments or high-speed sections. On two occasions, I also experienced crashes – one forced me to reload an earlier save. Even almost a month out from release and with a few updates released since then, problems are still somewhat persistent and it needs a few more patches to iron out the issues. For the most part though, the game ran stable under most conditions and experiences may vary from player to player.



The game’s presentation looks stunning. The anime-esque art style, cel-shaded character models and vehicles all look great, contrasted with the 3D, highly stylised environments and neon-lit tracks clearly lifting some inspiration from the cyberpunk genre. The voice acting is, well, questionable at times and you can’t help but notice how over-the-top some performances are. I guess that’s just the nature of Milestone’s anime inspirations, which may appeal to some players who don’t want their stories taken too seriously. Personally, it’s a little more chuckle-worthy than I would’ve liked, but it serves the game’s exaggerated tone well.



Screamer is a good, sometimes great arcade racer from Milestone with an over-the-top anime art style and story, fun high-speed racing, and controls that often fight the player. There’s a steep learning curve that many racing fans looking for a more casual time might be turned off by, but once you get the hang of it, Screamer has a lot to offer in a genre that could use a few cool surprises now and then. It’s not going to win any awards for its writing but I think it will appeal to those who know exactly what they’re getting into.

Screamer is now available at Nexus Hub for R899