Here’s Why The Screamer Gameplay Footage Has Drift Fans Hyped

If you’re old (like us) and grew up in the 90s, you likely had a “wait, THAT Screamer?” moment when Milestone announced the return of the legendary racer at The Game Awards in December 2024.

At the time, we got a teaser trailer, showcasing surprisingly futuristic Initial D-style vibes with an intense racing battle.

Now that the gameplay trailer has just dropped, bringing (pre-alpha) gameplay footage for the first time, the reboot is looking even more epic than we initially expected.

Our favorite part? There’s certainly no shortage of proper sideways action!

Is The New Screamer A Drifting Game?

One of the main reasons drifting fans are super excited about the reboot is that Milestone has completely rebuilt the focus on cornering.

While it’s not a dedicated drifter (the combat battles are also a huge aspect), drifting plays a huge role in the new game.

An innovative twin-stick control system uses the left analog stick for steering while the right stick controls drift initiation and angle adjustment. This gives you precise control in every corner – a huge upgrade from the (somewhat amusing) handling in the original games.

Now, drifting is built into every aspect of the gameplay alongside what they call “The Echo System”, which gives you three main tools:

Boost – Speed bursts for straight-line advantage

Strike – Aggressive moves to smash into opponents

Overdrive – Maximum drift control through the twisties

What To Expect From Screamer’s Return

The 2026 return brings a story-driven cyberpunk experience set in Neo Rey, a futuristic, neon-lit city. Its storyline follows a diverse selection of characters through a street racing tournament organized by a mysterious figure voiced by Troy Baker.

Baker, gaming’s go-to voice actor in narrative-heavy games like ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘BioShock Infinite’, suggests that Milestone is taking the story elements seriously rather than treating them as an afterthought.

Polygon Pictures provides animated cutscenes, the same Japanese studio behind ‘Ghost in the Shell 2’ and the ‘Street Fighter’ animated series.

They’ve delivered serious Initial D vibes since the initial trailer, bringing the anime aesthetics we’re seeing more of than ever in recent racing games.

When It’s Arriving And Key Features

The Screamer reboot is set to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2026. You can add it to your Steam wishlist to stay up-to-date with development progress.

There’s support for up to 16 players online (PS Plus required for PlayStation) and includes local split-screen for up to 4 players. You also get a level editor for custom tracks, as well as modern features like Steam Cloud saves and full controller support.

The single-player story campaign runs alongside multiplayer modes, so you’re getting both narrative depth and competitive racing.

We’re loving what we’ve seen so far, and we’re excited to put the twin-stick system to the test to see if it lives up to the hype.

With Tokyo Xtreme Racer recently proving hugely successful in its comeback after a similar hiatus, there’s clearly demand for these classic franchises to return with modern touches.

While TXR mostly stuck to its roots, Screamer is taking a more extreme route with full anime aesthetics, no shortage of intense combat, and (thankfully) plenty of sideways action!

A (Very) Brief History Of Screamer

Initially launched in 1995, Screamer was the PC gamer’s answer to the hugely popular console-based Ridge Racer.

Milestone (originally called Graffiti) created it as a texture-mapped racing game, inspired by elements from SEGA’s arcade hits, such as Daytona USA and Virtua Racing.

The original Screamer had the cars leaning dramatically through the corners. This meant the handling felt vaguely “drifty”, though it wasn’t designed as a drifting game.

Cars would ‘slide’ (rather than being a controlled drift with traction) through corners, likely from game engine limitations more than anything. Despite this, it was still considered a game-changer at the time, when standards were somewhat lower than they are today!

The series continued with Screamer 2 (1996), Screamer Rally (1997), and Screamer 4×4 (2000). Since then, we’ve assumed we’d never see the hit series make a comeback, until now!

We’ll undoubtedly hear plenty more in the coming months, so be sure to wishlist Screamer on your favorite platform for the latest updates.