Screamer Hands-On Preview – A Twin-Stick Racer With Style
Milestone, the studio behind popular racing titles like Hot Wheels Unleashed, Ride, and the MotoGP series, is pulling perhaps one of its oldest racing IPs, Screamer. First released on PC in 1995, the title went on to form the foundation of what would become Milestone today, paving the way to other licensed titles.
However, despite getting a sequel in 1996 and an improved version the following year, the franchise has remained dormant. That is, until now, as the studio revealed this past year that they were returning to their roots with an all-new Screamer.
Set to release in 2026, we managed to get our hands on an early demo, and let’s just say fans of arcade racing are going to want to keep a close eye on this one.
It’s a Racing Game That’s Also a Fighter
It’s a great year to be an arcade racing fan, with the likes of Japanese Drift Master: JDM and Tokyo Xtreme Racer helping to revive the genre recently. Sure, we may not have a new Need for Speed (yet), but it’s still been a good year to be a racing fan, and that’s not mentioning any of the sim racers that are coming.
However, looking ahead to 2026, there’s a rather interesting racer that’s due, that being Milestone’s Screamer, an IP that made its debut in the 1990s and has remained stuck in that era since. The golden era of gaming, as many would call it, and like many games of that era, they never really found a way to transition into the new age of gaming.
So, it came as a pretty big shock when Milestone announced that they were resurrecting Screamer, and although it won’t be out until next year, things are already looking promising for the newly rebooted entry.
The demo I got to play didn’t feature any of the campaign, though it was pretty clear to see from the anime-inspired cast that this racer was packing a lot of personality, as each racer had their own stats and traits, weaknesses, and strengths, all for you to learn and master. It’s similar to say a fighting game, which, strangely enough, Screamer is.
There are meters tied to boost and shielding, and one of the gameplay loops is that you’ll be KOing enemies as you attempt to overpass. It’s not just one-on-one combat either, as each racer is part of a team of three, meaning you have to deal with an entire team, finding out ways to outmaneuver them, and exploiting their weaknesses.
This isn’t your traditional arcade racer, where overtaking someone is the goal. No, it’s about management, understanding when to use overdrive (which leaves you exposed) and your shields, and knowing when the time to strike is right.
However, what stands out most about Screamer is its controls. In most modern games, drifting is explicitly tied to timing your braking on a turn. In Screamers, you control the direction your vehicle goes in with one stick, while with the other, you control the drifting. It’s definitely “different,” and at first, I struggled with it, but after a couple of hours of racing around tracks, it all finally clicked. This unique control scheme, with one stick for direction and another for drifting, requires some getting used to, but ultimately offers a rewarding and distinctive arcade racing experience.
For those wondering, there are no licensed vehicles here, which makes sense given the unique characters and their cars that reflect them. What’s surprising is that there’s a full-length campaign. Unfortunately, none of that was available in this build.
Looping back to the gameplay, my overall impressions are pretty positive. It’s fast, and there’s this feeling of excitement that I got from speeding away from an enemy, hitting a perfect drift around a corner. The added overdrive and shield mechanics make the gameplay feel dynamic and strategic, transforming simple races into intense battles where timing, resource management, and speed and precision are all equally crucial. There’s a lot to be excited for here, especially if you want a racing game that harkens back to the glory days of arcade racing.
Screamer is scheduled to release in 2026 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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Cool. You might wanna check out Initial Drift, it also uses the twin stick driving controls. It’s pretty cool.