Star Drift

EDIT (might be useful for new players): Just ignore Star Drift and buy Start Drift Evolution instead (called Super Star Drift below). *** I think it's about time I finally write a "review" about this game. If you take a look at the number of hours I've played this game, you can already probably tell that I like the game a lot. I actually liked the game a lot already back in February/March, although it was very rough around the edges at that time. I soon discovered that the game was actually developed by a single person (Catze). Since I saw potential in the game, and I liked the actual premise of a skill-based drifting racing game, I decided to join the Discord, and started giving out some suggestions on how to improve the game in several ways. But first, a step back: I had actually received a review code to review the game on the Italian webzine Outcast.it, but the more I played the game, the more I was interested in helping Catze creating a good and engaging game. The review could wait. Or even better: who cares about the review, when you can actually help someone making the top down racing game you would've always loved to play? After all, recent top down racing games all bored me quickly, either they were grindfests, or had limited content, or weapons in the way of driving skills. I wanted to play a skill based top down driving game, and I decided that the game would've been Star Drift, and I would've helped make it happen. And well, that is exactly what actually happened, or should I say "it's what is still happening". During these months we've played a lot of times in the [beta] branch with testers and friends and although the game does still retain a kind of naive feel graphically compared to other games made by bigger teams, we always had lots of fun. So to make a long story short, what do you get when you buy Star Drift (soon to be renamed Super Star Drift in an imminent update, since it evolved so much since the February version it's not even the same game)? Well, you get a skill based racing game based on drifting, which is easy to learn but quite hard to master, which shines in Time Trial and online multiplayer mode, thanks to the incredible amount of content which will have you coming back to the game for tens (if not hundreds) of hours. One of the things I like the most about the game is the different terrains you can race on. Racing on Ice vs racing on Asphalt or Dirt makes the game so different that it's exciting to see the car react differently on every surface, and often you get more surfaces in a single track: for example, you get a bit more grip on Snow than you get on Ice, so in some tracks you can try busting out some risky lines to put the wheels on the Snow to propel yourself faster on Ice. It's just one of many little touches that keep me glued to the game even after almost many months of drifting. Something that it's often overlooked by newcomers to the game is the Handbrake (B button). This deserves its own paragraph 'cause it works a little differently compared to a normal HB. The HB in Star Drift (which I would've actually called Handslide :D) is actually a very powerful and versatile tool. Basically, by pressing B, you will lose grip on the rear wheels and you will slightly brake (but much less than with a real HB). This means that you will not only use the HB in tight corners, but also to make quick corrections in trajectories. It's also helpful for "drift canceling" and to realing yourself quickly after a drift or to recover from a drift gone wrong. Another cool thing are the emojis that you can use in realtime during races: did you overtake somebody with a perfect drift? Press up on the right analog stick and you'll bust out the cool glasses emoji. Were you the one overtaken? The angry emoji will let other players feel your frustration. :) Another cool feature is the Average Performance Rating (APR). Basically, the game rates your time trial performance on each track with a percentage. 100% = the Expert Lap Time to beat. The APR is the average value of your performance over ALL of the tracks, so don't be disappointed if you see your APR being as low as 1 or 2% at the beginning: it's perfectly normal :). The APR is the perfect, objective, way to tell if you're doing better or worse than someone else. The APR also doesn't have a ceiling. Theorically, it can be improved "forever", this way even Star Drift Champions with many WRs under the belt will have some clear indicator of their improvement at high levels! So in the end, this game might be an acquired taste: you might connect with it immediately, or you might need a couple hours. Perseverance will make the gameplay shine, as you'll appreciate the game more after having mastered the basics. After all, many players also found Absolute Drift very tough to get into. Compared to AD, Star Drift feels "less cool" visually, but also much faster, much more varied, and with a lot more content. Don't get me wrong: I loved Absolute, but Star Drift is keeping my interest up much longer, thanks to multiplayer and 100 tracks to fight for lap record times on. I perfectly understand that a review by someone who helped developing the game might have less perceived value and objectivity than your average review. I 100% agree with that. At the same time though, I truly like this game a lot, so it would be probably even less informative for you if I didn't write it in the first place. The only sub-set of players I wouldn't reccomend this game to would be who hates both Time Trialling AND Online Multiplayer, which are the areas where the game plays best. The AI opponents, in fact, while posing a reasonable challenge, are not very sophisticated and might disappoint anyone who's buying the game solely to play against the AI. As of November 23 2018, we're in the open beta period for Super Star Drift: the game is perfectly playable now but some things might change and need finetuning in the next weeks :) If you want to help us, or just play multiplayer or chat about the game, don't forget to join the Discord. https://discord.gg/gZqM6c9 Have fun!

This is a great game to play with friends!

[h1][b]WERTUNG[/b][/h1] [h1]❤ | ❤ | ♡ | ♡ | ♡[/h1] [b]Die fordernde Fahrphysik mag zumindest Rennspiel-Enthusiasten eine kurze Zeit lang unterhalten. Letztlich fahrt ihr mit anderen Rennspielen aber deutlich billiger und besser.[/b] [h1]DAS IST GUT[/h1] ⠀⠀⠀◆⠀⠀Fordernde Fahrphysik ⠀⠀⠀◆⠀⠀Gelungene Strecken-Layouts ⠀⠀⠀◆⠀⠀Unterschiedliches Fahrverhalten der Autos ⠀⠀⠀◆⠀⠀Ordentliche Motorensounds ⠀⠀⠀◆⠀⠀Durchaus motivierende Challenges ⠀⠀⠀◆⠀⠀Lokaler Mehrspieler [h1]DAS IST STANDARD[/h1] ⠀⠀⠀◈⠀⠀Solider Soundtrack ⠀⠀⠀◈⠀⠀Mickrige Spielerbasis ⠀⠀⠀◈⠀⠀Fuhrpark ist ok ⠀⠀⠀◈⠀⠀Spielumfang [h1]DAS IST SCHLECHT[/h1] ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Strunzdoofe Gegner-KI ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Obsolete Driftmechanik ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Fehlerhafte Technik (KI) ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Nahezu nutzlose Open World ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Uninspirierter Low-Poly-Look ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Schwer erkennbare Streckenbedingungen ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Keinerlei immersive Spielelemente ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Hässliche Fahrzeuge und Lackierungen ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Mit Gamepad fummelige Menüs ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Vermeidbares Frustrationspotenzial ⠀⠀⠀◇⠀⠀Mit 12 € zu teuer [h1]DAS SIND DIE DETAILS[/h1] [b][u]ERZÄHLERISCH[/u][/b] Bekanntlich besitzen nur die wenigsten Rennspiele sowas wie einen narrativen Hintergrund, geschweige denn eine vollwertige Story. Das ist genrebedingt auch selten sinnvoll. Dennoch enthalten heutzutage fast alle Rennspiele verschiedene erzählerische Elemente, meist in Form von Karriere-Modi, die über die Präsentation und mit Hilfe von Avataren, Erfahrungspunkten etc. einerseits für eine höhere Immersion sorgen sollen und andererseits das Spielgeschehen in einen motivierenden Sinnzusammenhang zu stellen versuchen. Gelungene Beispiele hierfür wären etwa die Ableger von Forza Horizon oder auch Codemasters GRID-Reihe. In Star Drift braucht ihr euch über derlei Aspekte zeitgemäßen Spieldesigns aber keinerlei Gedanken machen. Das Spiel enthält nämlich schlichtweg nichts von alledem. [b][u]SPIELERISCH[/u][/b] Stattdessen serviert euch Star Drift eine sogenannte Kampagne in einer Art Open World [sic]. Es geht dabei darum, bei verschiedenen Events durch das Erfüllen bestimmter Herausforderungen Sterne zu sammeln. Mit den Sternen schaltet ihr dann neue Areale, neue Events, sowie weitere Strecken und Fahrzeuge frei (oder nur deren Lackierungen). Aber mal ehrlich; von ein paar an schwierigen Stellen sammelbaren Extra-Sternen abgesehen ist diese sogenannte Kampagne in dieser sogenannten Open World im Grunde nicht mehr als ein befahrbares 3D-Menü. Und entsprechend sinnvoll. Nutzen müsst ihr das ganze dennoch, weil sich sonst nicht alle Strecken freischalten lassen. Mir wäre wegen der ohnehin nicht vorhandenen Präsentation ein reines, aber dafür vollständiges Textmenü lieber gewesen. Geht halt schneller. Wie auch immer. Im Spiel habt ihr Gelegenheit Rennen zu fahren, Drift-Challenges zu absolvieren oder auch ganz im Stile von PAKO Verfolgungsjagden mit der Polizei aufzunehmen. Bevor ihr das tut, solltet ihr euch aber erstmal ein paar Minuten mit Star Drifts fordernder Fahrphysik vertraut machen. Denn die Besonderheit daran ist, dass ihr hier keine Bremsen zur Verfügung habt und die Autos beim Lenken ziemlich zum Driften neigen (je nach Fahrzeug unterschiedlich stark). Nun bin ich grundsätzlich kein Freund solcher spielmechanischen Sperenzien, gebe aber gerne zu, dass die nicht vorhandenen Bremsen in Star Drift sehr viel besser funktionieren als z.B. die automatische Beschleunigung in PAKO. Mir gefällt die Fahrzeugphysik unterm Strich jedenfalls sehr gut und sie lässt sich auch ordentlich mit dem Gamepad beherrschen. Es braucht zwar schon ein bisschen Erfahrung und Gefühl in den Fingern, um Gas und Lenkung richtig zu dosieren, aber hey, so gehört sich das ja für ein Rennspiel schließlich auch. Das blöde ist nur, dass die Events auch mit der an sich gelungenen Fahrphysik nicht wirklich Spaß machen. Die Drift-Events sind nicht wirklich gut auf die Fahrphysik abgestimmt und gestalten sich entsprechend fummelig und frustrierend. Die Verfolgungsjagden kranken genau wie beim Vorbild PAKO an unfair ins Bild spawnenden Gegnern und am übervorteilten Helikopter, dem ihr nur sehr schwer entrinnen könnt. Es sind aber vor allem die Rennen, die eurem Spielspaß den finalen Garaus machen. Das liegt an der wortwörtlich absolut rammdösigen KI, die keinerlei Fahrfähigkeit aufweist, von sich aus keine ernsthafte Gefahr für den Rennsieg darstellt und wohl nur existiert, um euch mit saudämlichen Crashes die "Werde-Erster-ohne-zu-kollidieren"-Challenge kaputt zu machen. Und wenn ihr kollidiert, dann seid ihr in 97,5 % aller Fälle die Gearschten. Es gibt lediglich zwei KI-Fahrer, die euch eine Herausforderung bieten. Die sind dann aber schon wieder so unfair gut, dass euch das kaum gelingen wird. Und ihr könnt auch nicht entscheiden, gegen wen ihr so antretet, denn die KI wird selbst beim Event-Neustart wieder zufällig in die Startaufstellung gewürfelt. Immerhin, im Hardcore-Modus sind eure Gegner zumindest etwas stärker. Aber an den Grundlegenden Problemen ändert das nichts. Auch hier crashen jede Runde mindestens ein viertel des Fahrer-Feldes und die Gegner sind bis Platz 2 oder 3 immer noch langsamer als eine tote Schnecke. Aber Star Drift hat noch ein weiteres schwerwiegendes Problem. Denn die namensgebenden Drifts sind in den Rennen im Grunde komplett nutzlos. Nur in einer Handvoll Szenen konnte ich mir durch kunstvoll ausgeführtes Driften einen Vorteil auf der Strecke verschaffen. Ansonsten lautet die Devise vorausschauend sauber zu fahren und Kurven möglichst klug zu schneiden. Das ist in fast allen Situationen die schnellste Methode um von Start nach Ziel über die Runden zu kommen. Und daraus folgt: In Star Drift geht es gerade nicht darum, cool in der Gegend rumzudriften, sondern gerade darum möglichst jeden Drift zu vermeiden - Klammer auf, Ausrufezeichen, Klammer zu. [b][u]KÜNSTLERISCH[/u][/b] Star Drift präsentiert sich im Low-Poly-Look und der wird seinem Namen voll gerecht, denn er ist wirklich ziemlich low. Dass er blass, steril und irgendwie altbacken wirkt, würde für mich bei einem Top-Down-Racer noch in Ordnung gehen. Aber die schwache Grafik sorgt immer wieder für Probleme beim Erkennen der Streckengegebenheiten und vor allem beim Einschätzen von Höhenunterschieden. Dadurch geratet ihr auf der Strecke immer wieder in (zunächst) schwer nachvollziehbare brenzlige Situationen und unvermittelte Crashes, weil ihr plötzlich mehr rutscht oder weiter springt als ihr visuell vorausahnen konntet. Die Songs, die euch Star Drift anbietet, gehen dagegen in Ordnung. Nix besonderes, weder in die gute noch in die schlechte Richtung, aber für ein Spiel dieser Art durchaus angemessen. Die Soundeffekte bieten euch das notwendige Feedback ohne herauszustechen. Allein die Motorengeräusche wissen zu gefallen. Aber so gefällig die auch sind, eure Fahrzeuge, die Protagonisten eines jeden Rennspiels, werden absolut lieblos präsentiert und die Modelle sehen samt Lackierungen ziemlich so aus, wie ein Wort, dass Steam jetzt wegherzen würde. [b][u]TECHNISCH[/u][/b] Dass eure Gegner dumm wie fünf Meter nicht befahrener Feldweg sind, das erwähnte ich bereits. Aber das ist nicht alles. Hin und wieder dreht die KI auch komplett am Rad und ihr dürft zusehen, wie eure Gegner völlig ohne Sinn und Verstand quer über die Strecken rasen und springen, bisweilen auch in die falsche Richtung, oder wie sich ihre Autos kollektiv an einem Reifenstapel oder ähnlichem aufhängen. Ob die auch beim Geradeausfahren immer wieder auftretenden Aussetzer im Fahrzeughandling wirklich allein (wie oben beschrieben) auf grafische Unzulänglichkeiten zurückzuführen sind, oder ob auch Fahrphysik und Steuerung fehlerbehaftet sind, lässt sich für mich kaum nachvollziehen. So ganz rund und ausgereift wirkt die Technik auf mich aber auch hier leider nicht. [b]Nachtrag: Den Mehrspieler konnte ich wegen der genreüblich nicht vorhandenen Spielerbasis leider nicht testen.[/b] [i]Hat euch dieses Review gefallen? [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/8049466/]Dann folgt uns![/url][/i]

[h1]Star Drift[/h1] The thrill of racing in the most retro of senses, the classic top-down view of legendary party racers like Super Sprint and the adrenaline of huge multiplayer matches sprawling across vibrant single screen racing maps of minimal and abstract retrofuture quality. Star Drift is a top-down racing game unlike any you've seen in the genre, with a cybernetic overworld to explore and initiate events from charged with a wonderful arcade flair and most importantly some seriously hefty handling. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] For a top-down racer of serious arcade flavor the cars in Star Drift have some really heavy handling with turns having a whole lot of weight behind them, this honestly has some of the better and more realistic physics I've felt for a driving game with a classic Super Sprint inspired arcade view. Cars will lurch to either side skidding as it counter-balances against your sudden drifts, spinning out of control if you don't manage to catch the wheel in mid-drift. Your little ragdoll driver will even smash through your windshield to comedic and exciting effect when you manage to crash, sending him flailing through the air. This is just hands down one of the smoothest and most realistic feeling top-down racers I've had the pleasure of playing, and it just enhances the proven single screen track racing formula of this arcade sprint rally style. The first of campaign levels open up to you after a brief tutorial on a cool little open world map with a minimalist visual flair. Well, they're too small to be maps I guess so more like little hub stages to choose your races from. Numerous visual props or structures stand out in the distance of the hub world and upon approaching them information will pop up revealing this to be an event, usually and most often a race. Aside from the races themselves which is where most of your Star earning endeavors will take place, there are awesome little side-events you can trigger that take place right on the hub world itself such as crazy GTA style cop chases that reward you for time spent avoiding authorities as well as all kind of secret stars strewn about to collect with daredevil maneuvers. Each of the races has a number of objectives to complete which will earn you an individual star, such as coming in 1st or completing a lap under a specific time. Each race generally has 6 Stars to earn and earning the specified number of Stars for the hub world you're on will unlock access to the next thematically different world and sometimes even new cars to race around with, which are your main goals here in the campaign. The AI on opponent racers in the single player events could definitely use a bit of work, as things were a bit crazy on particular figure 8 style maps. Many drivers would become confused and either lodge themselves behind an obstacle for the rest of the race or would drive aimlessly between the lines of the actual track letting me get an easy win. Luckily, this only happened on a select few maps and leads me to believe its just a certain pathing problem that a few of them have. [h1]Visuals/Sound[/h1] Electrifying and upbeat plus chock full of variety, Star Drift provides drivers with some very eclectic beats. From heavy and dark ominous techno tracks to more happy, poppy chiptune tracks that sound like something out of a Famicom game there's definitely a little something for everyone here and its all very good. A quick press of the radio button will change the current track, and there's certainly a healthy supply of great driving music here. The sound effects are your basic atmospheric racing sounds, from the revving engines to the screeching of drifting tires. Star Drift has some ridiculously cool ideas for visuals and set pieces that make the surroundings come alive on each track. Jet fighters streak by overhead on airport hangar levels, and all sorts of clever touches like the word "FAIL" that appears only on the underside of your car if you manage to flip yourself over in a humiliating display (not that I would have any experience with this feature, nope, not at all). One of my favorite little gimmicks was seeing the cute little blob audience members on the side of one of the tracks holding up my own Steam avatar as they cheered me on during my race, a very cool personal touch. [h1]Final Thought[/h1] Star Drift already has some of the slickest handling in a casual top-down viewpoint racing game within its campaign, taking all the action to online matchmaking is even more perfect for those quick and adrenaline pumping coffee-break racing sessions. A rad minimalist visual style with sharp graphics on the automobiles themselves, the game sets itself apart from similar arcade offerings by having a setting that is the perfect balance of retrofuture cyber aesthetic and realistic car designs and models. If you're looking for an attractive and arcade-y racer that is easy as heck to jump into as an all around party racing title, Star Drift is your best choice! [i]This review made possible through the consideration and contribution of [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/24117656-IndiePromo/]IndiePromo[/url] and the developer. Email contact@dnbmedia.co for requests & game promotions [/i]

[EDIT: after a week or a little more, the dev fixed many things and the game is so enjoyable! Potential was already there and now the overall impression is far better. Must buy, imho.] This game should have been published as an early access, it's too much unpolished. Aside of that, it's fun, various terrains are a good idea and controls just work fine. It has very good potential and I recommend it for the multiplayer even though there is sooo much to fix.

Just a very early first impressions as I wanted to say that the Xbone controller should work just fine as my Xbox Elite worked just fine. Other than that, what can I say...? It's simple as far as mechanics go but it does take some finesse to get the hang of the car - kind of like it is in Trackmania, very easy to get the basics but to "git gud" you'll have to play a lot...and not be me... I'm going to play this on and off for sure, it's either a "I want #1 on the leaderboards" game or a fun little time waster, especially the cop chase was fun.

What a great game! Found this game thanks to Slaptrain. Well done on getting a reply from him!! I have tried in the past but been ignored despite making his beloved oval games! Anyway I love this game! Love top down racing games, love the graphics and whilst watching Slaps video I was thinking on man 2 player local would be awesome then found out it had it and it became a must buy! Be interested to see where this game goes! Great game love it (in short)

How to ruin a perfectly good game ? At the core, you have a pretty decent drifting game, kind of similar to Absolute Drift (which I did recommend). The driving is rather good (though I think it was a bit better in Absolute Drift), you have plenty of different tracks (50 in normal mode, 50 more in hardcore though some are just reversed or with a slighly different layout) ranging from asphalt to ice, plenty of different cars, with different weigths, speeds, accelerations and grips. The goal is to score up tp 8 stars by track : - 4 for time trials (beat the normal and expert times, for 1 lap and for the overall race) - 3 for race against AI : finish 3rd or better, finish 1st, and 1st without any damage - 1 for a race against the police (chasing you). Getting stars unlock tracks, which are scattered on a world map, on which you drive to get from one track to the other. Time trial is perfectly fine and can be enjoyed on its own (at least on normal mode, where stars are rather easy to get). Multiplayer is dead (I've seen at most 3 people online, and that's probably including me), so forget about the corresponding achievements. Race against AI is a mess, as well as police chases. First, AI cheats rather obviously (outperforms you even with inferior cars among other things). Second, even the lightest touch on a AI car (whether it's your fault or theirs) will end up 99% of the time in your defavor, sending you anywhere but on the right track (and don't even think you can push them away). Third, when an AI rams you and you get damaged, you lose the opportunity to get the corresponding star, even though you did nothing wrong. As a result, races against AI are an exercise in frustration, ruining the fun of the game. Police chases are not better, the advantage they have is so huge that winning these stars is just a matter of luck (most of the time, you'll get caught in the first 20 seconds). The world map is not only totally useless, it's much too big, meaning you can't see all available races even when fully zoomed out. And driving on it takes too much time. Also, I found one track without a start line, making it utterly useless, and another where the police apparently forgot they had to chase you (they were nowhere to be seen, at least that was an easy star ...). That's not all : on my first "playthrough" (something like the first dozen tracks), things (especially regarding AI races) were not so bad. But there was a message ingame saying a beta was ongoing with an upcoming update that would reset your progress. No more information than that in the forums. Then (end of november I think), the game was updated 3 times, without a single update/note on the product page or the forums about what was being updated. At the end of the third update, sure enough, I lost my progess. Problem is (apart from the lack of communication) : this was supposed to be a finished product, not a fricking early access. But worse : with this update, the races against AI, already frustrating as described above, became even worse. And also, all cars became magically unlocked (so, forget about getting the corresponding achievements for unlocking them), and I think all tracks on normal mode too. And the game stopped remembering what camera you prefer (top down or 3rd person), making you switch it every time (minor, but annoying). In the end, I got something like (out of 400 for each mode) 335 stars in normal mode, and 75 in hardcore where I'm stuck because not enough stars to unlock next tracks. And I'm uninstalling, because every possibility of having fun is gone (getting stars now is just a matter of playing the same tracks ad nauseam hoping the AI will mess up). You can stil have fun with time trials on normal mode, that's roughly 1/3 of what the game is supposed to be, but the overall mess tells me I can't recommend this game. A shame, because it could have actually been great :(

Check out my timestamped video below for an overview of Star Drift! https://youtu.be/I5CfeQxFzRg?t=375

I love a good driving simulator, and I love a good drift game... but there are very few that get the drifting mechanics right. This Top Down driving game has simple but great looking graphics and the physics are fantastic.... Internet player vs player works well, and is a lot of fun. There are hundreds of hours of fun to be had, and at this price tag it is a steal. I highly recommend this game! Get it, get it now.