Screamer review

Screamer is an immaculately presented arcade racer that piles on fresh ideas and a distinctive anime-infused style. Milestone has lavished care on its narrative-led structure and visuals, from Persona-style intro cutscenes to 2D character avatars that flow naturally into bombastic, dystopian races.

Yet beneath the polish the driving feels discordant. The Tournament mode introduces sharply drawn teams like the Green Reapers—Róisín, Frederic and Hiroshi—and a simmering grudge against organiser Mr A. The game unspools those tensions with surprising rigour, showing origins and reactions in a way that makes the exposition feel integral rather than shoehorned.

Milestone’s love of anime and fighting games shapes dialogue, presentation and even the customisation menus. The handling model is the most divisive element: steering is mapped to the left stick and drifting to the right, a twin-stick scheme meant to echo the studio’s earlier work.

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