Good Lord I Need Drift Stage In My Life Right Now
THE COLORS
It’s easy to get excited about new racing games that boast the latest in dynamic weather technology and ultra-realistic disastrous-launch simulation. Photorealistic graphics and microtransactions galore have nothing to do with why you need to be excited about Drift Stage this very minute.
You need to have Drift Stage on your radar if you grew up on quarter-stealing arcade racing, don’t take your gaming too deathly seriously (read: aren’t inclined to smash all of your controllers), thoroughly enjoy kickass ‘80s-inspired music, and love neon.
The graphics are simple and effective, much like the actual gameplay: you drift, you hit a straightway, you drift, you hit a straightaway, and repeat. What about that formula doesn’t sound amazing? Nothing. Because it’s gotdamn amazing.
Speaking of sounding amazing, holy god that music.
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Drift Stage is the beautiful, mind-bending brain child of Chase Pettit (programmer and fellow pro wrestling fan), Charles Blanchard (art), and Hugh Myrone (that beautiful, beautiful soundtrack). Inspired by Ridge Racer and Outrun 2, their game synthesizes the experience you had racing your friend in the arcade or on your earliest home console with a vast array of features including daily challenges, online leaderboards, workshop with customizable cars and tracks, and local and online multiplayer.
The team promises a healthy roster of ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s-inspired cars and has already revealed an impressive lineup of six distinct performance cars, each with a unique back story.
The Cars of Drift Stage (So Far)
THE BULLDOG
Rumored to have been commissioned by a European intelligence agency, this car excels at high speed handling.
THE STALLONI
Style, class, and performance. This car favors handling and balance over raw power, but at a high price.
THE TEDESCO
Built for endurance racing, this car combines brute force with pure adrenaline.
THE KEIZAI
The choice of tuners, this small, affordable car offers an easy to control, light weight chassis that can out pace cars twice its cost.
THE GT TURBO
A high performance machine purpose built for the Japanese highway, this car is packed with the latest advancements in engine design.
THE ZX-78
Designed by an ex-military engineer, the ZX-78 utilizes classified air force technology, resulting in the destruction of all but one prototype.
If you want to secure Drift Stage right this very minute, you can head over to their Kickstarter page, where they’ve already managed to secure almost 90% of their funding in a little more than two days. $10 gets you a DRM-copy, $15 gets you beta access, and $25 gets you everything and that baby-making soundtrack.
*ovulates, isn’t even a woman*
$40 will get you the game, soundtrack, beta access, and a whole bunch of amazing decals.
I want to put these on my Trapper Keeper
Got $70 to contribute? That’ll get you this gorgeous t-shirt, too.
*ovulates again, body now has ovaries for some reason, thanks Drift Stage*
While it’ll be at least until December before Drift Stage hits Steam (and, hopefully, PSN, XBL, and mobile platforms), you can play a quick demo of the alpha build right now. Download it. Oh, you’re at work? No you’re not. You’re taking an extended lunch break and releasing your inner child.
Drift Stage, I Want to Be In You
I’m releasing something else, that’s for sure
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.