Inertial Drift (and yes, that’s Inertial Drift, not Initial D) is a new twin-stick racing game which focuses on using both the left and right analog stick to control the drift. It’s a pretty intuitive control system, or at least looks that way from the trailers.
The art-style is distinct, a sort of 90s retro Eurobeat atmosphere, with washed-out colors and vaporwave sunsets. If you can get over the sounds of tires screeching, check out the trailer below for a glimpse at the game which releases later this month.
While fans may have mistaken the game’s title for an Initial D game, Inertial Drift wants to create its own identity. The key to this lies in its pretty interesting control system.
For those who’ve ever tried to drift in a racing game while using a controller will understand the aches and pains of getting the car to do what you want. In Inertial Drift you can use both sticks to control the car, rather than a single stick for direction.
This makes those left-to-right drift motions that much easier to pull off. How will it work in Inertial Drift? Well, the game is focused around a singleplayer story and then multiplayer, both local and online. Yes, there will be a split-screen mode.
The devs have mentioned in the Inertial Drift marketing material that they want to create a new niche in the competitive arcade racer, a genre that falls in and out of favour every now and then.
There are 16 different cars in the game, as well as multiple tracks to try out. When asked about the soundtrack for the game – fans expecting some sort of knockoff 90s Eurobeat – the devs have said that they’re introducing a unique soundtrack.
While the trailer has some flaws – you can see tires clipping through the car’s hood at one point – players are still pretty excited to check out the game because of its interesting controls.
Inertial Drift was set for a Spring 2020 release, but it has been pushed back until August 7th on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.