Inertial Drift

Easily one of the most mechanically complex and nuanced arcade racers I've ever tried.
Each campaign has unique mechanics, but that does have the side effect of not really teaching you how to succeed at the hardest levels when you try to get at them.
Strong recommend
That said, I don't appreciate getting to the point in the story where the game says "Yes there are shortcuts. No, you can't use them. They're not for you."
And then asks you to beat a guy who is transparently cheating and a ♥♥♥♥ about it with "fair, honest racing"
Let me beat him up.

Gameplay-
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Nothing special
☐ Okay
☐ Bad
Graphics-
☐ Masterpiece
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Will do
☐ Bad
☐ Awful
Audio
☐ Amazing
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
Audience
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☐ Adults
☑ Everyone
Story-
☐ Lovely
☐ Good
☐ Average
☑ Not great
☐ None
Difficult-
☐ Just press a bunch of buttons
☐ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Not so easy
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
Grind-
☐ Nothing
☑ Only if you care about leader boards or ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ A bit grindy sometimes
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ Insanity
Game Time-
☑ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ Depends on you
☐ Endless
Price
☐ Just buy it
☐ Worth the price
☑ Wait for sale
☐ Maybe if you have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended

This is actually a fighting game, but the opponent is the clock
It's not a racing game.
Each car has a unique control scheme, in a way that I've never seen before.
It's deceiving because no where in the menu does it say, "you literally have to press different buttons in different orders to drive this car."
Taking each corner perfectly requires putting in the right "combo" essentially.
Absolutely recommend this on sale. I think the amount of content is a little light for $20, but $10-$15 bucks plus the dlc, buy it.
-----
That said I have 2 complaints... or well notes.
Firstly, this one is subjective. The character design is an absolute turn off, it's the reason I waited 6 years to buy the game. I saw it a very long time ago, I just can't vibe with any of the character designs. I can tell you it was worth it, just ignore the characters.
Secondly, menus could have been planned out better.
Once you're in the game you're greeted with a really sparse menu, which doesn't really point out which order the content is designed to be played it. It's Story, Challenge then Grand Prix. With the Rivals dlc being afterwards.
The story menu is the same way, it's actually a difficulty selection screen, not a character selection. The game gradually ramps up difficulty so you will want to play those in order.
-----
Overall I just wish I'd given the game a chance sooner. And honestly hope we get a sequel...
This feels like the proof of concept for an amazing franchise. Adding things like actual opponent cars to race against, instead of every race being a "Time attack ghost."
Better character descriptions, including recommendations on how to control the car on corners. better UI/Menu design in general.
And races against up to 4, maybe 6 other cars could be super chaotic and fun on these tight tracks.
There's a lot of little improvements that could make a sequel even closer to perfect.

i think this game falls into a lot of the same pitfalls that other indie racing games have, which is not putting enough effort into the presentation. while i fully admit that these can be difficult for an indie dev to do (cars feeling weighty, good engine sounds, sound design in general and good sense of speed, etc), they really do make a difference and it's why i think a lot of lower-budget indie racing games fail to stick with me. this game in particular is on the weaker side of it, with really obnoxious pat-on-the-back character writing (which the DLC admittedly attempts to remedy), terrible music, and a cliche cyberpunk aesthetic.
that being said, i think this one stands above the rest because it's actually innovative and actually challenging. having to learn the car you're driving and separating the difficulties based on how complex the car is to drive is extremely unique, and i had a lot of fun struggling through learning the mechanics of each individual car. i found my sweet spot with the second-highest difficulty vehicles myself. it gives me hope that the developers can take this really cool idea and eventually expand upon it with a higher-budget sequel that looks and sounds a lot nicer.
if this game came out during the golden age of racing games i probably wouldn't care as much, but the genre is in desperate need of new ideas right now and i appreciate this game for what it offers.

Deja vu, etc.
Its ok.
Interesting steering mechanics. Each car has a different steering system, some can drift while accelerating, some requires you to let go off the pedal before you can steer, some require you to brake before drifting.
You CAN'T turn without drifting, if you try is almost as trying to steer a 5 ton concrete block uphill.
Takes some time to get used to the controls since every class has a different system, but its a pretty good racing game.
Art could be better though. Every character has this androgenous design that feels like something you would see from a tumblr artist.
Every car is overdesigned, with bulky body kits, logos and what not.
Even the Trueno reference is barely regocnizable behind all the accessories. I only noticed it was supposed to be the AE86 from the name (Supremo) and the vaguely similar shape.
Also, one MASSIVE let down: no eurobeat or electronic music.
What the hell? You make a game called Inertial Drift, add Initial D references but NO EUROBEAT?? What passes for music is just generic beats. Almost elevator music in a few instances.
Do youself a favor, mute the music and get one of these 2 hour Eurobeat compilations in the background while you play.

The game's concept is quite creative—the dual-stick drift mechanic feels fresh and innovative. Different vehicles handle completely differently, to the point that switching cars almost feels like playing a whole new game. However, the difficulty spikes sharply in the later stages, requiring repeated practice on the same tracks, which can get repetitive and frustrating. Once you finish the story mode, the Grand Prix is where the real challenge begins. The overall comicbook art style almost zero realism on physics, so players accustomed to Forza Horizon or simulation-style games should consider this a headsup before buying.
Reviews: 6/10

A true arcade racer. I'm regretting not trying it earlier.
A first draft after 4 hours.

Presentation is probably mid, story is a bit cringe, as usual for such games, but at least it's not as bad as any of the GRID games or NFS.
Sound design could use some work, lately it seems to be taboo to have screaming engines, this being the nth game that does somewhat electro racing sounds. Not a fan.
OST is good, with a hint of Ridge Racer Type-4.

What I am a fan of though is: proper track design as if we were in the arcades in the 90ties when Sega & Namco outdid each other with every iteration.
No boost! Finally a game that trusts me to do well without ♥♥♥♥♥♥ cheats as well as a good sense of speed. Didn't have that since Ridge Racer V. That's 25 years ago. Let that sink in.

Quite a lot of cars that represent difficulty. Like the original Ridge Racer.

Story & progression is very much like what Ridge Racer Type 4 did: In RR4 you choose the team for difficulty, in Intertial Drift you choose the driver/car. Finishing a championship on easy unlocks a championship on hard and so on. It's really well made. As said earlier, the story is a bit cringe. So before each race there is a talk between people and afterwards. Can be skipped though.

On skipping: I';m a bit annoyed that I need to choose the race again if I want to retyr instead of instantly having an option for retry when I crossed the finish line.

But overall: a gem. I love it quite a lot despite it's little quirks. The game itself is fun and engaging. The pain it leaves as it didn't sell well enough to warrant a successor. The mechanics of this game genuinely pushed arcade racers forward - something that didn't happen for more than 2 decades of racing games that brought licenses, customization, open worlds and endless content that changed every few weeks. Everything but interesting driving models & good track design. This little gem actually offers those two: interesting driving & great track design. I sincerely thank the developer to push such a product - from what I read it was in conception from 2013 onwards, meaning someone in Ireland constantly worked and refined it until it was ready for production, then got it approved, probably took quite some risk to deliver such a unique game. What a guy, what dedication. I'm very grateful that someone cared enough to bring back a good arcade racer.