I’ve recently rediscovered just how much I enjoy racing games thanks to the onslaught of titles that have launched this year. Dirt 5, Project Cars, and WRC 9 stand out as my top contenders for racing title of the year, with WRC 9 having a slight edge over the rest due to its focus on drift racing. So, of course I was interested in checking out Absolute Drift from developer Funselektor Labs, available now on Nintendo Switch. Although its learning curve is one of the steepest I think I’ve ever encountered, Absolute Drift is a title that makes sense on the Switch, eventually offering up fluid and satisfying gameplay, provided you have enough patience to stick with it.
Absolute Drift was originally released on PC in 2015, before making its way to PS4, Xbox One, and iOS devices. I remember being pretty intrigued while watching streamers play the game on Twitch, but I never ended up playing the game myself. Although the Steam User Rating reflects a “Very Positive” rating for the original PC version, its Metacritic score is a bit less enthusiastic. After spending time with Absolute Drift on the Switch, it’s safe to say that I fall somewhere in the middle of both of those opinions.
Absolute Drift is technically a racing game, but it’s about as far from a traditional racer as you can get. Rather than relying on speed and typical racing mechanics, controlling your car properly requires you to be thoughtful in your approach to each racing challenge - perhaps overly so. Speed is not always your friend when heading into drifts. Actually, it’s almost never your friend. You’ll need to rely on steering, countersteering, and trajectory, with speed considerations likely being the least of your worries in most cases. Absolute Drift is a game of angles, with one poorly timed turn being capable of causing your vehicle to spin wildly out of control and into the nearest wall.
Don’t be fooled by its minimalistic art direction, either. When you first start out playing, you’ll be crashing. A lot. I don’t think I’ve ever played a more difficult game without throwing in the towel after a few hours of being repeatedly beaten down, but I had to know why and how a positive Steam User Rating was even possible.
And then it happened. Things all of a sudden just… clicked. I was effortlessly drifting around corners and between objects in an incredibly smooth and fluid motion. I finally found myself in the state of Zen that the game hopes to instill in its players, which also meant that I was successfully completing the missions and events I was previously failing time after time. More worlds became unlocked for me to explore. Granted, it was much more of the same in terms of the foundational challenges, but it was great to finally get out of World One (after multiple hours) and experience some new scenery and level designs. The Midnight Events are especially fun to play.
It’s worth working towards unlocking all of the levels that Absolute Drift has to offer. While I love down-to-the-detail realistic graphics, Absolute Drift’s top-down, minimalistic design is a refreshing experience. While there are timed challenges, it never really feels like I’m under pressure, again falling in line with the game’s focus on the art of Zen and its connection to the world of drifting. I would have loved for this easy-going feeling to have clicked much sooner in my playthrough than it did, but it ultimately made Absolute Drift a better experience once it happened.
My first interaction with this sort of minimalistic racing game came in Art of Rally, which was created by the same team - which isn't surprising, given the art style and focus on Zen. Although I would have liked for that Zen to have come into play way earlier than it did, once everything clicked, Absolute Drift became worth picking up for a quick race whenever I have a spare moment. Just don’t expect to reach that level of driving skill quickly… if at all.
A Switch copy of Absolute Drift was provided to TheGamer for this review. Absolute Drift is available now for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and iOS devices.
Absolute Drift: Zen Edition