Slipstream, the Outrun-styled racer from Blitworks (@BlitWorks) and Brazilian indie developer ANSDOR (@ansdor), is getting a free expansion called “blue hour” on June 28th on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. The expansion brings 3 new cars, 5 tracks, 5 songs and 2 new game modes to the game.

All the new tracks are set in real world locations, more specifically in exotic or unexpected locations in Europe: Marseille, Pompeii, Transylvania, Granada and Edinburgh. Ansdor's skills have improved a lot since 2018 and he also added many new features to the Slipstream engine, and the new tracks make heavy use of them, like a fog system, a dynamic lighting system that allows cars’ headlights to illuminate the track in real time. The expansion looks like an early 32-bit game, while the original was more like a late 16-bit game. As a natural technical evolution, he wanted to try new techniques and do artistic experiments that weren't possible in the original.

On the music side, Effoharkay's goal was to maintain some consistency of the same synthy vapor OST but without relying on synth sounding instruments. Most of the songs were inspired by the eccentric electric club-ish racing tunes of Ridge Racer 4, Need for Speed, and Wipeout. He wanted it to be pulsing and driving and diverse, while not worrying about pristine production quality or structure.

The combination of the colorful pixel art graphics with a soundtrack that draws from synth pop and jazz fusion influences by Stefan Moser, aka Effoharkay, sets the tone for a race across a variety of exotic locations from all around the world, including cities, deserts, forests, mountains and beaches. Drifting, rewinding and slipstreaming mechanics add depth to the driving gameplay, and the result is a strategic, challenging and exciting experience.

Slipstream is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch at a price of 9.99 USD | 8.99 EUR. The game will be natively released on Xbox Series S|X and PS5 later.

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