JDM: Rise Of The Scorpion: The Best Skidmarks In Town

Time flies when you're drifting through Japan, and I missed the JDM: Rise of the Scorpion deadline. It's out now on Steam, and as it's a prologue, it's F-R-E-E.

Drifting through Japan? Oh, you mean in the game, right? Nope. I'm writing this post from the land of the rising bum, and I am currently in the Tohoku region, but the Subaru at my disposal is far from a drift setup. Driving a 350z in Gaming Factory's drifting game is much more fun; alas, not so much on the Steam Deck at the time of writing.

JDM: Rise of the Scorpion is one of those 'homage' thingys that pay heed to Initial D and all sorts of Japanese culture to have this fusion of... Western interpretations. The cityscape in the game features a deluge of sakura and temples to the point of cliche. From my roadmap, there's been no experience of pegging it downhill, trying one's best not to spill the tofu in a Sprinter Trueno. Still, it's been fun. Ish.

The slowdown and frequent crashes (game, not driving style) evoked a sense of dread that the Steam Deck was already on its last legs, desperate for some respite. Unable to make the same comparisons on the desktop or gaming laptop, it is with regret that the process has not been as smooth as anticipated.

Giving a smug nod to the manga influences is a nice addition, but the storytelling isn't the best. I'm quite surprised that the main character wasn't named Tanaka and had some sort of ninja or samurai lineage that cropped up, as it's so painted by numbers in the way of narrative. As I always state, I'm a narrative whore with a penchant for cutscenes. I skipped it here.

Again, like Mum always says, "...end on a positive". The gameplay is decent. The handling and drift physics are a respectable fusion of arcade and simulation, a.k.a. balanced. JDM: Rise of the Scorpion's presentation is spot-on, though the devs could have toned it down, as less can also mean more. Graphics-wise, it's too intensive for the Deck - even with the settings lowered, though despite all these negatives, it's got a lot of potential.

People have this fixation on drifting being cool (as they've seen Tokyo Drift too many times, and yes, I'm going to say it: it's dogshit), but whinge about the mechanics in practice. From Absolute Drift through to Drift21, there have been so many stabs at the 'medium', and few manage to capture it. I've always had a soft spot for Need for Speed: Payback, but that's just me. As for JDM: Rise of the Scorpion, IMO, it just about nails it. It's a shame the roads are mostly not made for drifting.

Looks matter, regardless of what your folks told you, though the highlight of this demo is the sound. Rev counters are often ear-piercing or unnatural, yet here, they sound like your very own street setup. Very impressive. 

JDM: Rise of the Scorpion is a prologue and not exclusive to reviewers, aristocrats and ratbag influencers - you can play it too via Steam, so stop faffing about with others' opinions and give it a go. The full release is due late Summer(?), and to be fair, aside from the janky manga storytelling, it's arguably the best driving title on the release radar for 2024. Give it a chance, and you may find that laying skidmarks on the streets of Japan are much more aesthetic than the ones in your underwear.

Also, this is the first virgin post on the new site. Cherry officially popped.