Absolute Drift

About

Absolute Drift: Zen Edition is a driving game that focuses on the art of drifting. The free update includes new event challenges, midnight tracks, replays, ghost cars, tutorials, and improved controller compatibility. The original game features free-roam mode and drift events such as Driftkhana and Mountain Drift, where players can hone their drifting skills.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,159 reviews

music320 positive mentions

story20 negative mentions

The game features a minimalist art style that is visually pleasing and easy to navigate.
Drifting mechanics are satisfying and rewarding, providing a great sense of accomplishment when mastered.
The soundtrack is well-designed and enhances the overall relaxing experience of the game.

The game lacks a clear tutorial, making it difficult for new players to learn the drifting mechanics.
Controls can feel unresponsive and overly sensitive, leading to frustration during gameplay.
The game is relatively short, with limited content that may lead to repetitive gameplay.

music
511 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
35%
3%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its relaxing and chill electronic and drum & bass tracks that complement the minimalist visuals and enhance the drifting experience. However, some users find the soundtrack repetitive or unremarkable, suggesting that it may not appeal to everyone, particularly those who prefer different music genres. Overall, while the soundtrack is often highlighted as a strong point, personal taste plays a significant role in how players perceive its quality.
- “Pure drifting joy with great music and a very zen feeling to it - the devs knew what they had when they called it 'zen edition'.”
- “Drifting through serene environments feels meditative, enhanced by the soothing soundtrack.”
- “The soundtrack complements the gameplay, creating a calming atmosphere.”
- “There is no other audio of note and the music genre is very niche and not palatable.”
- “The music is mostly unremarkable from what I listened to, just the sort of boring house music you get in street racing games.”
- “The soundtrack is just generic, uninspired chill music that is so bland the different songs just blend together and make the whole experience even more irritating.”
graphics
376 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
49%
2%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a minimalist art style that many players find visually appealing, with clean and simple designs that enhance clarity and focus during gameplay. While some reviewers appreciate the aesthetic as charming and fitting for the drifting mechanics, others criticize the graphics for being too simplistic or lacking detail, which can sometimes hinder gameplay experience. Overall, the combination of minimalist visuals and a fitting soundtrack creates a relaxing atmosphere, although performance issues have been noted on lower-end systems.
- “The graphics provide a clean background to leave streaking rubber as you drift around corners, through boxes and up and down dystopian highways.”
- “Absolute Drift goes for an incredibly minimalistic art style and it looks very pleasing because of it.”
- “The minimalistic graphics and tire tracks you leave behind make the game feel like you're brushing calligraphy on a canvas.”
- “The graphics are too simplistic and no real events take place.”
- “Considering how low-detail the graphics are, it is ridiculous how poorly the game plays.”
- “The graphical options are very limited: no custom resolutions, no v-sync and the graphical quality is limited to a few presets, which means you can't set the anti-aliasing, texture filtering, etc. on your own.”
gameplay
312 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
57%
3%
The gameplay of "Absolute Drift" is characterized by its simple yet challenging mechanics, focusing heavily on mastering drifting techniques. While many players find the controls intuitive and the gameplay rewarding once learned, others struggle with the sensitivity and lack of tutorials, leading to frustration. Overall, the game offers a zen-like experience with a minimalist aesthetic, appealing to those who enjoy skill-driven gameplay despite some criticisms regarding content length and repetitiveness.
- “Simple but satisfying gameplay with a clean and consistent art style.”
- “The gameplay is challenging yet rewarding, with responsive controls.”
- “The mechanics feel spot on and the atmospherics are outstanding.”
- “Repetitive gameplay, far beyond the 'take the same turn over and over until you master it' idea.”
- “The core gameplay is not fun.”
- “The mechanics are intuitive, the difficulty progresses nicely, and the gameplay is very relaxing.”
story
159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
78%
13%
The game's story is minimal and often described as non-existent, with players completing the main "story" in about 2-3 hours. While the focus is primarily on gameplay mechanics and drifting challenges, the lack of a substantial narrative leaves many feeling unfulfilled. The free-roam mode offers some replayability through various missions, but overall, the game is criticized for its brevity and lack of depth in storytelling.
- “The story mode consists of different zones that steadily get harder and harder as you progress, each zone containing challenges and its own set of tracks to complete before you can unlock the next.”
- “The game is made up of tiered worlds that have varying difficulty, events with challenges on each, a handful of cars, and scattered missions that make you move around the map in a scavenger hunt fashion.”
- “Although the main 'story' of the game may only take 2-3 hours, the replay value is incredibly high.”
- “The game lacks depth in the story department.”
- “It focuses on the mechanics of the game, and the story is basically non-existent.”
- “There's really no story here.”
replayability
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
54%
7%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it enjoyable for chasing high scores and leaderboard rankings, while others feel it lacks depth and content after initial completion. Many appreciate the challenge and mechanics, suggesting that those who enjoy perfecting their skills will find significant replay value, despite the game's short length. Overall, it seems that replayability largely depends on individual player preferences regarding score chasing and competition.
- “Low price and decent replayability with a challenging but rewarding game engine.”
- “Absolute Drift is a fun short game, but don't get discouraged about its length because there is plenty of replayability if getting high scores is your kind of thing.”
- “The minimalistic visuals belie the game’s surprisingly complex and thoughtfully crafted driving physics; this is a game that is fairly easy to get into, but contains a depth and replayability that I was not expecting.”
- “Fine for mindless completionism, but zero replay value in my opinion.”
- “Once you get a hold of the drifting mechanics, maxing out the game doesn’t seem to be a bigger issue and unfortunately it ends too quickly, without much replayability apart from chasing the top of the leaderboard.”
- “Not much replayability in my opinion.”
atmosphere
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
41%
11%
The atmosphere in "Absolute Drift" is widely praised for its calming and zen-like qualities, enhanced by a minimalistic art style and an excellent electronic soundtrack that complements the gameplay. Players appreciate the game's ability to create a meditative mood, with visuals reminiscent of "Mirror's Edge" and sound design that immerses them in the drifting experience. Despite some challenges in gameplay mechanics, the overall ambiance is described as soothing and inviting, making it a compelling environment for players to enjoy.
- “The soundtrack complements the gameplay, creating a calming atmosphere.”
- “A slow, deliberate and very entertaining drifting game with a zen and relaxing atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is simply perfect!”
- “The atmosphere is what you get in the preview: minimalistic (near abstract) visuals and an absolutely awesome soundtrack.”
- “The minimalistic graphics and relaxing music create a very likable atmosphere (Mirror's Edge comes to mind).”
- “The atmosphere is well-rounded with an electronic soundtrack, subtle tire squealing, and rich car sounds.”
optimization
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
52%
14%
Overall, the optimization of the game has received mixed reviews. While some players report smooth performance and effective controls, others experience significant issues such as slow rendering, control delays, and occasional stuttering. The presence of adjustable graphics settings is appreciated, but some users note that the game is still not fully optimized, particularly in certain events and maps.
- “It's so well optimized.”
- “I had zero issues with the performance.”
- “The game is nicely optimized and I can definitely see someone playing this on an unplugged laptop (provided you have a controller).”
- “So poorly optimized graphics, slow rendering, and the delay in controls is so significant that it's practically impossible to play.”
- “I experienced some performance issues in a couple of events, but I was still able to complete the game just fine.”
- “The performance of the game did not reflect the basic nature of the graphics.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some enjoy the challenge of repeatedly tackling tracks to improve scores, others find it tedious and repetitive. The free roam mode offers a break from grinding, but control issues and the need for patience can detract from the enjoyment. Those who appreciate grinding for high scores may find it rewarding, but it can also feel like a chore for others.
- “The night tracks are just tedious.”
- “I’ve only played about an hour of the game, but I can tell that beating this game will be tedious.”
- “If you are really into grinding the same tracks over and over to get a better high score, this game is for you.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its humor, featuring amusing car antics, funny quotes on loading screens, and a lighthearted approach that encourages players to enjoy the experience without taking it too seriously. Reviewers appreciate the clever presentation, entertaining tutorials, and humorous easter eggs, contributing to an overall fun and engaging atmosphere.
- “I make the car drive funny and it makes me smile.”
- “The game also has a sense of humor in the way it presents itself and its tutorials and the names of the cars, and since it doesn't take itself too seriously, you can just have fun with it.”
- “I'm so bad at this game it's hilarious.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting feelings of nostalgia and joy reminiscent of childhood experiences. The thrill of mastering drifting mechanics evokes a sense of exhilaration, with some reviewers noting the emotional highs of achieving perfect runs and the joy of reliving favorite moments through music. Overall, the game successfully elicits a deep emotional response, making it a memorable experience.
- “10/10, made me feel like a child again.”
- “10/10, would cry again.”
- “There's something amazingly fun about linking together these long, flowing drifts and chaining your way around an entire course, just barely missing clipping points and never once touching a wall.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while it runs well on the Steam Deck for short sessions, users have reported significant issues with controller support, particularly on Windows 10, leading to frustrating glitches that hinder gameplay.
- “The game runs smoothly on the Steam Deck, making it perfect for short, enjoyable gameplay sessions.”
- “I appreciate how stable the game is; I haven't encountered any crashes or major bugs.”
- “The performance is consistently reliable, allowing for an immersive experience without interruptions.”
- “I had the infamous Xbox One controller bug on Windows 10, and trying to fix this issue using the standard troubleshooting guide yielded no results. Neither did any of the publicly available beta options help.”
- “Controller support is buggy.”
- “Sometimes this game glitches out and doesn't let me get hours of playtime on Steam (might be just me), but this game is super fun!”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, suggesting that the developers prioritized profit over creating a quality driving simulation experience.
- “I feel like this was just a quick cash grab and the developers didn't even attempt to make this a driving simulator.”
- “The monetization model is so aggressive that it ruins the overall experience of the game.”
- “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it feel like you can't enjoy the game without spending extra money.”