JDM: Japanese Drift Master Review

JDM: Japanese Drift Master, developed by Polish indie developer Gaming Factory, started as a racing project that wasn't talked about much but quickly became popular online thanks to its beautiful graphics, anime-inspired themes, and promise of an immersive open-world focused on drifting. It's clear that they love Japanese car culture, drifting, and the way Initial D makes you feel like you're racing on the street. 

JDM isn't really a simulator, but its "simcade" physics makes it feel like a mix of an arcade game and a simulator. For an independent developer, jumping into a genre dominated by big names like Forza or Gran Turismo is a big deal. The game mostly makes it through the landing, though it does occasionally crash into a guardrail.

You play as Touma, a Polish drifter looking for fame in Japan's underground drift scene. The game takes place in the made-up Guntama Prefecture, which is clearly a nod to Honshu, Japan. There is a story here, but don't expect a lot of action. It's more like a rough sketch shown in manga-style cutscenes that pay homage to the legendary Initial D. 

While these scenes don't happen very often or move, they do add some flavor. The story is mostly told through the app on your phone, quest markers, and conversations with other drivers. It's just enough to give your endless sliding sideways a reason to go, even if the characters and plot points don't really stick with you.

On the other hand, I find the plot and gameplay to be completely disconnected, and that felt like a major flaw. While the storyline implies serious racing, there have been no actual races—just drifting for points, with little motivation to overtake other drivers. It would be more effective just to provide you with a score objective and do away with the uninspired rivals.

You'll only do one thing for 90% of your time in JDM: Drift. Don't worry, though; the game knows that, and it's fun to drift. The game throws you into an open world with more than 250 kilometers of roads, ranging from highways along the coast to mountain passes.

Even though I was expecting some tough-style racing, where the emphasis is on speed, rather, drifting for points seems to be the game's main focus, at least for now. While the drifting events are fun, the game's meat and potatoes would have been better suited as an Initial D roleplay, where players may choose between drifting and gripping the wheel to defeat opponents faster. 

However, even though the gameplay doesn't really fit the game's overall concept, there are many things to do in the game, such as delivery missions, grip races, drag races, and drift battles. To fit the way you like to play, you earn money, buy parts, and tune your ride. You can also go to a driving school that gives training missions that let you work on skills like feints, weight shifts, and brake drifts.

There is a cool smartphone in JDM: Japanese Drift Master that keeps track of your map, car settings, events, and tutorials. Even though the idea behind the phone UI is immersive, it can be hard to use, especially when you're in a hurry and just want to check your objective or reroute GPS, which often leads you in the wrong direction or stops working altogether.

There is no traditional fighting in this game; your "enemies" are sharp turns, steep hills, and oversteer. In JDM: Japanese Drift Master, drifting is the main way you control the car. There are two types of drifting modes: Arcade Mode, which has more help and more room for error, and Simcade Mode, which is a bit more grounded and has tighter handling physics. 

Style is rewarded in JDM: Japanese Drift Master: clean starts, long drifts, and staying fast without hitting walls all earn extra points. As you play challenges, you may be given combos, time limits, or specific drift zones. These are shown by green, white, and red lines on the road, which act like rhythm markers in a video game.

The drift system is great, especially for people who are just starting out. Starting a drift is easy, the cars feel responsive (especially on a controller), and the scoring system is fun to use over and over again. That being said, repetition sets in quickly. Things happen too quickly, especially in the delivery and drift challenges, and the AI drivers are unpredictable, sometimes swerving all over the place or blocking you like a traffic cone that can think for itself.

Even though the open world is beautiful, it has invisible walls, fences that can't be broken, and roads that lead nowhere. This takes away from the fantasy of real freedom. Also, the side content isn't very interesting. After a while, everything starts to feel a little empty besides speed traps and the odd side quest.

In JDM: Japanese Drift Master, money is more important than XP when moving up. You can get money by completing missions, and some events pay out quickly, making them easy to farm. This is a problem because by the middle of the game, money is almost useless, and you can buy the best cars way too early, which breaks the difficulty curve. 

To put it simply, the road system and map are wonderful. You could have a brief moment of irritation due to a few spots where the edges are too tight; nonetheless, this is far from being a problem. However, more AI could have been a nice addition, particularly in urban areas. Unfortunately, the city appeared deserted, and depth and reality were sacrificed in this case.

Some places on the map say "Coming Soon," and some lucrative events can't even be reached yet, which adds to the idea that this game may have come out a little too early. When seen from afar, JDM can be very beautiful. The lighting, weather, and day-night cycle make for beautiful drives, especially through rain-soaked mountain curves or through cityscapes at golden hour. 

All the car models in JDM: Japanese Drift Master are well-made, and licensed cars from Mazda, Honda, Subaru, and Nissan are some of the best. But things are a bit messy up close. There are problems with flickering textures, aliasing, and scaling the resolution in this game. 

The interiors are very well done, and the fact that your character's hands move naturally on the wheel makes the experience even more real. The fact that there is no damage to the cars, not even minor damage, makes every crash feel strangely clean. The sound design is fine, but it doesn't stand out. The engine growls are fine, but they don't have the deep, angry sound you'd expect from a tuned-up drift car. 

There aren't many sounds from the outside world, and crashes don't make much of an impact, which again emphasizes how little damage there is to the cars. The radio is the real surprise. There are a bunch of in-game stations that play music that goes well with drifting, from electronic to lo-fi beats. Even though it's not groundbreaking, it helps set the mood.

As someone who doesn't usually play racing games, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to get into and enjoy JDM: Japanese Drift Master. The drifting is fun and easy to get good at, the cars look great, and the setting is cute, even though it's more of a stage than a sandbox. 

Overall, JDM: Japanese Drift Master has a good balance of racing games, enjoyable level design, and arcade elements. Even while the AI isn't perfect, I never felt unfairly disadvantaged in any way—the only thing that really bothered me was how many races required me to get drift points and finish first. 

The game has heart, but it's also clear that it's still being worked on. Fans of racing games would love to see Gaming Factory make improvements and stay true to their plan for this game. From the rough GPS to the missing content and strange UI choices, this game always reminds you that it's an independent game that does a lot for its price.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master does, however, lay a solid foundation. It could become something really special with updates and polish. If you're even slightly interested in drifting and don't mind a few early-access quirks, JDM: Japanese Drift Master is worth a spin (or a slide).