I used to have dreams and aspirations. Good times. But they never included becoming a drifter, err… drift racer. It’s a long and daunting road. I’d probably have to get my driver’s license first.
Drift Kyngs City doesn’t require such credentials. All you need is to sell your soul, buy any available wreck, and exploit all your skills in a desperate attempt to find meaning in life. Too true, dude. Too true.
Drift Kyngs City (Computer)
Developer: magicdweedoo, Nonsense Machine
Publisher: magicdweedoo, Nonsense Machine
Released: June 13, 2024
Suggested retail price: $19.99
Drift Kyngs City is the story of the offspring of the former Lord Dryft. Your mother really wants you to follow in your footsteps, but being a disappointment, you wait until adulthood to really try.
After a flashback to your mother’s training, you spend an unspecified amount of time in suspended animation (I assume) before finally being brought back to reality (such as it is) to get a job and a car. I’m not sure why your character waited so long to do these things, but that’s where you come in.
Lots of configurations in Drift Kyngs City is hilariously random. Your avatar name is created by gluing together three random syllables, which often results in bizarre nicknames. The company you work for is chosen from a mishmash of random, nonsensical, market-friendly words. Even your job interview is an automated discussion of random questions and answers.
It creates a strange and forgiving loose structure. “Loose” is one of the descriptions I would exploit Drift Kyngs City. Because of all this complicated randomization, nothing feels solid. Nothing feels significant. And that’s amazing.
When you wake up in the morning, it’s time to go to work. You run into the building, check your work station, and start putting away, finishing a miniature selection of tasks for the day. I don’t think you have to do your job. I’m not sure if there’s a way to get fired, or if I’ve been reprimanded by my boss or coworkers. However, I didn’t push too difficult because I honestly enjoyed going to work Drift Kyngs City.
The things you do on the job are as bizarrely presented as most things in the game. Tasks range from pressing buttons to writing a program, to creating a meaningless logo, to making the all-important coffee run. It’s a disturbingly insightful look at the conformity of office culture. Doing your job earns you a paycheck, which is only slightly significant early on in the game. The best way to earn money is to simply complete races.
Your car starts with low stats, but you gradually earn tokens that you can spend on upgrading its stats. They’re tough and brisk at first. If you invest your tokens in speed and acceleration and learn how to time your nitro boosts, the races are incredibly basic to win. You can complete three of them in a day, which is much more profitable than your day job. You can also do tasks for your “friends,” which also doesn’t pay well, but I like pretending I’m popular and reliable.
The story revolves around you trying to defeat the Lords of Dryft so you can face the Dryft Kyng and claim their crown. This may come as a surprise, but you don’t actually have to defeat the Lords in a race. Each one has challenges that usually include drivingbut not in reality racing. Drifting, for that matter, is optional, though perhaps “drifting” isn’t really a styling thing and has nothing to do with manipulating traction and momentum.
You move from chapter to chapter by tracking down Lord Drift and then forcing him to pass on the challenge. It’s a airy game. By default, there’s a goal marker that you can always follow, which makes the exploration aspect of the game a bit pointless. On the other hand, the fact that the goals are sometimes unclear is almost necessary.
The problem is that Drift Kyngs City doesn’t require much connection. There are a lot of things there that you don’t need need to do, and that means you can mostly just follow the objective marker to the credits. You’d have to be a pretty dull person to do that, but I also think a certain amount of friction is necessary to create an engaging experience. Drift Kyngs City has very little resistance. Having content is fine, but if it is not meaningful, the experience itself is not either.
The lack of connection can be a earnest problem, but since Drift Kyngs City is laid back about most things, never becoming a chore. The driving physics are so enjoyable that completing side challenges or repeating the same few routes slowly becomes dull. Even bouncing around the city, bouncing off buildings and running over pedestrians so difficult they burn is a pleasure. Your pockets are infinitely deep, so visiting the store and buying everything you can ensures that you can easily complete side quests.
It also makes up for many of its shortcomings with its boundless personality. Your job seems pointless, but it captures the hopelessness of office culture so well that it’s almost the best part of the game. If you don’t refill your health or energy meters, your character will pass out and be taken to the hospital. There’s a fee, but you can keep asking for it to be added to your “bill,” and then just never pay it in a sneaky way that deliberately undermines the annoying penalty for forgetting to eat.
This is complemented by the art style, which looks like it was ripped from a 90s teenager’s notebook. It’s as if the entire game was drawn by the latest POG illustrator. It’s drawn in disgusting colors and features characters that are as fascinating as they are ugly. It appeals to me.
As much as I liked it Drift Kyngs CityI wish certain elements were more polished and everything fit together better. If everything was done this well it would be perfect. If the side quests and life sims were more meaningful it would be awesome. But that ignores the fact that the game already tries so difficult and has so many intricacies for a title developed by a miniature team.
So what we got is the closest thing to the DS/GBA version Urbz from DS/GBA version Urbz. I consider that a very flattering compliment.
The intentionally sloppy attitude and random dialogue elements were more than enough to keep me glued. The unbalanced world and solid dialogue strengthened the experience. And the fact that I wanted more from Drift Kyngs City is proof enough that it’s worth playing. It’s unique and jovial, effortlessly combining the weird with the mundane.
