Master Your Drifting and Car Mechanic Skills in the Newly-Announced DriftCE Simulator Game

If trying certain activities in real life is too time-consuming or expensive, worry not; there are simulation games out there for things you wouldn’t have thought about. For instance, you can try out being a real estate agent and flipping houses. Are you passionate about tanks? Well, you can get Tank Mechanic Simulator and discover more about how the war machines work. Or, let’s say you want to get your adrenaline pumping with some illicit activities but not support the real-life consequences – there’s something even for that, such as Thief Simulator.

Owning a vehicle can certainly be expensive, especially when we’re talking about high-performance ones. Luckily, there are a bunch of simulators out there, especially just for driving, which will only cost you a one-time fee and maybe some extra downloadable content if you wish to go for that and enhance your game.

ECC Games’ titles are all centered around one thing: cars. Besides the renowned Car Mechanic Simulator (CMS), the studio has also created GearShift and is working on bringing CMS to mobile.

In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, CMS has established itself as one of the go-to games for tinkering with cars. As its name suggests, you play a beginner mechanic and have to work around different builds, upgrade your shop, and tackle increasingly challenging projects.

Even though it’s a videogame, Car Mechanic Simulator provides a fantastic way to learn how a car works and how different issues are solved, from changing a suspension or brakes to building an engine.

Coincidentally, I just bought the simulator a week ago, and I’ve managed to rack up around 7 hours in-game. I don’t know about you, but there’s something really satisfying about identifying car problems, taking all sorts of elements apart, replacing what’s needed, and then putting them back together. To be specific, you can work with thousands of different parts for more than 40 cars.

Now that you understand more about CMS, let’s move on to today’s topic, the new DriftCE game, which comes from the publisher 505 Games and developer ECC Games. Although it’s marketed as a drifting game, you can certainly consider it a spinoff of CMS. The game follows similar mechanics, but DriftCE is more focused on building the perfect machine to engage in the world of drifting.

Your journey starts in a garage, where you can significantly transform your ride – each component you choose will affect the car’s performance and, consequently, how “driftable” it will be. For instance, you can go for a bigger and more powerful engine. But then you’ll have to think about how to reduce the weight of your vehicle for optimum performance. Between 1,800 and 1,900 interchangeable components are available, and you can cycle through them to come up with a machine that suits your driving style.

You begin with a stock car, and you have to modify it to support the demands of motorsport by using all sorts of tools. First, you’ll need a better suspension, install a roll cage, and move on to other elements, such as the engine or other components. Rest assured, there are plenty of cosmetic upgrades also available, such as body kits, paint color, and decals. Using the Dyno module tool, the game will guide you on how to tune your car precisely to reach certain Tuning Stages, which allow you to compete in the available challenges, such as Time Attack, Solo Run, or Gymkhanas.

About the game modes, you can select between singleplayer and multiplayer. You can go solo and start your career, enjoy some quick races or simply take your car out for a ride with no pressure of winning a competition. Multiplayer is also supported for free riding, and you’ll also have the following events you can play with a friend: Free for All, Sprint, Laps, and Tandems.

There are currently twelve vehicle models available, all more or less ideal for drifting: Toyota AE86, Mazda MX-5, Nissan Silvia (S15), Subaru BRZ, BMW E36 M3, BMW E92 M3, Nissan 180SX (S13), Mazda RX-7, Nissan 350Z, BMW E30 M3, Ford-Mustang, BMW E46 M3, and the Mazda RX-8.

The simulative driving experience has been designed to deliver the same feeling real drifters get. In case you want to take things up a notch and have an even more realistic experience, steering wheels from renowned brands such as Logitech, Thrustmaster, and Fanatec are supported.

Multiple tracks have been added to the game – you can take your whip out for a spin on the famed Ebisu complex which features seven circuits, as well as in a parking lot or in other locations.

All in all, I can’t speak for DriftCE as I haven’t tried the game just yet, but knowing it comes from the makers of CMS means that it gets a green light from me. Driving mechanics aren’t advanced in CMS, so it’s good to see that ECC Games has focused more on the behind-the-wheel experience in DriftCE.

The release date for DriftCE is still unknown, but we can expect the game to hit consoles (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One) this spring. Check out the game trailer below!