Modern racing games are expected to have online multiplayer with global leaderboards. It wouldn’t be surprising to find a virtual store where you can spend real money to soup up your in-game vehicle with more performance, or “rice” it up just for the vibes. An open-world map is practically a must, and cars should have realistic (or semi-realistic) physics and actually get damaged in high-speed collisions. The new Tokyo Xtreme Racer (known as Shutokō Battle in Japan) has none of these features, and yet I can’t stop lying to myself that I’ll only play “one more race” every night.
Released on January 23 for PC, Genki’s new Tokyo Xtreme Racer is a revival of the iconic arcade racing series that saw its last installment, Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2, debut 18 years ago on the PlayStation 2 (that’s 2007, if you’re too lazy to bust out the calculator).
