Burnout Crazy Drift

Summary

Burnout Crazy Drift is a fast-paced arcade drifter from the same team as Crazy Drifter, featuring five awesome pre-tuned Japanese cars and fun physics, making it great for a quick drifting fix when you need it.

Where you’ll need to grind away in Crazy Drifter for cosmetic upgrades and body kits, this game offers fully modified versions straight from the showroom (which are more like the Japanese auctions!) For example, some cars come with a Time Attack-style kit (canards, huge splitter, aftermarket hood), while the Mazda RX-7 FC features Ganador-style mirrors and a familiar 90s JDM drift kit.

The physics encourage smooth, flowing drifts, and Crazy Drifter fans will likely notice the unique ‘boost’ mechanic, where if you nail the sweet spot angle mid-drift, your car suddenly zooms forward.

Overall, the physics are arcade-like (with a touch of sim), where the cars feel slightly floaty and slidey, but it’s enjoyable once you understand how it works. You don’t need to worry about wall taps killing your score, either, so you can clip containers and barriers without needing to worry about your earnings.

There are 10 tracks in each game mode (Race and Drift), varying from the dockyard, where you can rub walls, to racetracks with massive run-offs and mountain backdrops.

The graphics (especially the cars) are stunning, featuring some of the best 3D car models in any browser game that look identical to their real-world equivalents.

Burnout Crazy Drift features

• Release date – November 23, 2022
• Difficulty – Beginner/Intermediate
• Levels/environments – 10
• Number of vehicles – 5
• Vehicle customization/upgrades – Cosmetic only (paint)
• Multiplayer – No
• Mobile – No
• Developer – Vitalitygames

Physics

The arcade-style handling feels a little bit sim-like at times, with smooth, fluid drifts and big angles rewarded with the unique ‘boost’ quirk. When you nail the perfect drift angle, the car suddenly accelerates forward. It’s the same mechanic Crazy Drifter fans will undoubtedly recognize.

Its floaty, slidey feel means it’s nowhere near as realistic as sim-based drifting games like Drift Hunters MAX, where you get a real feel for tire grip and the handling feels perfectly predictable, but it’s still satisfying and accessible for beginners. The lack of countersteer/wheel angle is also noticeably different between the two games, with the wheels mostly pointing straight forward, even at big angles.

Graphics

It’s gotta be said that the stunning 3D car models are some of the best you’ll see in a browser game. While the game still looks great on Low setting (ideal for low-end devices), high quality takes things up a notch, adding detailed shadows and polish.

If awesome graphics are what you’re after, UNBOUNDED is the ultimate pick here, where you can also meet your friends online before tuning your rides and then drifting and cruising on the quiet nighttime city streets.

Burnout Crazy Drift controls

PC/laptop/Chromebook

• W/Up arrow – Accelerate
• S/Down arrow – Brake/reverse
• A/Left arrow – Steer left
• D/Right arrow – Steer right
• Space – Handbrake/e-brake
• Left Shift – Nitro
• C – Change camera
• R – Reset car

Mobile/tablet (iOS/Android)

While other sources claim the game works on Android and Apple (iOS) devices, it doesn’t appear to be the case during our testing. If you manage to load it, the game should feature simple touchscreen controls.

We test each game before publishing, so make sure you check out our mobile game collection for titles that perform well on portable devices to save you time.

How to play Burnout Crazy Drift

Initial setup

The main menu takes you straight to the garage, with the Mitsubishi Evo (converted to rear-wheel drive, of course!) already selected. You’ll then see the following buttons:

Top right

• Trophy icon (Achievements)
• H/L toggle (High/Low graphics)
• Audio mute

Bottom right

• Play button

Before you head to the track, click the trophy icon to browse theachievements. You’ll start landing these for super simple goals like ‘play twice,’ ‘use nitrous,’ and ‘crash into opponents,’ alongside less-desirable ones like ‘lose five consecutive races.’ 

You start with $100, and (depending on your skills) you can earn around $15,000 in a single race, so progression is fast, and you’ll be able to unlock your favorite cars before you know it.

You can click the left or right arrows in the garage to preview the five-car roster and their price tags. All cars come pre-tuned with aftermarket goodies already fitted.

Getting started

Click Play to see the basic instructions, then choose between ‘Race’ or ‘Drift’ mode. Both offer 10 tracks, but you’ll start with Track 1 in both modes and unlock the rest as you progress.

Camera options (C key)

There’s a variety of fun camera modes to experiment with:

• Normal chase cam
• Wheel cam (mounted on front wheel)
• Hood cam (adds a new element of challenge, as you can’t see what the rear end’s doing!)
• Cinematic cam (great at racetracks, but useless at the Dockyard since it can’t see through the containers)

Even in ‘Race’ mode, the car is super slidey with the same physics as ‘Drift’, and the same applies to your sideways-happy rival.

Remember to use the nitrous (Shift key). You can see how much you currently have in the tank on the speedo cluster, and it replenishes automatically (quite quickly). Use it wisely at key moments (overtake opportunities, etc.), but don’t feel you need to hoard it, as it’ll soon refill.

Using the boost mechanic

This isn’t an “official” thing, but once you nail it, you’ll feel the surge of power we’re talking about.

If you lift off the throttle when you’re approaching corners, you can then suddenly drop the accelerator mid-corner before pinning it to exit the drift. If you do this, along with nailing the perfect drift angle, the game suddenly speeds up, and that’s your reward for good execution.

Bigger angles often provide more boost (just be ready for it), and holding drifts longer builds combo multipliers for massive earnings.

Game modes

Drift Mode

This is pure drifting across 10 tracks (once unlocked). You won’t have any opponents to worry about; it’s essentially just a practice session where you’ll maximize your combos and score, which translates directly into your cash earnings once you return to the garage.

Drift mode is best for earning cash fast, since you won’t need to worry about crashing into your rival, or them smashing into you when you least expect it.

Race Mode

In this mode, you’re in a 1v1 battle over two laps, where both you and your opponent get the same slidey physics as Drift mode, making it much more fun and perfect for tandem practice.

Since they’re already going sideways, this means your rival can become a tandem buddy if you want. Once you get the hang of the physics, you can start rubbing doors and practicing close-proximity driving, and have fun before overtaking on the second lap to ensure you secure the win for the payout.

If you’d rather do online tandem battles with your friends, make sure you check out Drift King, which is the hottest free multiplayer drifting game right now. Or, if you love the JDM car list in this game, you might prefer Drift Hunters Pro (from the same team, but with a 90s JDM focus – think Mazda RX-7 FD, Nissan Skyline R34, Silvias, etc.).

Car list

There are five iconic 90s JDM cars in the showroom, all pre-tuned with recognizable aftermarket parts:

• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (Evo X) (Free) – Converted to RWD, featuring a variety of aftermarket goodies. A solid starter car.

• Honda S2000 ($18,000) – This Time Attack-modded S2K features canards, tow hooks, and carbon fiber hood and side skirts, along with a big wing.

• Mazda RX-7 FC ($36,000) – This sick drift-spec RX-7 features mods such as Ganador-style mirrors, a 90s JDM drift body kit, and an aftermarket hood.
• Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S ($54,000) – Quite stock, and ideal for those who are after something more subtle, featuring a simple splitter and a few minor add-ons.

• Toyota Supra MK4 ($72,000) – The most expensive car is the holy grail Supra, along with the legendary 2JZ-GTE engine (none of this BMW nonsense). It comes with a Time Attack-style kit with big splitters and carbon fiber everywhere.

Each of the great-looking cars is near-identical to its real-world versions. The RX-7 FC is small and nimble, while the Supra has that heavyweight presence.

Some cars (like the RX-7) even feature Bosozoku-style angled exhausts and comically high ride height with massive body roll when drifting. It looks slammed in the showroom, but sits like a 4×4 when it gets sideways. Unfortunately, you can’t slam a set of coilovers on, but that’s all part of the game’s charm!

Tuning & customization

You only get ‘Paint’ as an option here, where you can choose any color from a full palette for $100. Since you start with 100 bucks, you can repaint the Evo immediately if you want.

Crazy Drifter offers way more options, from various body kits and roll cages to hood swaps and wheels. However, you’ll start with stock cars, then earn and buy upgrades, but in Burnout Crazy Drift, you get pre-built machines from the start. For example, the Supra in Crazy Drifter is totally stock when purchased, but here you get the full-blown aftermarket setup right away.

For the ultimate visual and performance customization in a drifting browser game, Drift Hunters MAX is the top pick, offering 39 cars with incredibly comprehensive tuning and heaps of mods and upgrades. The only thing MAX lacks is online multiplayer, where you’ll want to try Drift King if you want to take your customized build online to show off.

Advanced tips & tricks

Master the boost sweet spot

Experiment with lifting off the throttle going into corners, then accelerate as you’re exiting, and your car will suddenly zoom forward when you nail it. Once you get it, experiment with bigger angles as they often provide the best boost.

String combos together for maximum earnings

Focus on transitioning between corners and linking them together without breaking the chain, rather than big one-off drifts if you’re trying to earn big bucks to unlock new rides. Wall taps don’t kill your score, so you can use containers as clipping points, just try not to whack into them too hard!

Use Drift mode for cash farming

Not needing to worry about your opponent crashing into you should typically mean consistent high scores once you get the hang of it. Race mode is admittedly much more fun here, but riskier if you’re trying to earn some quick cash for new cars.

Turn rivals into tandem buddies in Race mode

Since both cars are super slidey, you can treat your opponent as a practice partner and “encourage” them to get a little more sideways. Knock doors and match their line, then overtake them with a nitrous boost on lap two to ensure you still snag the win.

Save the nitrous for key moments

Don’t hold it constantly. It’s useful to save it for when you need speed or to recover from mistakes, but it does refill pretty quickly.

Burnout Crazy Drift FAQ