Race Burnout Drift

Summary

Imagine if you turn up for a race assuming your part-worn tires and two-way limited-slip diff would be enough to let you bag the win, but then you suddenly realize you’re the only one sliding, and your opponents have opted for their best grip setup. That’s likely how you’re gonna feel as soon as you approach the first corner in race mode on this one!

Don’t panic, though. You’ll soon learn that drifting can be the fastest way through a corner once you refine your skills a little, and the best way to do that is by heading to the built-in drift mode, which also happens to be (by far) the best way to earn cash.

Once the money starts hitting the bank, you’ll put it towards a showroom full of muscle cars and exotics to unlock. Some of you may have played the JDM-focused version from the same team, and this one swaps the Evos and Supras for Challengers, Corvettes, a Huracan Performante, and a Ford GT caked in bonkers carbon-fiber aero parts that money can’t buy. (Genuinely!)

Features

• Release date – November 9, 2022
• Difficulty – Beginner/Intermediate
• Levels – 10 tracks (shared between Race and Drift modes)
• Number of vehicles – 9
• Vehicle customization/upgrades – Paint colors only
• Multiplayer – No
• Mobile – Yes (but buggy on tested device)
• Developer – Vitality Games

Physics

The handling is arcade-like and very slidey, but also fun (and sometimes unpredictable) once you get the hang of it. Your car wants to drift through every corner, and sometimes it grips up and launches itself forward without much warning.

One thing you’ll notice pretty quickly is that the wheels don’t counter-steer as far as you’d expect (it looks like it’s screaming out for a lock kit), and there’s noticeable flex in the suspension that takes some getting used to (… and a set of coilovers!).

A brake indicator flashes on the right side of the screen when it thinks you’re going too fast into a corner, acting like a mild traction control that holds back your nitro slightly, which can be a little frustrating when you’ve got things under control and want to go pedal-to-the-metal mid-drift.

If you’d rather try a game where the physics have some real weight behind them (along with much more to do), Force Drift Racing: Aussie Burnout offers realistic weight transfer, tires that actually degrade, along with drift (and burnout pit) events on real-world circuits like Irwindale Speedway (RIP).

Graphics

It’s all snow and ice around the outside of the track, with rocky mountains in the background and roadside barriers lining every circuit. You can toggle between high and low graphics in the top-right of the main menu, and low still looks decent if your device is struggling.

If it’s varied scenery you’re after, this probably isn’t going to be the one for you. The environments are good-looking, but certainly won’t blow you away. For something that’ll have you doing a double-take when you remember it’s running in a browser, UNBOUNDED is in a different league, offering wet neon-lit nighttime city streets and reflective paintwork. You can also drift and tandem with your friends or other drifting fans in online lobbies, along with a great car selection and plenty of tuning and upgrade options.

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
• Left Shift – Nitrous
• C – Switch camera
• R – Reset car

According to the in-game instruction screen, nitrous is the Ctrl key, but it’s actually Left Shift. Given this, combined with how the mobile version turned out, thorough testing clearly wasn’t a priority for the devs!

Mobile/tablet (iOS/Android)

• On-screen touch controls

While it opens on phones (and has on-screen buttons), when we tested it on Android the screen had a persistent rotation issue that made it pretty much unplayable. Your device might cooperate better, but don’t count on it.

How to Play Race Burnout Drift

Initial Setup

The game opens in your garage with the free Dodge Challenger SRT Demon rotating on a platform and a mystery car hidden under a cover in the background. In the top right, a gold cup icon opens your achievement list with 25+ goals ranging from finishing a lap in first to completing every drift track.

Next to that, you’ve got an H/L toggle for graphics quality and an audio button. When you’re ready, ‘Play’ in the bottom right takes you through a brief instructions screen and into the car selector.

Getting Started

The car selector lets you browse through all nine cars with the left and right arrows, and above that you’ll get to pick from seven (free) paint colors. Changing your first color unlocks an achievement straight away (the first of many you’ll pick up just by playing).

Color changing is the full extent of the customization in this game, but each of them comes pre-modded with some cool features. For a similar cash-grind game with more to customize, Crazy Drifter offers similar physics, but with rollcages, bumpers, splitters, side skirts, spoilers, and exhaust tips alongside the custom paint.

Click ‘Next’, and you’ll choose between Race and Drift mode, then pick your track. Confusingly, the track selection screen initially displayed tracks two and three by default (which are locked), so scroll left to find track one, and you’re ready to roll.

Game Modes

Race Mode

You’ll be up against two AI opponents with a rolling start, and you’ll need to expect door-to-door tussling from the first corner. Leave them a chance, and they’ll happily target your rear quarter like they’re pulling off a PIT maneuver.

It’ll soon become apparent that your car slides around endlessly, while theirs grips up like they’re running totally different setups, making winning harder than you’d expect. The same team’s motorcycle racing alternative does the same thing with its AI riders, and it’s just as unforgiving.

Thankfully, even finishing last unlocks the next track, and there’s no damage model, so ramming the AI off the road is an acceptable strategy if you’re feeling cheeky. You can also go off track without penalty (unusual for a race mode), so you can decide whether you want to make the races a bit easier, or do them “correctly”.

Drift Mode

You’re on your own for this one, scoring across the same 10 tracks. If you’d rather go up against others in a drift race, Arcade Car Drift puts you up against three AI bots, where every lap is an opportunity for tandem practice.

As you throw down your best sideways skills, the score and combo meter build at the bottom of the screen, and you can chain transitions through corners to reach a 3x multiplier (that’s the max). Going off track or straightening up for too long resets the multiplier, and the timer is unforgivingly short, so you’ll want to keep it as sideways as possible by countersteering without scrubbing off too much speed.

Thankfully, the money comes in way faster in Drift than Race mode. I earned $16,500 on my first run, and it took winning several races in Race mode to match that. Another win is that your score converts directly to cash, so whatever you see racking up is exactly what you’ll take home, which isn’t always the case in drifting games.

For even more of a technical (and more realistic) challenge with a similar concept, Touge Drift & Racing provides you with an AE86 starter car where you’ll need to navigate narrow mountain passes and build each car from stock grip to full drift setup through a selection of upgrades.

Car List

You’ve got nine cars to collect, each pre-modded with unique wheels and various aftermarket parts. While they’re not licensed, it’s clear to see where the “inspiration” comes from!

• Dodge Challenger SRT Demon – Free starter
• Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE – $18,000

• Old-school Dodge Challenger – $36,000
• Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R – $54,000
• Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat – $72,000
• BMW i8 – $90,000
• Chevrolet Corvette C7 ZR1 – $108,000
• Lamborghini Huracan Performante – $120,000

• Ford GT – Complete 20 achievements (can’t be bought)

The Ford GT looks sick, with a massive time-attack-style spoiler, huge diffuser, twin exhausts, side exits, and carbon fiber everywhere. Each of the upgraded cars is noticeably more slidey than the starter car, and won’t bog down as much, making the Drift mode grind way easier.

If you’re buying the Huracan purely for the Lamborghini name, Lambo Drifter 3 provides you with four of them to throw sideways (the Gallardo, Murcielago, Reventon and Aventador) across three varied tracks.

Track List

Both modes share the same 10 closed circuits, covered in snow and with rocky mountains in the background.

The layouts get slightly longer and twistier as you progress, but you’ll often be left wondering whether you’ve actually advanced, since there’s not much variety in the scenery.

For two games with near-identical physics (I’ve got a feeling they’re made by the same team), but way better track selections, Drift Hunters Pro (JDM car list) and Drift King (similar supercar focus) provide racetracks, touge runs with huge elevation changes, and tight dockyards. You also get tuning and upgrades, and free-roam where your friends can join you in online multiplayer lobbies. They’re both a must-try if you enjoyed this one.

Tuning & Customization

There are seven free paint colors on offer, but that’s it.

The obvious step up for tweaking (and much-improved physics) is Drift Hunters MAX, where you get to do near-endless customization and upgrades across all 39 cars in the game. It’s the most popular drifting game on the site for good reason.

Advanced Tips & Tricks

Use Drift mode for cash farming

Even if you’re consistently winning races, your earnings will be nowhere near as good as they would be if you can prove yourself in Drift mode. I was easily racking up $20k+ per race once I got used to it, compared to $5k-odd from racing.

Try to use less angle in Race mode

Your instinct will be to slide and have fun through every corner, but you’ll likely see your AI opponents zoom off into the distance. Stay close to the racing line and brake into corners (instead of drifting through them) for optimal speed. Save the big entries for Drift mode, unless you’re confident you’ve already secured the win.

Counter-steer to keep the combo alive

If your combo keeps resetting when you feel like you’re still drifting, you’re probably straightening up just enough for the game to drop it. Try tapping left and right quickly to find the sweet spot of angle to keep the meter racking up.

On longer straights, throw in some manjis and make the most of the full track width. The combo resets faster than you’d expect if you let the car straighten slightly for a split second.

Save some nitro for mid-corner rescues

The blue nitro bar (around the speedo) refills quickly, so don’t burn it all on the straights unless you need to. A quick burst mid-corner can rescue a big-angle entry that would otherwise force you to straighten out and kill your combo.

Real-world drift techniques like left-foot braking and e-brake entries all work here despite the arcadey physics. Our guide to drifting covers the fundamentals if you want to sharpen things up.

Give the alternate camera angles a try

Press C to cycle through a hood cam, front-wheel cam, and a cinematic view. The front-wheel camera lets you watch the front-wheel lock-up in real time when you brake mid-corner, which is cool to see. You also get to see the (lack of) visual counter-steer up close.

While most of them make drifting harder rather than easier, they’re worth messing around with when you fancy some fun rather than worrying about your position or payout.

Race Burnout Drift FAQ