"Tokyo Xtreme Racer," even the name has a delicious early-2000s flavor to it. Studio Genki's latest is the first entry the long-running racing series in 20 years, taking advantage of the rabid Y2K nostalgia in the air with an early access Steam launch out of nowhere, one that's gotten a ton of heat with 4,728 reviews at the time of writing and an «Overwhelmingly Positive» reception after just four days.
I've never been much of a racing game guy, with the notable exception of a passionate dalliance with Need For Speed: Most Wanted on the Xbox 360. What I'm seeing from Tokyo Xtreme Racer '25—technically the fourth mainline entry of the series, sixth if you count the Drift spinoffs—scratches the same part of my brain as EA's absurd 2005 racer. I'm used to photorealistic racing games with real-world cars being these dull, almost simulationist affairs, but Tokyo Xtreme Racer has so much swagger. Screaming down the highways of a near-future Tokyo to the tune of an impossibly cool soundtrack that alternates between jazzy funk and delectably retro jungle—this is the future we were promised.
Among the thousands of positive Steam reviews, I'm seeing a lot of praise for TXR '25's handling, atmosphere, and singleplayer-centric, throwback sense of value. That last one is something that particularly excites me: TXR is built around seeking out rivals to race against on the streets of Tokyo, and it seems to have the kind of structure and story context I really need in my games—you can just make your own fun if you want, but there's plenty of direction.
That system of colorful rivals in this surreal, near-future, «blocked off» Tokyo is kind of giving Armored Core by way of The Fast and the Furious, its characters and human drama entirely mediated by the machines at the heart of the experience, with nary a human face in sight. I haven't even played Tokyo Xtreme Racer yet, but I just keep thinking about it. You can try it out for yourself in early access over on Steam.
2025 games:
Adventure
Racing
UPS
Highways
fun
Ted Litchfield