Ridge Racer, arcadey automotive classic and proof that dumb Internet jokes will outlive us all, is still alive and kicking, even in a racing landscape where cars have finally learned to fly. Last year’s hyper-destructive Ridge Racer: Unbounded was a messy good time, and former FlatOut developer Bugbear is once again behind the wheel for Ridge Racer: Driftopia. Two things, however, distinguish this one from the rest of the powersliding pack: 1) it’s free-to-play and 2) whiirrrrrr rubber screeeeeech driiiiiiiiiiift thoooom [sound of a tire wobbling around on pavement before falling over]. There is, in other words, a focus on drifting. But goodness, this otherwise looks like a low-rent Burnout, and I am physically incapable of complaining about that. Here, watch me try. Whoops, now I’m bleeding everywhere. While I mop all of this up, might I suggest a metal-mangling scream of a trailer after the break?

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