[Review] CarX Drift Racing Online - Nintendo Switch

Developed and Published By: CarX Technologies
Categories: Racing
Release Date: 06.24.21

CarX Drift Racing Online is exactly what the title implies. It’s a racing game that focuses on drifting, as well as being online. It’s a pretty decent one too!

Lets discuss the single player first. The CarX series’ mobile roots as immediately apparent when it comes to content. Each new track to race and drift on requires you to level up, and then each also requires you to use your in game money to unlock. This can take a bit of time. The grind is definitely real. This can be an issue, and normally is…but CarX Drift Racing Online is fun and feels good to play.

It took me a good twenty, thirty minutes to really get used to how the game wanted me to perform. I’d constantly spin out, ruining drifts. I’d slam into walls, leading to constant flips and hard stops. You’ll need to ease into it. Relax and take it easier. At first I was struggling to even get a Bronze level score, let alone close to one. Eventually, it all came to me and stringing in combos and multipliers came much easier. It was less of an ordeal to get higher scores, but still left room for challenge.

The issue I run into is that you’re going to have to replay stages multiple times, ad nauseum if you are not particularly skilled, which I fall into. I suppose this makes it easier to get better at certain stages, but there’s always practice mode for that. And if you want to play a reversed version of a stage, you’ll need to buy those too, which I will almost certainly not do, as I’d rather get new, different stages. At least a night/day cycle is free.

Getting into the proper groove of things feels great at least. If you have a game that features drifts in a remotely prominent way, you better make them feel good. It’s easy to screw a drift up in the game, but man does it feel good to pull off. I’ve played racing games that don’t succeed, so it’s always a pleasure to play one, like CarX Drift Racing Online that does.

On top of racing, there’s a car customization! I love stuff like this where you can just make abominations in vehicular form. I learned fast that you’ll need in game currency to get new parts, which ended up making some grinds longer, but I wanted my crime against the motor world on the asphalt. Customization can get nuts in this game though, it’s not to be understated. I can and will make some sort of monstrosity…or just put cute anime girls on my car, I see that a lot.

Not quite as arcadey or easy to get into as some drift heavy games, like ones by Sumo Digital, but it’s still a good time, especially for aficionado. The grind might be a dealbreaker for some, but for others, I can imagine it’s just another excuse to get better and better.