So, I dove back into the deep end, and wouldn't you know it, twenty years is just a concept, not a barrier. The last time I was this invested in a racing game, the internet was still making strange dial-up noises. I'm talking about back when I was running TXR Zero on Dreamcast, then TXR3 on PS2. You know, back when you had to earn your stripes instead of just having some annoyingly cheerful AI hand you a McLaren for coming in dead last.

It’s been a minute, but the good news is, this game is a glorious return to form. I honestly can't tell if this specific title is a masterpiece, or if the series itself is just pure gold. It's so good that I think you could probably get the same hit of dopamine just by upscaling TXR3 to 4K and 60Hz.

The best part? That muscle memory is still there. It took a few hours of stumbling around, but now I’m back to my old tricks. There’s nothing quite like doing a precise 180-degree drift to double back and find the rival you accidentally left miles behind. It’s a ridiculous, but highly effective, way to start a race.

If you’ve been complaining about how modern racing games have lost their soul, this is your answer. There's no nauseating, chipper tone telling you how "amazing" you are for failing. There’s no loot box wheel giving you a free super car. You start with something humble, like a Nissan 240SX, and you have to work for every single bit of progress. The grind is the fun part, not a chore.