(This review may be updated as I play more, additions and corrections upon previous statements will be marked with an *)

Alright, where do I start?
As a massive fan of the TXR games on the Dreamcast and PS2, this is a huuuuge breath of fresh air for racing games. I've been waiting for a game like this for a long time. When I picked this up as a F2P game, I was thinking this was just gonna be some cheapy, unity-build "Kanjozoku Game"-esque type of thing with pixelated PS2/DC type visuals...

Boy, was I wrong.

At the time of writing this review, I've only played a little over an hour, but instantly... I'm really impressed!
I personally recommend playing this game in the dark, and when driving set the vehicle camera to 1st person. It really adds to the experience.

To start, I'll go with what drew me in when I saw this in my recommended feed - 90s JDM themes with a retro PS1-Dreamcast-esque visual style. I love the way it's executed with this gritty, underground, criminal type theme. Just getting into the game everything seems mysterious, unknown... Almost like there's a certain danger surrounding everything in the game, from the filled ashtrays and Asahi bottles lying around the garage to showing up to the car auction only to find among other used cars a blue RPS13 with the auction memo that says "Previous owner has been reported missing". The atmosphere has been executed incredibly.

I'd like to talk more about the visuals, but before that I've got to talk about the core of any racing game - the driving.

How is the driving in this game? If you've played Tokyo Xtreme Racer and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune at a local arcade, think of it like a cross between those two. You have more of the sim-like handling and shifting... but you have the straight ADRENALINE that Maximum Tune can bring. It's an incredible experience driving in first person inside the interior of what's supposed to be a Nissan 180SX, shifting through the gears until the car peaks out, the interior shaking with the music amping up the more you rev through the gearbox. It gives you a true feeling of chaos, danger. I haven't hit anything yet in this game, but the way the game feels and is presented, I wouldn't be surprised if you just straight up died if you ate the back of a truck. I've never played any racing game where you actually feel something to that extent when accelerating a vehicle in a video game. Not in Gran Turismo, Not in Forza, NFS or Midnight Club. This game NAILED it. Another thing I wasn't expecting is the gauges on your car actually mean something!!! Your car can overheat and your car can run out of gas. IT'S CRAZY!!! I've been waiting for years to finally see an open world racing game where you can actually run out of gas! I have yet to see if your check engine/service lights go off but if they do, I would be very impressed. I have yet to say anything on collision physics, as mentioned above I haven't hit anything yet (aside from scraping the wall when I ran out of gas) but I'm gonna try that next time I boot the game up. (*EDIT: Just like the collison physics in most arcade racing games, no real damage taken. you just get zero stopped and your screen goes a bit blurry)

I'm not gonna speak a whole lot on the plot as I'm hardly an hour in, but the idea seems super cool. None of the over-the-top antics like NFS and even TXR have with ridiculous character stereotypes and explanations. It's very cut and dry, in a criminal underworld environment. When other racers lose, they LOSE in many ways. Once again, I love the sense of realism and danger in the story so far.

To the dev: You are doing incredible work out here, this is the kind of racing game I (and many others) have been waiting for for a long time. I really look forward to seeing the full version of this game and I wish you the best of wishes on the complete product. KEEP IT UP!!!!

*EDIT: While the game is incredible, it's obviously a demo of what's yet to come. Things that I would like to see added are:
-Wheel and shifter support
-More configurable controls
-The ability to look around in the cockpit using the right stick for controllers
-An option to make whichever camera angle you like your default option (BIG ONE)