Drift Vanguard

Drift Vanguard is exactly the kind of racer we hoped mobile would keep making. It's not about realistic physics, it's about holding a drift through a whole corner and feeling the boost meter fill while you do it. Tap to brake into the turn, ride the slide, release into a straightaway, repeat. Simple to learn, hard to master.

The track design is where it shines. Every course has a rhythm to it, and once you memorize a route you start finding cleaner lines and longer chains. Cars handle differently enough that switching between them actually changes how you approach a race, which kept us coming back to redo events we'd already won.

It leans on auto-acceleration so you focus on steering and boosting, and that's the right call for touch. The only knock is that the later tiers can feel grindy, but the driving itself never gets old.

What we liked

• Drift mechanic that feels great to master
• Distinct cars that change your racing line
• Tracks worth replaying for cleaner runs