A Technical Dive into the New Tokyo Xtreme Racer

Introduction

It’s been 18 years since the last release of a Tokyo Xtreme Racer game outside of the two not-so-well-received mobile installments. This is about to change, as Genki is releasing a new TXR game in Steam Early Access on January 23rd.

A few days ago, I received a review key for the game and was given a free hand to play and inspect it however I wish; a press kit was also sent to me, but it’s stuck in transit. I spent some time playing the game, running benchmarks to see how well my PC could handle it. I am more than satisfied with how well the game treated me.

In this review, I’ll focus on the technical experience, scalability, options, and performance, helping players pick the optimal settings to play the game smoothly on their PCs. This game is extraordinarily scalable, much more than I initially expected.

The Game

If you want the technical overview right away, skip to The Technicalities. For now, let’s get back to the basics. What is Tokyo Xtreme Racer anyway? Perhaps you know this series under a different name, as throughout the years, different publishers gave it many titles:

  • Tokyo Xtreme Racer is the US title, most widely used.
  • Shutokō Battle is the original Japanese title.
  • Tokyo Highway Battle was the 1996 PS1 game’s title internationally.
  • Tokyo Highway Challenge was for the Dreamcast games in Europe.
  • Street Supremacy was the 2005 PSP title internationally.
  • Import Tuner Challenge for the 2006 X360 game internationally.
  • The two Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift games belong to a spin-off series, called Kaidō Battle.

The upcoming release is simply called Shutokō Battle in Japan and Tokyo Xtreme Racer elsewhere. The core gameplay in all TXR games is cruising around Tokyo highways, challenging rivals to races. The 2025 Tokyo Xtreme Racer continues this tradition with the addition of racing traffic cars.

The game immerses you in Japanese highway racer culture, encouraging you to tune your car and constantly challenge new cars on your route. The game is currently in Early Access, featuring 50 cars and half the planned rivals at the moment.

The Technicalities

Game Engine and GPU Experience

The 2025 Tokyo Xtreme Racer is built on Unreal Engine 5.4. Despite skepticism, it performs well even on an underpowered GPU like NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. The game maintains a stable 60 FPS at 1080p with settings including FXAA and Ultra textures.

The engine’s performance surprised many, showing that not every UE5 game has to struggle on older graphics cards. Players with newer GPUs can likely max out the game without issues.

In-game Graphics Options

Tokyo Xtreme Racer offers standard Unreal scalability options with additional choices. Anti-Aliasing options include FXAA and DLSS, while upscaling is separate.

Graphics Quality Presets

The game has four presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. My tests used FXAA and 100% resolution scaling for consistency. Each preset adjusts shadows, reflections, and illumination to varying degrees.

Individual Options and Recommendations

  • Draw Distance: As high as possible.
  • Post Processing: High.
  • Shadows: High or Ultra.
  • Global Illumination and Reflections: High for Lumen, otherwise Medium GI and High Reflections.
  • Effects: Low for performance, High for peace of mind.
  • Shading: Any setting works.
  • Texture: Ultra, even on Steam Deck.

More About Lumen

Lumen features include Global Illumination and Reflections, both impacting performance significantly. Lumen works on non-RTX GPUs through software but can be demanding.

Benchmarks

My GeForce GTX 1070 handles the game well at native 1080p. Testing revealed it’s quite scalable across low to ultra presets, with Lumen causing the most performance drop.

Steam Deck Experience

The game runs well on Steam Deck,