A gorgeous remake that revives the original's razor-sharp handling. Mastering the boost-chaining drift is everything, and the difficulty pulls no punches. Tracks burst with character, and the steady post-launch content kept it fresh long after release.
Your verdict
Category
Racing4 players3+
Co-op
Split screen
Description
Crash's cast races across zany tracks, trading weapons and turbo power-slides. Published by Activision, released worldwide in 2019. A remake of the kart-racing classic, boost-stacking through drifts, many drivers and tracks and online play.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Everything hinges on chaining your boosts: drifting at just the right moment to bank speed takes genuine skill, and that demanding system, inherited straight from the PlayStation original, is what makes every lap exhilarating. Racing lines are carved to the inch, the tracks are stuffed with shortcuts, and a single slip costs you dearly. A precision-driving discipline that hasn't lost an ounce of its bite.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Sliding through a long bend, stacking boosts until you nearly fly off the track, delivers rare technical satisfaction. Mastering the drift rewards every hour of practice, and any race gains intensity the moment a friend joins in. Between inventive circuits and zany characters, the formula stays delicious, demanding just enough to keep you glued to the wheel.
Facing Nitros Oxide or Ripper Roo isn't a fight but a race for perfection: each boss event demands flawless track reading, chained turbo drifts and clever weapon use. Tension peaks on the final corner, and beating your rival on pure skill delivers the satisfaction of a driver, not a brawler.
Better with friends
On the starting line, friendships shatter: mastering the drift boost makes all the difference and feeds a fierce, white-knuckle rivalry. The local competition for up to four chains overtakes, payback and shouting with every shell thrown. The skill gap and occasionally punishing rubber-banding can frustrate, but one quick rematch is enough to rekindle the fire and the trash talk.
Is Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled still worth playing in 2026?
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is one of the most respectful remakes of the modern era. The driving hinges on a chained boost system that is demanding and deeply satisfying, a direct descendant of the PlayStation classic without the dumbing-down many feared. It looks gorgeous, the tracks burst with ideas, and the roster and challenge offering is huge. A few difficulty spikes will frustrate newcomers and the cosmetic microtransactions grate, but on pure gameplay it remains one of the best kart racers on Switch.
