Racing games used to be simple. Give players some road, a few fast cars, and a reasonable amount of control, and they were happy. In recent years, the genre has taken to chasing down trends, with titles like The Crew, Driveclub, Gran Turismo Sport, and Need for Speed Payback trying to transform racing games into MMOs, the next esports sensation, or Ultimate-Team-style money-printing machines. These attempts usually fall flat. Ultimately, most racers still succeed or fail based on what the game feels like when the rubber hits the road.

If the racing genre is in need of a bit of clarity, Burnout Paradise Remastered could be the dose of Adderall it needs. Burnout is racing at its most basic and primal – go fast, cause mayhem, get a better car, then go faster and cause even more mayhem. Then again, Burnout Paradise is also over a decade old at this point. Does the game still hold up, or is this Burnout more of a flameout?