Buggy Blast: Free Off-Road Buggy Racing Game

Buggy Blast watches the race from high above, like a camera on a crane. The tracks are dirt roads cut through forest and hillside, lined with stacks of red and white tyres, and they wrap around lakes, wooden chalets and rows of floodlights. Four buggies leave the line together, and for three laps it is you against three rivals, each trying to squeeze through the same muddy corner first.

The main mode, World Circuit, is a road of twelve stages. The first six are the outbound route, starting with Forest Rally and moving on to Mountain Night, Snow Summit, Storm Run, Dust Canyon and Cliffside Rush. Stages seven to twelve run the same places in reverse. Finish well and the next stage unlocks, and you can choose Easy, Normal or Hard before each one.

The controls take a minute to learn and much longer to master. Steer left and right, and hold the brake while you turn to throw the buggy sideways into a drift. Let go and you shoot out of the corner with a burst of turbo. The nitro bar on the right fills as you race, and Space spends it. Orange arrow pads on the road give a free boost, and coins scattered along the racing line pay for upgrades later.

The other modes change the goal. Championship Cups run four races in a row and give points for every finish, with a trophy and prize money for the winner. Time Trial takes the rivals away and sets you against your own ghost and a gold time. Eliminator removes the last buggy at the end of every lap until only two are left for the final duel. Time Trial and Eliminator use the stages you have already unlocked.

Between races, the garage lets you unlock and upgrade buggies with your coins. Buggy Blast is free to play in your browser with no download. It works with a keyboard on a computer and with touch controls on a phone turned sideways.