As much as I like the idea of a car collecting, Hong Kong based racer, with some roleplaying elements,, everything I've seen of this game seems to indicate it'll be lukewarm garbage.
And you're right about the tone. The voiceovers sound like two people being interviewed at the start of a documentary series about a scam tech startup that ends in a murder for hire plot.
All those non-car locations and characters look like they're a Hitman level - except they think they're actually cool and good.