Wreckfest

In 2021 this game is in a rather fantastic state, lots of different tracks and arenas to choose from. Lots of different cars and an active online community across all platforms. Game runs pretty decently on Xbox consoles in my experiences but the best way to play is the Xbox Series X version which while being in a rare group of paid Series console upgrades has improved notably since a rather rough launch. Either way and no matter which console (or PC) you choose to play it on you're in for a solid fun accessible arcade racer with an emphasis on destruction and chaotic gameplay. A definite recommend

This banger, demolition racing game is from Bugbear, the studio responsible for Flatout. They also made Ridge Racer Unbounded and Sega Rally which were racing games I held in high regard.

This game had an interesting time in development. They released in Early Access on Steam under the name “Next Car Game”, and after a certain period of time, the game seemed abandoned or at least in development limbo. I remember it being on sale for £10 whilst still in early access and people were moaning that they had paid significantly more than that to fund the game. They also confirmed it hadn't had any updates for several months. A few years later, to my surprise, Wreckfest finally released.

The two main event types are racing and destruction derby.

There are two types of destruction derby events, one where you win by Last Man Standing, and one where you win by achieving the most points (and can respwan with a new car if you destroy your car). In Last Man Standing , there's not much punishment from hiding, you just have to collide with an opponent once per minute. I ended up circling the perimeter, then driving in occasionally.

Some events give you a set car, whereas others you are required to bring your own from a restricted criteria. Examples of this criteria are Japan A-class cars, or American small cars etc.

Some events have hilarious gimmicks such as a motorised sofa, lawnmowers vs combine harvesters, cars vs buses.

Whatever the race, there are bonus objectives to complete. These are usually to Spin/Crash Out/Destroy X amount of opponents. You can always gain bonus experience for offensive manoeuvrers such as ramming, rear-ending, t-boning, in addition to the aforementioned attacks. Being crashed into makes the offender be assigned as a Rival, and hitting them back gains larger experience bonuses.

As you level up, you unlock cars and new car parts. I bought new cars and parts only when required. It's a good idea to kit a car out with armour upgrades for the destruction derby, but the extra weight will negatively affect speed and handling. There are a few comedic accessories like an inflatable shark for the roof. You can also customise paint colour and decals.

The damage model in the game is impressive. At first, it will be cosmetic, but taking damage to a certain part of the car will affect the performance. Cars can end up looking like they have been crushed by a compactor. The amount of debris that litters the course is great, and in some races, the majority of opponents will be wrecked. I even saw an instance where only two survived the race! There's plenty of objects like tires and crates lining the track which can be ploughed into. You have to be careful of the solid barriers that can do massive damage if you hit them head on.

There's a lot of tracks that end up looping back which is just carnage when you have to avoid other opponents who are lagging behind. I think some of the enjoyment is the "emergent" gameplay. If you happen to see pileups, cars spinning out etc. then it's hilarious.

There's a good variety of courses, from windy tracks with a variety of elevation, to simple stadium tracks. “The Death Loop” actually has a loop-the-loop which you need to take at speed. If you aren't feeling confident, there is an alternative route around it.

You can reset your car by pressing X which the only restriction is that you are travelling at slow speeds. It is easy to abuse this mechanic. You spin out down a ditch – quickly reset. Plough into a wall and think it's a chore to reverse out? Quickly reset. Playing destruction derby and are about to be sandwiched between two opponents - quickly reset. When you do reset, you are placed on the track, facing forwards and are invulnerable for a few seconds. Maybe it is my fault for abusing this feature so much, but it should be more restrictive.

I'd imagine the soundtrack won't appeal to everyone with a hard rock/alternative metal/metalcore soundtrack. I encountered one hard crash, some minor frame-rate drops, and one occasion where the frame-rate was insanely low, so I quit the game and reloaded to fix it. Sometimes debris floats above the track.

I had a lot of fun with Wreckfest and it reminded me of my time playing Destruction Derby 2 on the original PlayStation. Not many racing games have come anywhere near making something as entertaining as this.

Wreckfest is a great rally themed racing game. It stands in the middle ground between the destruction of burnout and the more realistic driving of something like Dirt Rally. It comes from the people behind the original Flatout games, but this is miles ahead in terms of quality in comparison to that series.

What initially draws people in to this game is the destruction tech on display. Cars deform with realistic physics with each collision, and the crashes are truely spectacular affairs. Despite its focus on destruction, its art style is more geared towards photorealism, and its a great looking game considering it came from a relatively small studios. Its one of those few titles that show a huge amount of passion that was put into it from the moment you boot it up.

The career mode is the main event for me in here. And when it comes to the gameplay you quickly realise that the devs went their way to create a sim racer, a muddy sim racer with a lot of destruction, but a sim racer none the less. Damage will quickly ramp uf through the race, and there are no respawns. The curves and braking mechanics are realistic, and its extremely easy to wreck your car in the first tight curve. Likewise, all opponents cars also have a realistic damage system, and their aggressive AIs means that its usual for a couple to be permanently downed with each race.

The tracks themselves also lend themselves to this sort of aggressive sim racer. Tracks with a lot of muddy curves make it perfect to use your opponents to get ahead, tracks with crossroads means that it will make the player consistently on edge wondering when it will be the time that they will get T-boned, And then there are a lot of gimmicky races and destruction derbies, that showcase its destruction centrefold.

The thing is that no matter how enjoyable the destruction is, even without it Wreckfest would be a great racing game, because the cars are so enjoyable to drive. Its so so satisfying to pump the break and initiate the slide on a curve, calculating perfectly for the amount of adherence. Plaaning curves ahead, as well as jumps, giving nudges to get enemies out of the way, play the pacifier or the aggressor. Really some of the most enjoyable racing gameplay i have played in a lot time.