Any review of a modern arcade racing game (not a simulator) begins with the words that the genre is in a slump. Aside from the understandable Need for Speed, the FlatOut series has been struggling in the noughties – and the sequel to its successor has recently been released in Early Access. Find out how Bugbear is trying to lure you into with Early Access, how believable Wreckfest 2’s car crashes are, whether local drivers can fly and when you should wait for the full version.
In fact, Bugbear Studios has never let its fans down. Not counting, of course, the controversial Ridge Racer Unbounded, which left fans of the Japanese racing series in the lurch. The studio’s own FlatOut games, however, are considered classics and are still played mercilessly.
The first game in the series was released in 2004 and surprised with its ambivalent approach. On the one hand, the level of insanity was higher than its peers. Thanks to the advanced technical side, the cars in FlatOut were crashed in much more detail than anywhere else, and the signature feature was drivers flying out of the windscreen (and often missing).
On the other hand, FlatOut was closer to a simulator than other arcade racing games of the time. The explanation was simple – without normal simulation of physics, suspension, tire grip, and so on, it would be impossible to represent off-road racing. It was off-road, which was what most of the tracks consisted of, making the game a bit like Dirt and WRC.
Don’t get me wrong: of course, this didn’t make the project a serious simulation discipline. FlatOut is really reckless, and the cars in it do somersaults that are impossible in reality. But it is still a step closer to reality in terms of car behaviour and control than its arcade rivals because the chosen setting made it impossible to let cars drive like a puddle on ice in the spirit of NFS: Underground.
Add to that the aesthetic of rusty cars, an explosive soundtrack of alternative metal and punk, explosions, and destruction in every race, and you have a hit for the ages. It’s still often said about FlatOut that it’s more important to cross the finish line than to win – that’s how fierce the battles are on the tracks.
The rest is not really interesting. A few years later came FlatOut 2, which increased the level of insanity with even more explosions, added city tracks in the spirit of street racing, and a fierce soundtrack. It was later re-released on Xbox 360 under the subtitle Ultimate Carnage, and apart from the less ferocious soundtrack, it’s currently the best way to get to know the series.
The key event in our story took place between 2014 and 2018, when the studio had a certain Next Car Game brewing in the Early Access cauldron that later became Wreckfest. With the rights to FlatOut taken away from Bugbear (who had made some terrible games under that glorious name), the team had no choice but to start something new.
Wreckfest took another step towards simulation. Any hint of street racing disappeared from the track list, but stadiums appeared. Rusty red wagons remained as the main means of transport, but they now looked a little more like racing cars, at least in colour. The control model became a bit more realistic and the damage system more detailed. And most importantly, drivers no longer fly out through the windscreen.
At the same time, Wreckfest has a lot to offer. The game’s campaign begins with a lawnmower crash, and the tracks are still designed to encourage drivers to collide and fight with each other. Derby – a mode in which you ram and smash your opponents in a circular arena, rather than overtaking them in a team race – hasn’t gone anywhere.
And really, the description of the former is the best that can be said of the second one.
Where’s the content?
Did you know that the first Wreckfest spent four years in Early Access? When it was released, players were furious about the lack of cars, tracks and other content in the game. In that respect, the sequel follows in the footsteps of the first game.
It is a miracle that this text appears at all and consists mainly of reflections on the history of the FlatOut series, as there is almost nothing to say about Wreckfest 2. The project is so unfinished that we are greeted in the main menu by a spinning car and a complete lack of soundtrack. There is no music in the races themselves, just engine noise.
There are two types of race to enjoy on three and a half tracks. Really, three and a half – in addition to the normal tracks, the last one is a test track without textures, on which you can’t do ring races. But there are plenty of different obstacles to send the car flying and let you test the damage system – fifteen minutes of entertainment, but fun.
Coming straight to the races, it is also unclear what exactly has been done to justify the number ‘2’ in the title. Yes, the physics have become even more simulated, the cars have gained weight and are less willing to turn, preferring to skid and react to the surface. However, there are now four models in the game, and they are all the same in terms of handling – the only difference is in the sound of the bodywork and the engine.
The bodies crumple merrily, but the damage system seems artificially limited at the moment. As long as one of your wheels doesn’t fall off, the pancake-squeezed clunker will drive as if nothing had happened, and considering that in the first game damage to various parts of the car had real consequences, whether it was a reduction in power after engine damage or a shift in the centre of gravity due to severe side buckling, we’re sure to see it in Wreckfest 2.
Opponents behave in a similar way to the original. They ride, they fight, and they might try to cut you off. It’s still more interesting with live players, but there are two problems with multiplayer: firstly, it can be difficult to connect to the server, and secondly, the peak of three thousand online players, which is still falling, doesn’t inspire much hope for the game’s longevity in its current form. By the way, the maximum number of racers has not changed – it is still 24.
Finally, let’s take a look at the technical state of Wreckfest 2. Surprisingly, the build is still very stable, with the only performance issues being on the Steam Deck, and the shadow glitches should be fixed by the time of the full release. No major bugs have been found, apart from annoying errors when connecting to network lobbies.
But the game does not look much better. Yes, the lighting is more colourful and the models are of a higher quality. Most of all, attention has been paid to the environment – it has definitely grown in detail. But in the first FlatOut, you could smash piles of tyres carefully placed by the side of the road, and they flew no less spectacularly.
The three available maps (if we’re talking about full-fledged maps) are nothing to write home about. Wreckfest is generally inferior to FlatOut in terms of impressive locations because it tries to be more down-to-earth. Probably the only one that looks really juicy is the car dump, as the rusty pits scattered around really do create their own special atmosphere. Unlike the piles of tyres, however, they don’t react to collisions.—
The developers of Wreckfest 2 would do well to organize a closed beta test for their most loyal fans. With a rating of 74%, players write that the project does not even justify its low price and urge you to consider the purchase as an investment for the next few years. During this time, the developers will definitely make a cool campaign and add a bunch of cars with tracks, although so far, they have only promised two pieces of this and that in May. In general, we’re waiting for a full game in four years, but for now, it’s better to play the first part or the classic FlatOut – they look pretty good already.
+ It’ll be a great game one day (probably)
-The blatant lack of content
