Wreckfest Review - Total CARNAGE, in the Best Possible Way

Bugbear Entertainment's latest demolition-derby style racer has just exited Early Access after FOUR YEARS! How does it hold up?

3y ago
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Wreckfest is an interesting beast. It follows up on the legacy of Bugbear’s completely insane Flatout series, while attempting to ground it in reality. The result is a title that has no right being this good! Wreckfest is, in my opinion, one of the more enjoyable racing video games in recent memory.

The tech demo is absurd, but a fun way to kill hours just destroying your car!

The tech demo is absurd, but a fun way to kill hours just destroying your car!

Wreckfest has been in development for over 4 years, and was previously known as “Next Car Game” when it first released in early access in late 2014. Prior to that, there was a tech demo released in 2013, showing off one of the main features of the game, a soft body physics model, with an insane damage engine. In theory, you could beat the car to a pulp, or something reminiscing of that metal block from Monsters Inc. Fortunately, that tech demo is included with the base game, so you can enjoy wrecking to your heart’s content.

Once you’re done destroying your car in a hundred different ways in the tech demo, you’ll find that the Wreckfest is a surprisingly competent and diverse racing game! Wreckfest does away with the insane boosting and ragdoll physics that were hallmarks of the Flatout series, and elects to go for a more raw, visceral racing experience. If I had to describe Wreckfest in one sentence, I’d say it’s a mix of Demolition Derby and that Top Gear episode when Mika Hakkinen tries to teach James May to race in Finland.

After a tumultuous development cycle, which included a failed Kickstarter campaign, and a FOUR YEAR Early Access cycle, the “Full Release” of Wreckfest is live, and I have this to say. This game definitely beat the odds, and is great fun! It’s a stupid mix of absolute absurdities mixed in with realism, and the crazy part? It actually works really well well!

Wreckfest has a car and track roster of around 22 cars and 20 courses (in the form of 17 tracks, and 3 demolition derby arenas). Admittedly the content is a little on the shallow side, especially given the $45 price tag on Steam. However, one great element to Wreckfest is modding, which can greatly add to the variety of content. For example, one must-have mod I’d recommend is the “Very Track Pack”, which will add over 40 more tracks to the game.

A great part of the Wreckfest car roster is that there is a solid variety. There are no real manufacturers, but there are cars based off of American Muscle Cars, European Sports Cars, and Japanese cars as well! Also, there are some absolutely insane “Challenge Cars”, including a Lawn Mower, School Bus, Double Decker Car, and even a Combine Harvester! Those special vehicles can really shake things up over the course of a Figure 8 or Demolition Derby event! Want to enter a 3-wheeler Reliant Robin-style car into the demolition derby? I wish you the best of luck! Also, each vehicle can be customized and tuned, so if you like to modify your car, you’ll likely find something to enjoy

The tracks included in the base game are “Alright”, but it feels like it is lacking in variety. In addition to the different courses, there are Oval Courses, Figure 8’s, and demolition derby arenas as well. However, some of the courses end up feeling bit generic and, after a while, it seems like the tracks “Blend together”. There are a couple stand-outs though. For example, the “Crash Canyon” course is a rather interesting course that looks to strongly encourage wrecking and absolute chaos.

Speaking of Absolute Chaos, let’s talk about the Damage Engine, as that’s one of the main features for Wreckfest. The damage engine utilizes a real-time soft-body physics model, somewhat similar to the engine used in BeamNG.Drive. For the most part, the damage engine works really well, and creates a very raw experience. Parts fly off, cars turn into mangled heaps, and the track will quickly turn into a scrapyard, littered with debris. The damage engine DOES have a few “Quirks” though, which can be somewhat off-putting. For example, the steering wheel will deform in very weird ways, and sometimes the A-Pillar will buckle in to the point where it will obstruct your vision. Also, strangely enough, the driver model will also deform as part of the damage model, so sometimes the driver’s head will be absolutely DESTROYED as well.

Despite those quirks, the damage model is very solid, and also has a “Realistic Mode”, where the car’s damage is far more sensitive, and it is even possible to end your race in a single hit!

Now, let’s talk about one of the more important parts, physics. The physics in Wreckfest are surprisingly solid, and pretty well grounded in reality. In a stark shift compared to their previous Flatout titles, Wreckfest goes for more of a simulation-ish physics style, actually requiring driving skill to succeed. Don’t be fooled, it’s nowhere near the level of a full sim, but it’s definitely believable. If you like the physics in games like DiRT 3, then I think you would really enjoy Wreckfest’s driving style.

Another pleasant surprise is the graphics. The graphics engine utilized in Wreckfest looks great, especially the particle effects and when there’s debris flying around. Testing with both my GTX 970 and GTX 1080, I was able to maintain a solid 60 Frames per Second at 1080p, and made for a great experience. The tracks could admittedly have benefitted from more details, but for a lower budget title, it’s pretty decent!

The AI in Wreckfest are some of the best I’ve experienced in a recent racing game. They will genuinely put up a fight, and will give you a run for your money in some instances. They will also act like believable human beings in this game, ramming you off the road as well as making mistakes. Racing against the AI in Wreckfest is actually a fun and enjoyable experience. Also, if you want to add more depth to the AI, you can actually download third party “AI Packs”, which will re-name the AI to different people!

Given the solid AI, it’s somewhat of a disappointment that the Career Mode is one of the more disappointing elements in the game. Career Mode is some of the same formulaic “Pick a race, run the race, move to the next event” career mode that we generally see tacked onto racing games nowadays. You’ll earn credits and parts to upgrade your vehicles as you progress in the career. A few “Challenge Events” are mixed into the series as well, such as a Lawnmower Destruction Derby, which is as fun as it is chaotic! However, I just found myself wanting more… More events, more variety, etc. Maybe it will be fleshed out in future patches, but I wouldn’t exactly hold my breath. Maybe the modding community will add more events?

Despite the enjoyable AI, Wreckfest is best enjoyed with other humans. The multi-player experience is great, and allows for absolute chaos! Stick 24 racers on a race track, and you are going to get the shrapnel flying like CRAZY! Team Racing can also provide a decent challenge, making sure you’re racing as a team, and not just racing to finish first.

All in all, Wreckfest is a great racing game, and can provide for a lot of fun, if you like these types of games. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I bet most people will find something to enjoy in Wreckfest.

Before we get to the pros and cons, let’s touch on some footnotes:

- Wreckfest features support for high end hardware. My Simucube Open Sim Wheel and Heusinkveld Pro Pedals, shifter and handbrake are all supported by Wreckfest. Prior to release, you could only have a maximum of 4 devices plugged in. Post-release, that limitation has now been lifted.

- While this would have been a great title for Virtual Reality, unfortunately Wreckfest does not support VR Headsets. Though it may be for the best, because I could imagine racers needing a puke bucket next to their simrig.

- Wreckfest also does not fully support multi-display rendering. It DOES support triple screens via Nvidia Surround, but it does stretch out the side screens, similar to Codemasters titles or Forza Motorsport 7 on the PC.

-Sounds are passable, but they are VERY generic. Muscle cars have a decent grunt to them, but sounds may be one of the more disappointing elements of the Sim. In addition, it sounds like some sounds need to be mixed better.

-I haven’t found a way to get a true visual 1:1 rotation on the steering wheel. The wheel just does not visually match the rotation of the real world wheel. I also wish there was a way to remove the wheel, outside of a third party mod that trips the cheat detection system.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the pros and cons!

PROS

-Wide variety of cars, with customization options

-Decent, believable physics engine

-Brutal Damage engine

-Good AI, that will race you hard

-Good graphics, and not too draining on Hardware

-Good multi-player, supporting up to 24 racers

-Supports Modding

-Includes the Sandbox “Tech Demo”

CONS

-Tracks have a somewhat generic feeling

-Damage can be a little over-the-top and somewhat intrusive at times

-Career mode is rather bare-bones

-No support for multi-display rendering or Virtual Reality

-Visual Steering Wheel in game feels “off”

-Sounds sound a little weird

-A little expensive for what you get

So the question is, Do I recommend Wreckfest? It truly is a great racing game, and a great way to vent frustrations by pounding opponents into oblivion. It has decent physics, solid AI, a brutal damage engine, and a solid net code for online racing. While there are a few complaints I have with the title, this still has provided for some of the most fun I’ve had racing in a while. The main concern I’d have is with the $45 price tag. For $30, I’d say this is easily a no brainer, and it may be a must-have racing game. For nearly fifty dollars, I’d say you need to weigh out how much you’d get out of it. If you tend to prefer your racing games more straight forward, if you cringe at the idea of rubbing fenders together, you likely won’t be a fan of Wreckfest. However, If you enjoy the thought of demolition derby style racing, salivate at the idea of a figure 8 race, and get unusually excited at the prospect of running someone over with a lawn mower, then you’d likely get hours of enjoyment out of Wreckfest.

So this was my review and thoughts on Wreckfest! Have you given the title a try? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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