REVIEW – Finnish Bugbear has previously given us enjoyable games with the first two Flatout titles. Most of it was lifted over to Wreckfest, which was called Next Car Game in Steam’s Early Access for years. It’s mostly a Destruction Derby game under a modern coat of paint, and I appreciate the efforts!

In my first race, I was riding a lawnmower. Yes, a lawnmower. With this thought, I pretty much described how Wreckfest doesn’t want to be taken seriously. And don’t do it: it’s, as the name says, a wrecking festival, where half of the game has you racing, and in the other half, you participate in destruction derbies. It’s addictive – for me at least, it was!

Crashing

You will regularly hear how the other drivers slam into each other, how the car parts fall off, and how the cars run into the walls. The vehicles aren’t beauties even in their perfect condition, but they will quickly disintegrate, and if you turn on the realistic damage model, then the suspension, the brakes, the wheels, or anything could stop working, causing you to wreck your car, which means you will have to click restart. Thankfully, there are no loading times for restarting any event, and Wreckfest also seems to have a friendly system requirement. It could be a good omen for the console ports, which were promised to launch in November on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

There is no story in this game, and to be honest, it doesn’t need one. There are five main categories, which all have a ton of races and championships. For example, there’s a race on a figure 8 track over three heats (qualify, semi-final, final), or a destruction derby event, or just a four-race championship. If you finish first in the races or survive the derby, you will get the most points, and there are also stars you can get by completing extra objectives.

For races, it could be something easy like winning or finishing in the first three, crash or spin three cars, or in derbies, you have to cause X damage or wreck three vehicles. Completing any event (even if you DNF or finish in a low position), you will get credits and experience points, and finishing in the first three places could also net you an extra tuning item for your car.

You can also grind, but it deletes your previous result in the event, so make sure to do it only with those where getting the maximum points and stars are easy for you. (For me, the figure 8’s three-round event would be it.) By levelling up, you unlock tuning items and cars for purchase, and with credits, you can buy them. With the items, you can increase the performance (and keep an eye on your car’s rating, it could go to the next one by overpowering it – D-C-B-A is the list!), get armor (front-side-rear steel bars, for example), and you can also apply visual items, such as a giant saw on the top of your car if you feel doing that.

Thrashing

The game is addictive. Although it offers championships after championships, it breaks up things by adding special events. If you have always dreamed of racing against school buses with a Reliant Supervan, you can have fun with this race. With the championships’ progression, you’ll gain access to faster cars, which also push the focus on the thrashing of the other drivers, and I believe the physics are alright, even if the visual damage doesn’t seem to affect our car’s performance (although it was the same case with Flatout).

Now that I mentioned Flatout, I have to say that there is no Stunt mode, which should have been included in Wreckfest, too, especially how it feels somewhat lacking. Aside from the around twenty cars, the tracks seem to be playing around with the direction and shortened version tricks, but the game doesn’t need that much more, though. With online, up to twenty-four drivers can compete, but I have to ask: can Wreckfest target a big audience AND keep its community alive for months, years? After finishing Wreckfest‘s career, the online will be the only thing to keep the game alive.

A recommended purchase for Flatout fans

I think in its current shape, 45 dollars is too much for Wreckfest (which is published by THQ Nordic), but it’s still a good game that could be enjoyed by even those who don’t tend to play racing games. Sure, the game might be lacking in DEPTH, but it is fun, it has good vibes, and it also sounds well (the music is fitting, the sound effects are spot-on). The Finnish developer team has done an excellent job – it’s Flatout light under a different name. If Bugbear expands it, it could be amazing. Even in its current shape, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One could appreciate this game in November, but I hope it does get expanded and that it won’t run like crap on consoles…

-V-

Publisher: THQ Nordic

Developer: Bugbear

Genre: Racing, destruction derby

Release date: June 14, 2018