On the surface, Wreckfest 2 has all of the trappings of a traditional racing game. Hulking pieces of metal with four wheels, a selection of tracks, even start and finish lines. But all of this is a facade. Wreckfest 2 is actually a digital rage room. One of those specialist buildings where you don protective gear, pick up a baseball bat or piece of piping and then absolutely go to town on inanimate objects, destroying everything in sight with wild abandon. Except, in this case, you do it via a ton of car shaped steel at 70 miles an hour.
In this early access build, there are the option of four motors to choose from, ranging from classic American muscle to a tiny European choice that wouldn’t look out of place in the piazzas of Rome. Well, apart from the scratches, lack of windows, and plethora of decals. Even from the selection screen, these cars look rough as hell. Dirty, rusty, and dented, the tone is set from the off for a brutal fight to the finish line.
It’s not so much racing as it is dodging your insane opponents. Cornering no longer a nuanced balancing act between speed and direction, instead it’s a close-your-eyes and pray moment as you use your rivals or the nearest barrier as a brake. With up to 23 others on track, there are plenty of options to target to ensure that you get around that tight hairpin and are even rewarded for doing so. With points being awarded and prominently displayed on-screen for spinning opponents or flipping them over the nearest piece of Armco, you’re constantly being cajoled into doing as much damage to those around you as you can and damage them you most certainly will.
Mere moments into each event, there will be assorted debris strewn across the track to weave your way through: a door here; a bonnet there. The destruction and deformation on show is impressive as your car goes from something you might find in a dilapidated scrapyard to a barely functional engine block with a seat by the final lap. Whilst not conducive to the win, it’s strangely satisfying to see your car slowly being reduced to its component parts throughout the duration of a race.
It says a lot about your racing game when the cars have health meters floating above them. The AI drivers, whilst just as intent as you are about getting first place, seem also as intent on trying to go through you rather than around. Every lap is a hard fought battle to keep with the pack and a casual PIT manoeuvre from your adversaries will soon have you spinning sideways and facing headlong into oncoming traffic in the blink of an eye. This is a game made to be played with a pad, not a high-end sim rig. Handling is as arcadey as you would expect, with back-ends slipping and sliding all over the place. It’s a constant battle to keep straight, not only because of those around you constantly trying to smash you off the road but also with the landscape itself, an undulating, gripless nightmare.
The courses provided are dusty and dirty, ranging from a realistic muddy mountain trail, a classic figure of eight speedway (complete with intersection, the perfect place to dice with death), to a pristine white geometric landscape, reminiscent of the challenge courses of Mirror’s Edge. This second option is intended to be a playground of sorts, full of loops, ramps, assorted automated machinery to dodge and even a pachinko machine to throw yourself down into. It’s a great way to show off the impressive physics at work, parts flying everywhere as you drift around the area, attempting to survive the insanity of the destruction derby going on all around you.
Whilst it would seem sensible to recommend that this be played from a third-person camera to fully appreciate the complete ruination of your chosen automobile, you have to play this at least for a little while in first-person. It’s a whole other experience entirely to hurtle through the air, barrel-rolling as you go before slamming down on your roof, upside-down cars flashing by. I’ve not experienced anything quite like it, and I love it.
After all of that noise and annihilation, what better way to relax after a hard morning’s smashing than to take out your virtual paint set and release a little creativity with the extensive garage options allowing you to tweak the aesthetic finish of your car. With customization available to virtually every part of your car and the option to save these for future usage, why not give your fellow racers something pretty to look at as they hurtle toward you?
With a limited selection of arenas in which to vent your frustrations, only four cars to choose from, and the notably odd lack of a soundtrack, Wreckfest 2 is a touch primitive in its current iteration. But what this has proven to me is that there’s a solid chassis underneath the beaten panels. With an outstanding physics engine, pure chaos on the track, a remarkable display of damage, and an unforgettable first-person view, forget what you know about racing games and embrace the carnage: just be prepared to be along for the ride as it’s polished up.
Wreckfest 2 is in early access now on PC via Steam.