Break out your neck braces as a result of Wreckfest 2 – the hard-ramming, door-slamming second coming of the hit 2018 demolition racer from smash ’em up specialists Bugbear – has formally T-boned Steam early entry. With some beautiful observe design, a wealthy array of sound refinements, and even higher dealing with than the unique, the early indicators are extraordinarily promising. Early, nonetheless, is the operative phrase right here, and my expertise of Wreckfest 2 to date has been a little uneven. While I completely adore the driving really feel, the throaty roar of overworked engines, and the metal-mashing mayhem, what’s at the moment being offered may be very slim in phrases of toys to smash collectively and I’ve suffered a quantity of crashes – however not the type I crave in a destruction derby game.
(*2*)
On Steam, “early access” can imply many issues, however mostly it’s both a very tough draft model of a game that can evolve in main methods over the course of a long growth (a la Assetto Corsa Evo), or a reasonably polished vertical slice that holds back the rest of the content material for its 1.0 launch (such because the surprisingly hefty early entry model of Tokyo Xtreme Racer). Like the unique Wreckfest’s own early entry launch earlier than it, Wreckfest 2 arrives as the previous. It’s simply a demo, actually; the type of factor that used to have a video game journal glued to the back of it. Here we get 4 vehicles, three environments with a couple of tracks every, and a digital map full of monumental jumps and stunt props. Long-time followers of Bugbear’s video games might recognise some of these from the very first “technology sneak peek” demo for Wreckfest manner back in 2013, when it was nonetheless below the working title ‘Next Car Game’ and combating its manner back to life after a failed Kickstarter. It’s a cute nod to the origins of the Wreckfest story and good enjoyable to device round in for a bit, even when the big ramps, basketball rings, automobile crushers, and cannons don’t have fairly the identical novelty in 2025 as they did simply over a decade in the past.
More spectacular is the brand new Scrapyard atmosphere, which is extremely eye-catching due to the sheer quantity of fascinating salvage strewn all over, and it’s overflowing with destructible objects. Scrapyard is at the moment home to 2 circuits that snake their manner by means of large mountains of free tyres and stacked automobile wrecks. These aren’t simply cubes with the feel of a crushed automobile slapped on it; they’re all particular person, stripped-down automobile shells looming like Jenga towers all over. What’s spectacular is that there are dozens of them, on prime of the 2 dozen operating vehicles which can be already screaming across the course attempting to put you into a pole on the first alternative. Some racing video games operate below a strict look-don’t-touch philosophy, with invisible partitions defending the fastidiously crafted trackside props, and pinballing vehicles away from having any significant interplay with something positioned off the primary racing strip. That was by no means Wreckfest – and it wasn’t Bugbear’s authentic FlatOut video games earlier than it – however Wreckfest 2 dials the destruction up a number of notches. It’s a complete spectacle, and it’s fairly outstanding how easily it runs on my setup (RTX 4080, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H) trying pretty much as good because it does. It’s a fabulous trying racer, and how Bugbear maintains this large stage of destructibility with out main constancy sacrifices stays a thriller.
The vehicles aren’t precisely in concours situation, however they’re nonetheless bursting with element and character. The subtle, location-based injury modelling that places dents precisely the place they need to be as a consequence of your reckless driving is clearly nonetheless front-and-centre – and it stays what units Wreckfest 2 aside from its friends. This time round, nonetheless, it’s even more nuanced. HUD warnings will let you recognize if you happen to’ve thrown a tyre off a rim, they usually’ll slowly chart the loss of life of your engine after you cop injury to your radiator. That is, as soon as your coolant’s gone you’ll be able to count on your pistons and bearings to go too, alongside together with your head gasket. On observe, this seems to translate to your automobile belching black smoke. I can’t detect a main automobile efficiency hit when that occurs, although, and I haven’t hit a level but the place my engine packs it in fully. Broadly, I’m questioning whether or not engine rebuilds after this type of injury could be a function in profession mode within the remaining game, however proper now it’s too early to inform, partially as a result of no automobile or engine tinkering or tuning is at the moment attainable on this initial build. The authentic Wreckfest options a great improve system so it’s unlikely it will stay absent from Wreckfest 2, however the one factor we are able to do for now’s apply paint.
There is spectacular and distinct audio for an aching engine versus a wholesome one, and it’s half of an noticeably improved tapestry of sound total. I notably love the crackle of Wreckfest 2’s new (and at the moment unnamed) riff on a third-generation Chevrolet Cavalier (for readability, it was initially dubbed the 'Striker', however following some fixes it’s now simply known as the 'American 1'). I did initially have some early periods the place layers of sound would progressively drop out – first the engines, then impacts – till I used to be racing in silence, however I haven’t been capable of reproduce it currently.
The precise racing, fortuitously, is great. The AI is suitably belligerent, fast after they extract themselves from the pack, and vulnerable to unpredictability and errors. Traditional racing and destruction derby are the one modes at the moment accessible, although. That does put on skinny pretty shortly, however I can’t wait to see what different modes Bugbear has in tow for the ultimate release. Caravans, please – as long as we’re talking about towing.
The new off-brand Cavalier is definitely my favorite of the 4 accessible vehicles to drive, as its front-wheel drive format makes it fairly steady. It’s additionally simpler to get better from being circled by aggressive rivals. By distinction, the pair of muscle vehicles listed below are a hoot to float, however they typically simply wish to rotate the second the AI begins harassing you. Of course, that is half of the deal of a high-contact racer like Wreckfest 2. You’re not going to get a lot sympathy for being crashed into.
Unfortunately, the crashing I do have had a minor drawback with was Wreckfest 2 itself crashing to my desktop. I haven’t actually been capable of pin down what’s triggering it, and it’s been unpredictable. One afternoon I had a entire string of crashes, straight from the center of races. The subsequent day, not one. Obviously, as an early entry undertaking, Bugbear has loads of scope to iron out such issues – nevertheless it’s nonetheless a caveat value contemplating for these excited about shopping for Wreckfest 2 instantly in its present (and really a lot nonetheless gestating) kind.