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In a period where we haven’t had a proper racer release in some time, up steps Wreckfest, a derby racer from a developer with an impressive back catalogue. Wreckfest is a game that you have probably heard of before as its technically been out for nearly six years now however, the majority of this period was spent in early access exclusively over on the PC. Now though, we have full Xbox One and PS4 ports of the finished game and I have been fortunate enough to spend the last week playing them. So being a huge Flatout fan, what are my thoughts on the console versions of its spiritual successor, let’s find out. If you didn’t catch my Initial Thoughts, you can read those here and make sure to check out the gameplay within the article.

Wreckfest – Bugbear Entertainment – PS4, Xbox One – Available now

Coming from Flatout, may I state that I do not condone what happened with Flatout 4 and we won’t even mention Flatout 3, I was naturally excited to play this game. I think I would have played it earlier if I didn’t know about the console release. I came into the game hoping for basically a next gen Flatout and in many ways, that’s what I got but in some, it misses the mark ever so slightly. The core theme and vibe of the game is very similar to that of FO (Flatout) which is great as it feels just as chaotic and fun as before however, there seems to be something missing that I can’t put a finger on. Wrecking is still here, characters, albeit much less memorable are also within the games career mode, demo derbies, car upgrading and customizing also make a return, but I can’t help but feel it’s all a little too serious. Boost is gone and the attention to damage physics makes it feel more like a sim than that arcade racer that I once loved. There’s no launching through windscreens and the silly yet fun events are gone too, I think ultimately it lacks that FO personality. Whilst this is a different experience, it’s by no means a bad one and I think I was hoping for something I was never going to get. I can’t stress enough that this is literally the opinion of someone who has such a love for Bugbear’s old games and you should not base your entire decision off this paragraph, I just felt as though it needed to be mentioned.

When looking at the game from a fresh angle, ignoring FO, it’s a fantastic game with hands down the best damage physics I have seen in a racer. The games career mode offers plenty of events to participate in from demo derbies in tractors, to figure of 8 races on sofa cars?! It’s a lot of fun and it can also be quite challenging at times as there are no safety wheels with this one, no rewinds, no racing line and plenty of dirty racing. All of these elements add up to create a seriously fun experience with a lot of very varied content that is bound to keep the player busy for a decent chunk of time. Races feel different enough from each other and most of the tracks I have experienced have at least one unique or tricky element to them. Derbies can be long or short depending on the vehicles being used and these are quite challenging as you really need to plan your attacks otherwise you could leave yourself very vulnerable to a crushing blow from that one guy with the gargantuan car. The special events can consist of anything from sofa racing to a race in a 3 wheeler against a load of school busses and offer a fun little break from regular races. They’re fun and can also be quite challenging too. All in all, the amount of races within the career alone, I feel makes the game worth a purchase!

Visually, the game looks alright. It’s nowhere near the likes of Forza but holds up well against other titles and as mentioned, those damage physics are unparalleled and will take some beating. The game’s menu’s are easy to navigate and do the job with the soundtrack adding to the sense of chaos within the game as well. Car customization allows you to make each car your own with unlimited colour options and a fair amount of other visual and tuning upgrades also available. Wreckfest then looks great but there are some areas where it does need to improve. The game runs below that 60 FPS threshold but it doesn’t look like 30, I feel like its somewhere in between. This is inexcusable in my opinion, especially with PS4 Pro’s and Xbox One X’s being so common but it doesn’t ruin the game experience so ill let it slide. There are also a fair amount of visual issues and I have also had a few loading problems too but as the game has already received a patch, I’m sure these will be ironed out soon.

Overall then, Wreckfest is a solid derby racer which will more than scratch that itch for Flatout fans. There is a load of gameplay to experience and youll have a damn fun time doing so. It looks decent visually and Bug Bear seem to be devoted to the game as they have already released a big patch fixing some of the issues players were having. I really enjoyed my time with the game and I can definitely see myself completing the campaign within the next few weeks. I think its probably the most fun I have had in a racer this year and I would highly recommend picking it up!

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