Wreckfest Review

Came in like a wrecking ball.

Wreckfest has been sitting in the pile of ‘I’ll get it at some point’ for quite a while now. Couple of mates have it but the urge to play with friends has been combined with the fact it has been early access and I’m a poor boy.

But now I’m not poor, and the game has hit full release. Wreckfest definitely has a unique charm: Boasting the classic Twisted Metal and Destruction Derby feel with a realistic style of damaging your car. Plenty of base content and a healthy selection of cars should make this a fully rounded experience for everyone, though some may find the content lacking.

The basics of Wreckfest is collecting credits. Credits allow you to do pretty much everything in reference to buying cars, customisation, and upgrading. You upgrade and customise most internal components and the paintjob with the generic set of upgrades and the variety of paint available. It’s serviceable, and gets the job done without you having to do really much grinding at all for a change.

You also have to upgrade your level, which is done by competing in the career. The career has two modes: Racing and Destruction, and each is self-explanatory. There is a crossover between the two, with some racing having goals to cause damage and total other drivers but these are secondary to winning. Completing these races earns you credits and levels which lead to you being able to complete more races and earn more in a cycle of development. None of this is very long though, at least not long enough to make it feel like a grind.

There is the usual smattering of additions that you would expect: Multiplayer is naturally there for you and friends. The thankful feature is that you can bulk out races with AI unlike some other games I won’t name. You also get variations in races in the single player including lawnmowers and other funny vehicles.

This small package is pretty much spot on. There is really no obvious faults with it. The gameplay is fun as hell and graphically the game looks stunning; you’ll spend hours making cars look good and then destroying them in many ways. If you screw up during a race you can restart instantly as well which I found most helpful. All of this and a surprisingly good soundtrack to boot ranging through straight metal to stylish electronica.

I also have no real grievances. There are some errors in the physics engine although that is to be expected. It’s only real issue is sticking to a derby-style, which is going to put off people. This game sits pretty far away from Gran Turismo, and those looking for a traditional racing game will not find it here.

But you now know this going in you should still totally get Wreckfest. It’s a different racing experience and one which is designed far more for multiplayer violence. While the game is not brimming with content there is enough in to make it worth the money and with a pretty big community you can delve hard into the workshop content to extend out the experience. This is how a game should be out of early access: A fun and complete experience with plenty of extra content to dive in.