The first Wreckfest, that I just so happened to have reviewed way back in 2019, was a smashing good time. It evoked memories of Flatout, that kind of rural Americana of stockcars, banger racing and carnage. So, in my confusion, I took Wreckreation to be the next step in the series.
Turns out, I was wrong. Wreckreation is instead a spin on the formula established by the likes of Forza Horizon and Test Drive Unlimited: colourful open world-style driveabouts, doing challenges picked from a minimap. I imagine I’m not the only one to make that mistake.
Confusion aside, is Wreckreation a fun little driving game from the minds behind Dangerous Driving, or should it be left in park somewhere out of the way? Buckle up, we’ll find out.
Off The Blocks
You shouldn’t need me, in this day and age, to tell what constitutes a car racing game. Honestly, unless you’ve been stuck down a mine for thirty years, it’s all variations on the standard driving fare. Oh sure, they come in different styles and time periods, but these kind of games all are the same.
You’ve got your point to point races, time trial events and various stunt jump-style ones. For the more extreme, there’s your Burnout takedown events. These play exactly as they sound: players have to slam a certain number of cars off the road for a medal goal, all the while adding time to the clock with each takedown.
And then there’s the loops, the steep banks and all the rest that look like a GTA Online race course. They’re there, and they are… as you’d expect, really. It’s like an amalgamation of earlier mentioned titles, with some Hot Wheels and Trackmania gloriously ripped off too.
Motion Blur Will Hide The Urgh
At first glance, Wreckreation doesn’t look too bad a game. It’s got that bright and simple feel to it, that arcade quality from Burnout, surprisingly enough. If that’s all you want then that’s all you can ask for, really.
But if you’re after a bit of depth, something current to show off that expensive console under the TV, then Wreckreation isn’t going to be it. Oh sure, the game looks nice enough when it’s whizzing by under high speeds, but it’s when slowed down that the veneer peels.
The land is dead, albeit some traffic. The voiceover is clearly just script-reading, there doesn’t feel like there’s any life here. Forza Horizon games make a big deal of the land that hosts its tournament: Wreckreation just made me feel like I’m a driving ban waiting to happen. The map is reportedly over 400 square kilometers but… so what? It just feels barren minus a few events scattered about and some obstacles to break.
Less Pimp, More Cheap Trick
Whilst I suppose it’s down to arcade-y nature of the game that the cars are unlicensed, because of this it’s difficult to feel any kind of connect here. Cars have generic names, like Slugger and Super Thunder Patrolmeister (except one of those is made up and the other is a Bill Bailey joke, I don’t care to memorise the actual names). You don’t see your avatar, so maybe it’s a world of sentient cars, who knows? I certainly don’t.
Car customisation is alright, I suppose. One can fanny about with body paints, license plates and the boost trail colour if they so which. Being able to randomise all aspects is a neat little gimmick, if you will, but again it’s all very shallow and average.
Unlocking new cars after events, or the game’s Shutdown mode, which involves running a target car off the road to unlock it is cool and all, but that’s it. It’s all just shallow arcade cars for the sake of it. Arbitrary increments in horsepower, but nothing that really separates the field apart.
Mix It Up, Kitchen Sink And All
One thing that Wreckreation does at least try to do, albeit not very well, is its Live Mix “mode”. What this means, in short, is that players can add in ramps and whatnot on the fly. See a billboard that looks a bit out of the way? Pop a ramp down and try and make it a little bit more feasible to hit it.
In practice, it’s a good concept. In its implementation, however, it’s a little wonky. For one, it doesn’t pause the game when you bring it up. Oh, and it’s activated by clicking the thumbstick. So, and you may have guessed it, imagine how frustrating it can be to be accidentally launched off of a high point because you clicked a thumbstick by mistake.
I would think that it’s meant to implement a live service feel, but it struggles to do so. Did we not learn from the most recent Test Drive that not everything needs to be this way? Wreckreation, be ye arcade racer or be ye forced live service gubbins? It seemingly can’t decide and needed to choose one and focus on just that.
Oh, and here’s a brief summary of the multiplayer: I couldn’t find anyone and didn’t get to experience it.
Let It Crash And Burn
To summarise, I didn’t like Wreckreation. I feel it’s a shoddy rip-off of the games that it’s clearly stealing from paying reference to. But what makes it doubly insulting? Some of the studio that worked on this are ex-Criterion developers. Yes, the very same Criterion that made Burnout. Talk about missing the mark.
As I said, I thought that Wreckreation was Wreckfest 2. Take this as my warning, wary wanderer: it’s nowhere close. If you want nostalgia or similarity, play old Burnout’s or the first Wreckfest, respectively.
There’s not really much here, except a game that redirects on its own search engine results to Dangerous Driving 2. An uninspired mix of better examples done wrong, just burn this one out. Preferably in a ditch, out of sight on a lesser-known country road.
Wreckreation is available now on PlayStation 5 (review platform), Xbox Series S|X and PC via Steam.
Developer: Three Fields Entertainment
Publisher: THQ Nordic