Early Access Review: Wreckfest 2

Get ready to buckle up and brace for impact, because Wreckfest 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Bugbear’s 2018 smash hit demolition racer, has crashed its way into Steam’s early access. They’ve brought us new breathtaking track designs, refined soundscapes, and made improvements to the handling that tops even the original. It all seems pretty promising at first glance, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves—this is just the beginning of its journey. While the driving experience is exhilarating, with engines roaring and metal clashing, there’s currently a lack of content and some technical hiccups that leave you wanting more. Unfortunately, the crashes I’m dealing with are not the ones you’d want in a demolition derby; they’re the frustrating kind that sends your game to the desktop.

On Steam, “early access” can mean a variety of things. Sometimes, it’s just a rough draft, slowly evolving over time, much like what we saw with Assetto Corsa Evo. Other times, it’s nearly complete, holding back just enough for the official launch, akin to Tokyo Xtreme Racer’s robust early edition. Wreckfest 2 leans more towards the first category. It feels like the kind of demo you’d once find stuck to the back of a gaming magazine. For now, we have four cars, three locations with a couple of tracks each, and a sandbox map littered with colossal stunts and jumps. Longtime followers might recognize some elements from the early “technology sneak peek” days of Wreckfest, when it was still called ‘Next Car Game’ and striving to come back from a failed Kickstarter. It’s a charming callback to Wreckfest’s roots and provides a brief amusement, even if giant ramps and car crushers don’t quite dazzle like they did a decade ago.

What’s really impressive, however, is the new Scrapyard setting, teeming with interactive debris and offering two tracks winding through towering piles of old tires and compacted car frames. These aren’t just generic shapes—each is a detailed car shell shaped into precarious towers. Besides all this, you’ve got two dozen roaring cars complicating your race around. Unlike other racing games with untouchable, pristine trackside elements, Wreckfest has always encouraged chaos, a tradition continued from Bugbear’s own FlatOut series. Wreckfest 2 escalates this destruction. Amazingly, it all runs smoothly on my setup (RTX 4080, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H) without sacrificing visual beauty. The level of destructibility maintained by Bugbear without losing quality is pretty mystifying.

Flashback to what we said about Wreckfest back in the day: it heralded the return of high-quality demolition racing and took the throne in that niche. It might have been a bit flat off the track, but in the thick of it, the adrenaline was unmatched. While I love my serious racing games, sometimes chucking the rulebook is a blast on muddy tracks. – Luke Reilly, August 24, 2019. Wreckfest earned itself an impressive score of 9.

While the cars in Wreckfest 2 might look a little battered, they’re full of character and detail. Their damage system continues to impress, showing scratches and dents where they should be according to your wild driving style. It’s more refined this time. You’ll get HUD alerts if you blow a tire or cause damage to your radiator, and eventually, you might see black smoke billowing out. Although I haven’t noticed major performance drops or had an engine completely fail yet, I wonder if engine rebuilds will be a feature when the game is fully released. Right now, I can’t tweak or modify beyond the paint jobs, but the original Wreckfest had a great upgrade system, so I hope it reappears in the future.

The audio follows suit with noticeable improvements. Engines sound distinct whether they’re running smoothly or on their last cylinders. I’ve had a bit of an issue with the sound cutting out during some early sessions, leaving me racing in silence, but I haven’t replicated it since.

When it comes to the racing, the AI does not disappoint. It’s aggressive, quick, and prone to slip-ups, making for thrilling gameplay. At present, only traditional races and demolition derbies are playable, which can grow repetitive, yet I’m excited for what’s next. Bugbear, toss in some caravans while you’re at it!

Of the cars available, I’m partial to the new quasi-Cavalier thanks to its stable front-wheel-drive, which comes in handy when you’re turned around by your opposition. The muscle cars, while fun to drift, tend to lose composure easily amidst AI harassment. Nevertheless, aggressive impacts are part of the deal in Wreckfest 2, and sympathy isn’t on offer when others crash into you.

Sadly, not all crashes are the good kind. I’ve hit some frustrating technical crashes back to the desktop. They’re sporadic, with no clear culprit, but Bugbear has time to resolve these issues in this early stage. Keep that in mind if you’re thinking of jumping into Wreckfest 2 right away, as it’s still very much in development.