Brutal racing game Wreckfest 2 is finally available to play right now

If videogames are meant, in certain cases, to serve as escapist fantasies, it’s pretty easy to explain the appeal of those that allow players to demolish a car without having to worry about personal safety or taking the smouldering vehicle to the shop after for repairs. This is part of the reason alternative racing games with a focus on destruction — entries to the Burnout, Dirt Rally, and Destruction Derby series — are so enjoyable, and new games in the subgenre so welcome. Fortunately, one of the most highly anticipated sequels in this category has just arrived in the form of Wreckfest 2‘s Early Access launch.

Like its predecessor, Wreckfest 2 is a racing game that prioritizes smashing up competitors’ vehicles over more cautious driving strategies. Bugbear, the game’s creator, has refined its approach to this noble enterprise by expanding its vision of smashing into other cars and watching them, and your own vehicle, tear apart during a dash for the finish line or an attempt to win a demolition derby.

While the Early Access launch doesn’t yet include every track, car, and customization option that will feature in the finished version, it does show off the foundation of Bugbear’s work. This includes, most importantly, the studio’s attempt to rework its physics simulation engine, which is crucial in getting the most out of the vehicular carnage on offer.

Wreckfest 2’s Early Access launch includes, per its Steam page, “the base game modes of Racing, Derby, and multiplayer mode” and promises “special challenges [that put] you behind the steering wheel of unconventional vehicles that were definitely never supposed to end up on a racetrack.” Over time, Bugbear will add in new multiplayer and career mode features to the game, as well as mod support.

Wreckfest 2 is out in Early Access on Steam, with a 20% discount, meaning you will pay $23.99 USD /£19.99 until Thursday April 3. Grab a copy right here.

Or, you can find other options through our picks for the best multiplayer games and best simulation games on PC.

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