Wreckreation Review (Series X)
Summary: A failed attempt to rekindle the Burnout flame, though Wreckreation's creative features are admirable. Too derivative and flawed to recommend, but might provide enough enjoyment for those looking for a fast and destructive arcade-racing fix.
2.9
Wannabe Burnout
Nostalgia is an empowering force in our culture, and Three Fields Entertainment has driven our nostalgia for the Burnout arcade racing game franchise since they formed in 2014. First they injected the sport of golf with the chaotic destruction of Burnout in Dangerous Golf in 2016, then they returned to their bread and butter by giving us three successive driving games bent on mayhem with Danger Zone 1 and 2 in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and Dangerous Driving in 2019. Now, Three Fields Entertainment are back with Wreckreation, their most ambitious ode to Burnout yet. Does Wreckreation recreate the arcade-racing magic of the classic Burnout games, or is it naught but a pretender?
Let’s get this out of the way straight away, Wreckreation doesn’t measure up to the huge triple A racers of the day like FORZA Horizon, Need For Speed or the CodeMasters racing games. Wreckreation can be best compared to its “Wreck” brethren Wreckfest, as there’s an emphasis on crashes and stunts to keep the arcade racing exciting and fresh. Wreckreation is an indie game by a small team who used to work at Burnout developer Criterion, and even though Wreckreation has the heart and soul of its much loved forbear, it doesn’t have the technical panache or budget luxuries to keep pace with the juggernauts of the racing game genre.
Wreckreation does its best to satiate the uproarious appetites of Burnout fans by decorating itself with the spirit of this venerated racing franchise like it was Navy seal camouflage. What this means is you’re free to roam around an open-world map dotted liberally with events such as bog-standard races, Road Rage, time trials and suchlike you can start by holding down both triggers on the controller to rev your engine. In addition, keep your eyes peeled for ramps your vehicle can leap from to smash into advertisement boards, as well as a plethora of red gates you can break open to tick off another collectible in the game’s itinerary.
This structure of Wreckreation echoes the free roam structure of Burnout Paradise and 2012’s Need For Speed: Most Wanted (also developed by Criterion), and Wreckreation does a serviceable job of replicating it in terms of content. Even the sidebar menu cribs from Burnout Paradise, giving you a slew of options to tinker about with including setting up online game sessions, changing the radio station, renaming and customizing your car, and accessing Wreckreation’s creation suite.
A highly touted feature of Wreckreation is your ability to place down ramps and loop-de-loops on the map to accelerate the havoc and recklessness that the game tries to distinguish itself with. The creation options are simplistic and easy to use, though they’re not put to any meaningful use unfortunately because there’s no reason to plonk down a ramp unless you can find no other way to smash down a billboard-though there are ramps accompanying every smashable billboard in the game.
Mixes are a heavy theme in Wreckreation, allowing you to tweak and toy about everything from the music to the amount of traffic on the road to the weather conditions. Mixing gives a nice feeling of autonomy over Wreckreation’s feature set, and like the game in general, encourages you to experiment and play around with all of the options at your disposal.
The online playground is where you’ll find the most enjoyment from Wreckreation if you can find people to play the game with you. Completing wrecking challenges and competing with others opens Wreckreation’s potential up in a way that makes the game more pleasurable to experience than driving all over the map by yourself and taking on all the different event types. The competitive elements in Wreckreation’s multiplayer is definitely the ideal way to spend time in Wreckreation, even though you and your friends may find all its worth in a single session-but it’s better to muck about in a group than on your lonesome.
As for the racing core of Wreckreation, it’s a high-speed thrillride that generally lacks character and a sense of personality. Again, like Burnout: Paradise, you race to acquire licenses to unlock better cars and more race events. Starting out with a plain stunt vehicle, you can gain faster and more attractive cars as you keep playing and participating in races. Don’t expect anything different from what you’ve come to know from the Burnout games, except the high-speed races can be so fast that it’s very easy to careen into oncoming traffic-but hey at least the sense of speed can be somewhat thrilling.
Road Rage events are back and they’re the best type of event there is and they are moreish. Road Rage is all about wrecking your fellow racers and meeting a set target, the more racers you wreck the closer you get to satisfying the goal. The downside is that Road Rage events in Wreckreation can become too chaotic, and they definitely would’ve benefited from a linear structure like the PS2 Burnout games, but being the budgetary version of Burnout Paradise, it’s understandable that Three Fields Entertainment wanted to provide that particular flavour for everything Wreckreation has to offer.
Races and time trials are both about speeding along as fast as possible, bashing down big red checkpoint displays and vying for victory-although it’s not essential to win, seeing as you can make progress no matter what position you finish. Races are fairly short and can come in the form of either straight sprints to finish, or they can be lap-based. You’ve got access to nitro to blast by your opposition, though it pays off to be gentle and economical with your use of it. By all means use nitro to get ahead in clear view from any traffic, but utilizing it constantly only runs the risk of you crashing helplessly and needing to reset your car on the track.
You’ll wish that Wreckreation had more newness beyond the creation options, especially when it comes to modes and options. The big problem is that Wreckreation spends so much time trying to remind you of a game that came out almost two-decades ago, that it doesn’t deliver much in the way of contemporary thrills. Of course Wreckreation was built with racing gamer’s nostalgia in mind first and foremost, and what the developers have done with the racing experience is appreciable, but you’ll feel very short-changed by the absence of style and personality. Yeah you can customize your car, but where are all the cool liveries and the distinctive personality? Not to be found here regrettably.
On the subject of regrettable is Wreckreation’s performance. While it runs normally it can feel fast and fluid, but as you drive around you may notice the framerate grinds to a slow-motion crawl constantly. The experience on Series X can be rather atrocious, like the game wasn’t tested properly before launching. Serious issues like this can really destroy every quality the game has, and in Wreckreation’s case that certainly shows it has a dark side that many will not easily forgive.
The framerate woes are unfortunate because the map is quite pleasant to drive around in with its long stretching roads, hidden track areas you can rove through, beach side which is pleasant to drive along. The map is sizable and stretches along for quite a while as you explore all of the areas and cover as much road you can. You can’t expect Wreckreation to look as pretty as the triple A efforts, but it does show potential within its 400 square kilometers. The coastal areas are eloquent and the forests and mountain areas are enticing to traverse, so there are sights you’ll be content to indulge in if you fancy a scenic tour.
Unfortunately you’re unable to pause the game properly, so you cannot leave the game when you need to without the risk of crashing or tumbling down a hillside, so it would’ve been ideal to be able to stop the game to save players from frustration. The soundtrack contains a few radio stations to flick through, though the music isn’t as iconic and epic as any of the Burnout titles, but there is an array of genres covered from Jazz to Disco to Classical, so there is variety, even if there’s nothing particularly outstanding on the radio stations.
Final Thoughts
As admirable as it is for Wreckreation to adorn itself with Burnout-aping features, the game is an easy mix of likable creative features and unfinished and often derivative design. If you want some more nostalgic Burnout-like racing, then this one can accommodate you for a little while thanks to all of the collectibles, events, and the compelling creation and mix features. However, Wreckreation doesn’t feel or play like a finished game, and what with some hideous framerate drops, a lack of a proper pause option, and the general lack of newness-Wreckreation only carries the skin of its progenitor rather than its flesh. Take Wreckreation for a spin and you may appreciate it for a little bit, but when the seams start to show don’t be surprised to find yourself wanting to play a sleeker alternative.
Related Posts
Keeper XSX Review →
The Outer Worlds 2 Review (XSX) →
Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox Series X Review →
