Physics-based racers

In a physics-based racer, what happens next depends on a simulation instead of a scripted effect. Weight, momentum and contact decide the result, which makes each crash and each jump different from the last.

Damage and deformation

Wreckfest from Bugbear Entertainment, published by THQ Nordic, uses soft-body damage: location-based damage that changes how the car drives. It first reached Steam Early Access on 15 January 2014 and was fully released on Windows on 14 June 2018. Its modes include banger racing and demolition derby, where the goal is to be the last car running.

BeamNG.drive from the Bremen studio BeamNG GmbH entered Steam Early Access on 29 May 2015. Vehicles are built from node-and-beam skeletons, so they flex and deform under stress. Damage can include degraded engines, detached doors and shattered windows.

Toy-track physics

Hot Wheels Unleashed (Milestone, released 30 September 2021) puts toy cars on miniature tracks in everyday places such as a garage, a kitchen and a bedroom. It has a career mode, a time trial mode and a track editor.

What it means as a player

• Contact has a cost. Light touches can bend a wheel or lose power, so clean lines pay off.
• Speed carries. A heavy car takes longer to turn and stop. Leave space.
• Experiment slowly. A quiet road or empty arena lets you see how a car reacts to a jump or a hit.
• Use the replay. Watching a crash back often shows exactly which input caused it.