Wreckfest 2's early access launch may have been smaller than a Fiat 500 after being run over by a monster truck, but developer Bugbear has been hard at work buffing out the sequel's bodywork since it launched back earlier this year. In May, the game received its first content update adding extra cars and tracks. Now, a second major patch folds in yet more of both, while also tuning up the physics powering this chaotic homage to games like Flatout and Destruction Derby.
The headline addition is a graffiti-covered motorhome that looks like the interior smells of meth amphetamine and Bryan Cranston's tighty-whities. While not exactly the most aerodynamic of racing vehicles, the motorhome is highly effective at preparing smaller cars for the junkyard. If you're after something more svelte and less grotty, however, update 2 also adds a new type of sedan known as the Cardinal (presumably because it's red and old).
Elsewhere, the update brings two new locations to test your driving skills in, namely a banger-racing dirt track with two layouts—oval and figure 8—alongside a demolition derby arena set in a scrapyard. As you can see in the update's accompanying video, this features a working crane with a grab claw that spins around as a hazard, slamming into careless drivers and sending their cars tumbling onto the scrapheap.
Beyond straight additions, the update makes numerous adjustments to Wreckfest 2's underlying physics. Tree collisions have been fixed to work as intended, which may be good or bad news depending on how adept you are at avoiding them. Collision physics has also been improved more broadly, as has car handling and surface physics, such as a better sandpit track.
Finally, Wreckfest 2's damage model has been refined. Now, it's easier for cars to lose panels than it was before, while the effect of game difficulty on damage has been changed. In normal damage mode, you can expect vehicles to last longer, while Bugbear stresses that "realistic damage mode is now more realistic". Hence, if you drive a car full tilt into the barriers, don't expect to reverse away with only scratches to the paintwork.
I know as much about cars as I do quantum physics (in fact, I probably know more about superpositions than Subarus) so I can't tell you whether these updates make Wreckfest 2 worth bringing home with your towtruck. That said, racing expert Phil Iwaniuk took the sequel for a spin back when it launched, and while he acknowledged the slight package, he found the core game not only enjoyable, but also refreshing:
"It’s so liberating to race in an online environment where making contact doesn’t mean tanking your safety rating, serving LFM bans, or sifting through salty Discord messages," he wrote back in March. "Deliberately, wilfully ruining someone else’s race here isn’t just permitted—you actually get scored on it. T-Bone! Nice work, have 500 points."
