Being announced last year, I was excited to see Wreckfest 2 and what new things it could bring. The first Wreckfest is one of my favourite racing games, with over 100 hours on the Switch version, and 50 hours on the Xbox version before that. So a new version that improved upon everything of that first game is alright by me. And it won’t be long before seeing how improved it is, as the game was recently given a 20/March release date for Steam Early Access.

Now, being in Early Access means not everything will be available from the off as many things about the game get refined. Even so, there should still be enough to get a feel for those improvements. Get an idea of how the tracks of the second game will feel. And start building a list of favourites of this new game. And hope for some old favourites to make it to this new game. Both tracks and vehicles.

The trailers have shown a few of the vehicles and one of the tracks, along with a lot of chaos and destruction. The rest of the tracks seem like they’ll follow the same design philosophies as the first game, with the store description stating “high-speed circuits, crazy courses with obstacles & jumps, intersections and oncoming traffic” will be in the game. And demolition derby arenas will also feature once again, though I never really touched them aside from the career and tournaments.

Both of those are set to return, with the career set to come at some point during the Early Access period. Same with tournaments. That career mode is said to be completely revamped, adapting to an individual’s playstyle. What that actually means is unknown at present, but I see it meaning that unlocks are no longer restricted to certain events, letting a player avoid those events they’d rather not touch.

Customisation is said to be getting an overhaul, with a lot of options being added across the Early Access period. New armour, new components, and a lot of personalisation that will be shareable with other racers at some point. Aware of the huge modding scene the first game has, Steam Workshop support is going to be a thing during Early Access, too. I’m sure plenty of creators will bring even more new tracks to race around.

For those favourites I want to see come along, Eagles Peak Motorpark is always a fun one to drive around. Pinehills Raceway is another one I hope does, with both regular and rally versions. While I could say I’d love to see Hellride or Deathloop return too, I’d much rather see how Bugbear could change up those concepts. Or maybe go full crazy and combine them.

For vehicles, the Speedie is one I always use, so would be interested in seeing that return. Though I can’t really see any of the DLC vehicles making it in for Early Access. Except for the wacky stuff, such as the Bumper Car and Honey Pot (a driveable outhouse). After all, the challenges section of the store description does mention getting behind the wheel of unconventional vehicles.

There’s quite a few of those unconventional vehicles that are part of Wreckfest, such as a harvester, sofa car, and one car on top of another. Bugbear could lean into such weird vehicular creations, whether with a engine-modded tractor (or telehandler) or a plane that’s been converted into a car. And, much like with the KillerPig, more cars that have been converted to look like animals or other objects, such as a banana.

I feel there’s some scope for new track elements, too. We’ve had a loop, but what of a corkscrew? Wall riding featured just a small amount in Wreckfest, but what if a track made a large use of it in this sequel? What of an urban track that makes use of a highway? Or a track that has a lot of verticality in the way of roads winding through hills? Hey, if the 12km Rally Trophy track is available in the first game, why not move onto hill climbs for the second?

And speaking of crossovers… Nah. I can’t see any of that happening until a year after Wreckfest 2 leaves Early Access. At the earliest. Even so, what will be here for the beginning of Early Access should quickly be added to with a lot more content. I could see it leaving Early Access after a year, with it also releasing on consoles at that time, too. Come 20/March, I will be racing enjoying the delights of Wreckfest 2, and offering my initial thoughts on it.

Images Taken From:
Wreckfest 2 | Steam
Wreckfest | Nintendo Switch [Docked]