REVIEW: iRacing Arcade – this one is not paid for, but is that worth it?

iRacing is the ultimate pinnacle of virtual driving for many motoring enthusiasts. Mastering the simulation aspect of this game means that few can stop you. The superb racing presentation, based on faithfully rendered vehicle physics and excellent tracks, has given many a compelling experience of real racing in the virtual world. The beauty of iRacing is that it works on a subscription basis. If you can’t fully commit to it, then it’s an endless waste of money. But now iRacing is coming, which is not a subscription. Just not the version for enthusiastic drivers but for beginners.

In iRacing Arcade, the idea is very simple – you race against other drivers, be they real or artificial intelligence. Currently, there are only eight vehicles available in the repertoire, from a regular Fiat 500 to a Formula 1 car. Unfortunately, that’s too little for a racing game. You also have 14 tracks that you can drive independently through the so-called Free Playin online play or through a career. The tracks are miniature versions of the real ones, so it will take you between 20 and 45 seconds to complete one lap, depending on which vehicle you drive.

Although the number of cars and tracks is unknown, at least the ride is very satisfying and fun. I can say that I really enjoy her. As this is an arcade, the more aggressive you are on the track, the better position you will be in. But don’t relax too much because this is a game with iRacing in the title. Although this is arcade racing, it still has some simulation elements. For example, vehicle damage and tire/fuel consumption have a significant impact on your driving. This is noticeably threatened when you drive endurance races, where entering the pits is mandatory if you want to drive to the end without giving up.

Although this is arcade racing, it still has some simulation elements.

If you have too much damage on your vehicle, you will feel it while driving. It happened to me, for example, that I crashed my Formula 1 car too much and at one point it started to smoke and lose engine power. As the game has a specific visual style, there won’t be a realistic display of damage here, but it’s still visible what’s happening. If you wear out your tires, you will have a lack of grip and you will go through the turns a little slower. It is also great that you can control how much fuel you will use, so if you are afraid that your car will roar, you can always dose the gas so that the tank does not empty. Even entering your pit is quite realistic and you can leave it at any moment, without filling up the fuel or changing all the tires.

Driving against other players is really fun. Pushing, hitting, shenanigans – everything is included in this title. Although the AI ​​drivers are truly worthy opponents, I can’t shake the impression that on some tracks in sharp turns they are regularly cut short and receive penalties. To give you an example, going through the 10th turn on the track in Bahrain, the AI ​​drivers will always, but always, cut short. It often happened that I was celebrating in races in front of the runner-up by more than half the track because, for some reason, they were programmed to cut that particular corner, even though they passed every other one properly. If nothing else, I can at least praise the remaining tire marks on the track, which is noticeable as it is driven as long as possible, giving the track a certain amount of dynamism.

It’s great that you can control how much fuel you’ll use, so if you’re afraid your car will roar, you can always dose the gas so the tank doesn’t run out.

Outside of the race itself, you have your own base, that is, the campus, which you upgrade with the money you get after the races and the racing week. How much money you get depends on the weight you choose. Once you set the difficulty of the AI ​​driver to be similar to your skills, the races become uncertain. You have complete freedom in choosing and placing parts of your campus, and with various decorations you can do wonders.

You can upgrade the database using boosteva. They give you certain benefits, but you have to be careful how you use them. Namely, you have a specific number boosteva what your factory gives you during a race week in your career. Since there are at least three races in a racing week, sometimes more, it is not advisable to use them all in the first race. Most of the time, you can’t even because you have space for boost limited and numerically smaller than the entire production of the same.

Outside of the actual driving, you have your own base, that is, the campus, which you upgrade with cash prizes from racing.

I can say that they are a great addition to the game and give it more depth. You can choose, for example, between boosteva which bring you a stronger vehicle at the start or give you a bigger one grip in the first lap or allow you to be faster and in turn your vehicle will be more sensitive to bumps. But there is anything and everything that is connected with fluthe engine or sensitivity of your car. There’s even an engine boost for a few seconds if someone overtakes you. The only thing is that there is no throwing of bananas, but they would certainly have included that if they weren’t afraid of Nintendo’s lawyers.

iRacing Arcade looks quite solid. When driving fast, you even have a small effect of breaking through the air, which is a nice addition. It doesn’t play a huge role, but at least you get a sense of speed for a short while. It’s a bit disappointing that you only have one time of day and always the same conditions on each course. Although the artistic choice of visuals is very nice, it’s devastating when you see the same thing on every track, without any changes. You get fed up very quickly and the present beauty starts to annoy you due to the lack of diversity. If we had different variations, for example night races, or rainy weather, it would be a different story.

It’s a bit disappointing that the game only has one time of day and always the same conditions on each track.

I have to criticize the game settings as well. Unfortunately, there is no key change in the options, regardless of whether you play on a controller or keyboard. The way it was arranged for you at the beginning, this is how you will play until there are no changes (if at all!) and the game is active. Replays of races can only be viewed by entering through the main interface, and there is a limited range of options. You can change the camera and drivers, that’s it. If you want to take a picture of something, there is no option to make the picture clean, without unnecessary things on the screen.

Perhaps the biggest problem for players if you want to play the online part with other players is the locking of that mode of play through invite-only lobbyje. This is the most painful point of the whole game because racing is really fun. As there is none matchmaking that would connect you with other players, you’re left to a campaign that gets boring at times.

The only way to play with other virtual drivers is to join a community of iRacing fans or convince some friends to buy this game. But even then, the whole thing boils down to breaking the set time of other drivers, and there you are alone on the track and your goal is to clear the track in the shortest possible time. That gameplay option allows for a bit of track learning, but it’s not a true multiplayer experience.

iRacing Arcade is ultimately a small game that feels like something that was quickly put together to get the word out about iRacing among the younger crowd. The racing is fun, the AI ​​drivers are competent and some of the simulation segments fit the game well. However, playing with other players is locked behind the only option that shouldn’t be. And the lack of content at the beginning of the game is also problematic, especially in the selection of vehicles, which I’m afraid, combined with the online part, won’t keep players for long. We can hardly recommend iRacing Arcade to you at the regular price.