So this site seems to not even know this game exists. Seems like the game in general is pretty overlooked though.

This video gives the best possible explanation I've seen so far. To my surprise this isn't a racing game at all. I wanted it to be a new Motorstorm and it's definitely not. So I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I don't think I will be paying full price for it. Maybe a demo would change my mind though. It's going to be out for PS4 and Xbox in June. And to sum up the gameplay, think of a hero shooter mixed with an offroad Burnout(Road Rage mode).

Reviews.

• Ars Technica – No score
• Eurogamer – Recommended
• Destructoid – 8
• Hardcore Gamer – 4/5
• Push Square – 7
• God is a Geek – 8
• Heavy – 7.8
• Usgamer – 4/5
• We Got This Covered – 3.5/5
• ThisGenGaming – 7.5
• TrueAchievements – 4/5
• Hobby Consolas [Spanish] – 75/100
• Spaziogames [Itlaian] – 7.5

Figured I throw the QL in here, because why not?

Oh... oh. This is maybe better than I was expecting. But this also makes me way more wary of this thing not being very popular.

Looks like a lot of fun though!

Looks cool, but I guess we'll see on the execution.

Also I like how that dude in that video took 14 minutes to say "it's team death match on a race track."

I think this game seems interesting on paper, but, realistically, doesn't look like much fun to actually play, beyond maybe a short novelty period. The multiplayer seems like the focus, so I would expect the singleplayer to be little more than some bot matches thinly dressed up as tutorials to prepare players for online play. As for the multiplayer, I'm kind of exhausted of team-based role-oriented competitive games, like Overwatch, and this game has a heavy Overwatch vibe, but without the personality. Also, despite being a huge fan of old Burnout, I'm not seeing much satisfaction in these Takedowns--they look flimsy, trivial to do, and mechanically unimpactful. If there was a demo, I might give that a shot on a whim, but so far I'm only seeing theoretical fun here.

Oh. This looks nothing like the spiritual Motorstorm successor I was hoping it was going to be. Definitely giving it a hard pass!

I'm a little worried about Codemasters. Dirt 4 has struggled, Showdown was deeply unspectacular, this is a risky proposition that could (I'm not saying will) tank, and without the F1 license there's not much worth getting excited about in their portfolio.

This game looks super cool and fun but I doubt it will sell well at all at $60. Even I might not pick it up for that price.

I liked the part about not paying for loot crates (at least for the foreseeable future) lol. Like damn at least they are telling you up front they will probably charge for them later

NOT ANYMORE!

Was cringing the whole video.

If their whole point with the game is going to be consistent influx of AI players, you'd think they would put time into a convincing/stylish entrance when they spawn... instead of a bland ghosting in animation. :cringe

@flashflood_29: Yeah that does seem pretty lazy of them. Having them fall from the sky would have been much cooler looking.

Yeah its not a new Motorstorm but looks like a blast regardless.

It's a multiplayer-focused game, seemingly inspired by the success of Rocket League, so I'm not interested.

@newfangled:

Both Dirt 4 and F1 2017 have sold rather poorly on PC, about the same number of units. From what I've read, Dirt 4 has sold at least twice as many units on console. And their F1 2017 game has done really well on console, topping the charts in certain markets, like the UK. So doing well on console is a positive thing for them (Codemasters).

If Onrush flops on both PC and console, they might be in trouble (again). Many, if not most, console gamers were expecting a new MotorStorm when they saw the first trailer for Onrush. As with most games, I think the success of Onrush will come down to how much support it gets from the media; if they treat it like the offroad version of Rocket League the game might be successful. They do seem to struggle a bit when it comes to more arcade-like racing games, as with Fuel, Showdown and Grid 2.

I'm surprised why Codemasters haven't picked other paths though, that I think would be attractive to fans of motorsports. Like Indycar, Nascar, Dakar, Hillclimb, Super GT, karting, and endurance racing. They have dipped into some of these events, but have never really committed to it (apart from Indycar).

It's an odd thing to say perhaps, but apart from their F1 and Indycar games I don't think Codemasters racing games have really been aimed at motorsports fans.

No.
I mean i want to be really excited for it, but it's the ex MotorStorm and Driveclub people and i didn't like either of those games, Codemasters obviously has a good reputation so maybe they can have a positive influence, but otherwise i'm very skeptical.
I was about to talk about how the trailers do a good job of obscuring the feel of the driving with insane constantly changing camera angles, but i just found out there's straight gameplay videos out there now, and it looks errrrrrrr... it looks errrrrrr, boring, flat, empty, physics look kinda janky and not very fun.

I don't believe development of a series-specific racing title (apart from for Formula 1, given its enormous worldwide install base) is commercially viable for Codemasters. Back in the Days of ToCA, ToCA 2,and 2003's IndyCar Series, development costs were far lower, and gaming was much more of a niche industry. The PSX BTCC games weren't as a big of a risk to develop and release, despite the series' comparatively small audience. Even NASCAR has fallen out of favour these past few generations.

What's more, contemporary simulation racing games tend to cover a much wider gamut: titles like iRacing, rFactor, and Project CARS feature an attractive variety of formulae to cater to most motorsport enthusiasts. By being a part of a greater package--rather than the whole pie--each title casts a wider net, again lessening risk, and broadening appeal. An average consumer would look at an IndyCar game and likely question why it only featured a single car model when a rival simulation title offered that and so much more beside it. There wouldn't be enough hardened fans clamouring for anything IndyCar for a title like that to be anything other than a loss-maker. Lazer-scanning and recreating every destination circuit and/or location from scratch would cost an unbelievable amount of money and take forever and a day to complete, plus the cost of an official license... it's too big of an ask given Codies' commitments to other projects.

Most importantly, current titles are arguably already doing as good a job recreating a single experience than a developer concentrating on producing a solely IndyCar-focused racing game would do. The most prominent series are already represented in a sufficient capacity in contemporary titles: iRacing's IndyCar experience, for example, is a far greater draw than a modern-day, say, Newman-Haas racing for a dedicated US open-wheel fanbase. Nobody's going to make that game. The market is already saturated with far-reaching sims, so that's a no-go for Codies, too.

I wish it was a different story, as there is nothing quite like an accurately recreated broadcasting package to double-down on an authentic, single-series experience, but that's the way the industry is these days. I used IndyCar as an example, but it's interchangeable with any of those you mentioned. Codies can cater to the arcade audience like you mentioned, which is why they're headed further in that direction--but it seems like a trajectory with a limited life expectancy.

Looks like a cool unique idea, I'd like to give it a try. I hope it works out for them.

If not then maybe they can turn it into a battle royale game with cars.

@newfangled:

I can agree with your reasoning.

I wasn't really arguing for an "X" game as a single-product, but as a multi-content package (Indycar + Nascar + some IMSA stuff, and so on).

Although thinking about it, I guess they already attempted something like that with the Grid games.

People often complain about Codemasters not having the WRC license, or other "bigg-ish" licenses for that matter, and why these always end up with much smaller studios.

What they don't understand is that given Codemasters' company size they simply can't make a single specialized game like that, which has such a narrow audience.

As you say, F1 is an outlier in this regard, since it has a huge international following. While it's true that certain people complain about the lack of other vehicle classes in the F1 games, they still manage to sell well (at least on console). The people doing the complaining probably aren't fans of F1 in the first place, is my impression.

Lack of content doesn't explain the success of Dirt Rally, although this too can be explained as an outlier, propelled by a random hype. It could easily have gone the other way, a flop.

In sum, it's only smaller developers like Milestone and Kylotonn that can make specialized games like MotoGP and WRC and still survive on it. Thanks to the console market.

It's a shame then, that these developers don't get much respect or recognition in gaming media. I feel their games often get downgraded for not being Codemasters or Turn10 games.

@sarahrosario: I guess you could call it vehicle combat? Really just straight up Action. You still have to race in a way. Just for points instead of positions.

Not sure if the mashup of competitive shooter e-sports modes with racing will work in practice as well as they probably looked on paper, but it's an interesting concept. I wonder if this will end up like Blur or Split Second - a decent arcade racer without staying power, and with low sales.

I'm too busy continuing to play Dirt Rally on PSVR to really care about this, honestly. I'll maybe pick it up several months from now.

@bonbonetti said:

I made a sneaky edit to my post prior to your reply to acknowledge that you weren't necessarily talking about single-series titles--apologies, I probably leaned in a little hard on that considering it wasn't the core of your discussion!

But yes, Grid was a brief foray into offering multiple formulae under a single umbrella, which was too much of a loose arcade-y approximation than faithful recreation of several series.

Dirt Rally addressed a untapped, wholly unserviced market which was clamouring for a modern, uncompromising rally simulation. I mean, Richard Burns Rally (2004) was the previous reference point for the sub-genre at the time of DR's release! Essentially, it wasn't battling for attention in an oversaturated marketplace of PC road-racing sims. Codemasters engineered a savvy marketing and development strategy for Dirt Rally--it was rolled out incrementally when crowdfunding was really in vogue--but I don't think lightning's going to strike twice on that front.

Agree with your other points re: smaller developers! Thank heavens for consoles.

I was optimistic for it, but it seems the game is going in a different direction. After watching a few developer commentaries, it seems like there will a be a strong focus on multiplayer gameplay. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that'll appeal to some folks. I was just looking for a fun arcade racer ala the old Motorstorm games however.

Looks like I'll be sticking with the Burnout remaster!

So I've had access to the beta and I have to say I am having fun with the game. It's kind of like a mix of Burnout and Call of Duty. There are takedowns and a sense of speed but there's also some strategy involved, you can switch your car class during the game and each of the cars have their strengths and weaknesses. It's really been an enjoyable experience for the most part. Really looking forward the full release in a few weeks.

I fear for this game. It seems like a neat idea but the focus on multiplayer for a game with minimal hype is always a red flag for me. It screams of one of those games that will be tough to find games online a few months after release

I'm definitely hoping that this game succeeds.

Played the beta yesterday, and the game has the potential to be super fun! Music is awesome, driving is great, it's really cool. I just hope the game has a meaty single player campaign because I was so hyped during the tutorial and had a lot of fun, and as soon as I got into multiplayer my enjoyment was greatly diminished. I don't like multiplayer games or competitive stuff, it's just not something I enjoy. Heard the single player has 100+ events, but I will wait for reviews before buying it. As I mentioned, the gameplay is great, the visuals, designs and the vibes are awesome, but I'm worried this will be hugely multiplayer focused, which again, personally is not what I'm looking for.

It was ok. Fun for a while, but nowhere near meaty enough to justify the price. Also I didn't like the whole presentation of the game, it's like a driving game for the adhd-generation..

Would rather have a new Motorstorm.

Yeah I can't really put it into words but something about what I've seen of gameplay from this game make it look like it won't hold longevity...

this game looks rad! I am definitely keeping an eye on it.

I played the beta and got bored quite quickly, it's chaotic and fun for a bit but the fact that this isnt a racing game makes it less intense in my opinion.

Yeah it's a shame, I loved Dirt 1-3, Grid 1-2 and those Toca games, they struck a good balance between feeling realistic but not too simulation heavy. Ever since Dirt Showdown they have either been making arcade games or simulation games, even Dirt 4 which I was expecting to be a return to form just felt like Dirt Rally 2.

Motor Storm without big rigs and buses and with more focus on speed and takedowns...

This might be the best motor storm game!

Loving the little bit I’ve played so far. I believe it was Polygon who described it as “Overwatch meets a racing game” and that’s been pretty spot-on so far.

No not all. Why not make a new Destruction Derby?

After watching the QL, I really want to play it, but... the $60 price seems a bit steep. If this was $40, I'd be all over it...although I'm still considering picking it up anyway because it looks different as well as a ton of fun. I'm just not sure of its longevity or value proposition.

I'm in the exact same boat. I was initially not interested when the pitch was revealed, but after seeing it play now, I'm intrigued.

Does anyone know how deep the single player goes? There appeared to be more to it then I thought from the Quick Look.

Heads up for anyone interested in this game but didn't think it looked worth $60. It's already on sale for $35.99 if you have Plus. https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP4001-CUSA10887_00-ONRUSH0000000000

Honestly, the more I see it in action the less I care about it.

Seems boring as all hell.

Hi, this game is dope and you should play with me: PSN is oklay.