As the name suggests, NASCAR Arcade Rush from GameMill Entertainment and Team6 Game Studios brings us a fast-paced arcade-style experience on PS5. Check our NASCAR Arcade Rush review!
As the name suggests, NASCAR Arcade Rush from GameMill Entertainment and Team6 Game Studios brings us a fast-paced arcade-style experience on PlayStation 5. It’s like the studio mixed NASCAR with a good dose of F-Zero to see how things would turn out. And wouldn’t you know it, it turns out we have a fun mix! It’s not mind-blowing nor revolutionary, but it offers a new take on classic NASCAR courses that fans love and gives them an arcade-style party game twist. As long as you know what you’re getting yourself into, you’ll be good to go.
You have three options for playing in NASCAR Arcade Rush: Cup Series, Quick Race, and Time Attack. For the Cup Series option, you can take on nine different cups of increasing difficulty as you try to earn as many points as possible to win the cup. Quick Race allows you to choose a track and take on a single race as you aim to at least end up on the podium. Time Attack will require you to beat specific time limits in each of the races in the game so that you can earn yourself a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal for your efforts.
The controls are simple and to the point. You’ll steer your vehicle with the left analog stick as you accelerate with the R2 button. You can use the right analog stick to control the camera as needed. The L2 button is for braking and for going in reverse. If you have enough of a charge, you can use the X button to activate a nitro boost that can help you move ahead of the pack. To refill the nitro gauge, you’ll need to drive into the pit lane.
Do know that you won’t be able to use your nitro while in the pit lane and that your vehicle will go at a slower pace due to the speed limit. It’s a bit of a trade-off, so you’ll need to plan accordingly. And if you ever find yourself in a tough spot after making a mistake and need to get back on the action, you can do so by pressing the Triangle button to respawn. Oh, and you also have emotes that you can use with the D-Pad. Because. Because reasons.
The faster you go, the better your odds of winning a race, and this is why it’s important that you try to drive on what is called the racing line. When you’re taking on corners, stay close to the inside so that you can drive on the best line, which is called the apex. Doing this will allow you to drive faster… as long as you don’t end up driving out of the road! This is why you should always keep a good eye on your vehicle so that you can decide when you should break.
The game features a full list with a Platinum trophy, and since it’s a Cross-Buy title if you own a PS5, you can get the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game at no extra cost and work on their respective separate trophy lists. Each of the lists includes 8 Bronze trophies, 8 Silver trophies, and 7 Gold trophies for you to unlock. You can make trophies pop by competing in a quick race, winning a quick race on all 12 tracks in the game, completing your first cup, completing all cups in rookie and elite difficulty, beating all 12 gold medal times in Time Attack, customizing all available parts on a single vehicle, leveling up all the way to level 100, competing in 25 online races and more.
NASCAR Arcade Rush brings us a fast-paced arcade-style NASCAR experience on PlayStation. It takes classic NASCAR tracks and mixes things up by adding arcade elements, with ramps, boost strips, and even rings of fire for you to jump through. I did run into some hiccups when the action would freeze for a second on a track or two, which was odd but didn’t get in the way that much. One time, I did have to close and restart the game since it froze during the final race of a cup, but then it didn’t happen again. NASCAR Arcade Rush is available as a Cross-Buy title, so your $49.99 purchase will allow you to download both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game at no extra cost. There’s also the NASCAR Arcade Rush Project X Edition for $59.99, which adds the following:
– A hovercraft car model developed as part of Project-X
– Project-X paint scheme, rims, wheels, and spoiler
– Project-X themed drivers suit and helmet
– Project-X team sponsorship option
– Project-X vehicle FX package
– A set of four additional in-game emojis to showcase your style
Disclaimer
This NASCAR Arcade Rush review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by GameMill Entertainment.
