Info about Wreckfest:

Official game description:
Break the rules and take full-contact racing to the limit with Wreckfest!  
Expect epic crashes, neck-to-neck fights over the finish line and brand-new ways for metal to bend – These are the once-in-a-lifetime moments that can only be achieved in Wreckfest, with its true-to-life physics simulation crafted by legendary developer Bugbear, who also brought you FlatOut 1 & 2!  
Burn rubber and shred metal in the ultimate driving playground!  
Wreckfest is jam-packed with upgrade and customization options. Whether you are preparing for your next demolition derby with reinforced bumpers, roll cages, side protectors and much more, or setting your car up for a banger race with engine performance parts like air filters, camshafts, fuel systems, etc., Wreckfest is shaping up to be the best combative motorsport game out there.  
**Drive hard. Die last.**
Unique Racing Experience
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Exhilarating no-rules racing action with defining, once-in-a-lifetime moments that can be achieved only with a true-to-life physics simulation. Witness insane neck-to-neck fighting on high-speed circuits, face total destruction madness on crazy courses with intersections and oncoming traffic, or go for demolition dominance in derby arenas.  
Awesome Cars
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Our cars are old, banged up, patched together... They ooze style and character! From old American heavy-hitters to agile Europeans and fun Asians, you won’t find anything like this in other games.  
Meaningful Customization
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Change not only the look of your cars but also upgrade their body armor – Reinforce them with heavy iron that protects you from damage, but also adds weight, which impacts the cars handling. Modify your car to make a robust tank or a fragile but lightning-fast rocket, or anything in between!  
Multiplayer
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Wreck your friends online and take racing to the limit while chasing for demolition dominance!  
Challenge modes
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Have hilarious fun with lawn mowers and upon release also with crop harvesters, school buses, three-wheelers and more!  
Career mode
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Battle for championships, earn experience, unlock new upgrades and cars, and become the all-time Wreckfest champion!  
Mod support
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Want to go completely nuts? Have a look at the Steam Workshop where you'll find a huge selection of mods that add monster trucks, tracks with moon-high jumps or even classic maps from famous destruction-themed games!

Release date: Jun 14, 2018

Categories: Vehicle Customization, Driving Simulation, Destruction Racing, Car Combat, Multiplayer, Mod Support, Customization

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 75; verdict: Aggressive Monetization; summary: The game features significant monetization through pay-to-win DLC cars, season passes, and expensive DLC packs. While some users find value in the season passes, the overall sentiment is that the monetization practices are aggressive and can detract from the user experience. The perception of the game being abandoned for a sequel also negatively impacts user trust.
- Proton/Linux: score 10; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game runs well on Steam Deck with minimal to no tweaks required, indicating strong compatibility with Linux/Proton. Users report a smooth and enjoyable experience, with some noting improved performance on newer hardware. Minor performance issues, such as difficulty in maintaining a stable 60fps, do not significantly detract from the overall positive experience.
- Steam Deck: score 35; verdict: Playable with Minor Issues; summary: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience reveals several key themes. While there are notable issues such as small text in menus, performance challenges in maintaining a stable 60fps, and significant battery drain, the overall experience is largely positive. Users have praised the flawless controller support and the overall enjoyable gameplay on the Steam Deck. The positive feedback significantly outweighs the negative, indicating a generally favorable experience despite some technical barriers.

- Hardware Profile:
  - Summary: The game performs well across most hardware cohorts, with high frame rates and stability reported even on lower-end systems. Only minor performance issues are noted on specific configurations.
  - Sample size: 21 (1% coverage)
  - Audience skew: Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
  - Windows 12-15GB VRAM (positive, 9 reports): Players report excellent performance with high frame rates and stability, even at high resolutions and settings.
  - Windows <8GB VRAM (positive, 9 reports): The game runs smoothly with stable frame rates, even in demanding scenes.
  - Caveats: 21 of 1933 reviews expose hardware metadata.; Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that the community generally finds the game worth purchasing only when it is available at a significant discount. Multiple reviews mention that the game is best bought on sale, with specific mentions of prices around $10 or 10€ being considered fair. This indicates that the community perceives the fair price range for the base game to be lower than the full price, likely due to concerns about the game's value for money at its full price point.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 50.0h
  - Story completion: 5.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 50.0h
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several direct and indirect references to playtime metrics. The first quote suggests that the campaign can be completed in a few hours, which supports the story completion time. The second quote mentions that completing the career mode should not take 50-100 hours, implying a high range for game completion. The third and fourth quotes mention 100 and 55 hours of playtime, respectively, which can be interpreted as total playtime including endgame content.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Wreckfest is highly enjoyable, especially in multiplayer mode, where players can engage in chaotic and destruction-packed races. The fun starts almost immediately, particularly when playing with friends.
  - Stance: Fun immediately
  - Anchor: Starting multiplayer races
  - Time to anchor: 0h 30m
  - Friction: Technical issues in multiplayer; Need to build up a garage before fully enjoying multiplayer
  - Unlock drivers: Engaging in multiplayer modes; Playing with friends
  - Conditions: Playing with friends; Engaging in multiplayer modes
- Player Archetypes:
  - Precision Racer (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastery and competition
    - Playstyle: Strategic and precise racing, focusing on optimal navigation and exploiting game physics.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: racing enthusiast; simulation fan
    - Reference games: BeamNG.drive; Dirt Rally 2.0
  - Chaotic Social Racer (buy)
    - Motivation: Social interaction and chaotic fun
    - Playstyle: Enjoys multiplayer modes, focuses on fun and chaos rather than pure competition.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: multiplayer enthusiast; social gamer
    - Reference games: FlatOut series; Left 4 Dead
  - Mod Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Customization and community engagement
    - Playstyle: Enjoys modded content and community-organized events, focuses on enhancing the game through mods.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: modding community; custom content fan
    - Reference games: BeamNG.drive; FlatOut series
  - Critical Multiplayer Evaluator (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Improved multiplayer experience
    - Playstyle: Prefers single-player or well-moderated multiplayer, critical of current multiplayer state.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: critical gamer; multiplayer critic
    - Reference games: Dirt Rally 2.0; BeamNG.drive


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Diverse tracks and vehicles (weight 0.75): The game offers a wide variety of tracks and vehicles, including many circular and figure-eight tracks, as well as a diverse selection of cars and engines. This variety enhances the racing experience and provides players with numerous options.
- Fun and entertaining gameplay (weight 0.51): Players find the game highly enjoyable and entertaining, with hours of fun and engaging gameplay. The game is ideal for both casual and dedicated gamers looking for an entertaining experience.
- Realistic car handling and physics (weight 0.47): The game features realistic car handling and physics, providing a challenging and fun driving experience. The well-calibrated steering, acceleration, and braking contribute to the overall realism.
- Realistic damage mechanics (weight 0.37): The game features realistic and satisfying damage mechanics, with detailed damage models and collision physics. This adds to the realism and enjoyment of the gameplay.
- Optimized performance (weight 0.3): The game is well-optimized and runs smoothly on various hardware, including older PCs. This ensures a good performance experience for a wide range of players.
- Vehicle customization options (weight 0.28): The game offers extensive vehicle customization options, allowing players to tune and upgrade their cars. This adds a layer of depth and personalization to the gameplay.
- Comparison to FlatOut series (weight 0.25): The game is often compared to the FlatOut series, with many players considering it a spiritual successor. It combines elements from FlatOut and other games like BeamNG.drive, offering a matured and improved version of the classic gameplay.
- Good sound design (weight 0.2): The game has a good soundtrack and sound effects, contributing to an immersive audio experience. The sound design is well-received by players.
- Destruction Derby nostalgia (weight 0.19): The game evokes nostalgic vibes from the classic Destruction Derby series. Players who enjoyed Destruction Derby are likely to appreciate this game as well.
- Demolition derby gameplay (weight 0.17): The game blends track racing with demolition derby styles, offering a unique and exciting gameplay experience. The demolition derbies are challenging and fun.
- Active multiplayer mode (weight 0.16): The game has a good multiplayer mode that functions well and is still active. Playing with friends is fun and adds to the overall enjoyment.
- Fun crash mechanics (weight 0.15): The game features fun and wild crash mechanics, making the crashes enjoyable and adding to the excitement of the gameplay.
- Adrenaline-pumping racing (weight 0.13): The game successfully combines adrenaline-pumping racing with elements of realism, offering a unique and exciting racing simulator experience.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive and long races (weight 0.52): Players find the races to be repetitive and long, with many laps and tracks that feel monotonous. The lack of custom races and variety in locations adds to the boredom.
- Multiplayer connectivity issues (weight 0.43): Multiplayer requires port forwarding for non-dedicated servers, and players experience unstable online play, connection issues, and a lack of official servers.
- Lacks features from FlatOut (weight 0.31): The game is criticized for not including popular features from FlatOut, such as destructible objects, nitrous oxide, and mini-games, making it less exciting than its predecessors.
- Frustrating AI behavior (weight 0.27): The AI in the game is often frustrating and can behave stupidly, making the gameplay experience less enjoyable.
- Performance and technical issues (weight 0.23): The game suffers from various performance issues, including lag, stuttering, and poor optimization, which affect the overall gameplay experience.
- Boring and repetitive career mode (weight 0.2): The career mode is described as boring, repetitive, and poorly designed, with too many laps and championships that make it tedious.
- Poor and repetitive soundtrack (weight 0.19): The soundtrack is criticized for being poor, unmemorable, and repetitive, which detracts from the overall gaming experience.
- Poor menu navigation (weight 0.11): The menu system is criticized for being inconvenient, complicated, and poorly designed, making navigation difficult.
- Lack of split-screen multiplayer (weight 0.09): The game lacks split-screen functionality for local multiplayer, which is a missed feature for many players.
- Toxic multiplayer community (weight 0.09): The multiplayer community is described as toxic, which can negatively impact the online gaming experience.
- Game feels abandoned (weight 0.09): Players feel that the developers have abandoned the game, leading to a lack of updates and support.
- Lack of rewind feature (weight 0.08): The game does not have a rewind function, which is a missed feature that players would like to see included.

Gameplay feedback:
- Diverse tracks and cars (weight 0.38): The game includes a variety of tracks, such as figure-eight and circular tracks, as well as a wide range of vehicles, including sporty cars, school buses, and even lawn mowers.
- Multiplayer and single-player modes (weight 0.38): Players can enjoy both multiplayer and single-player experiences, with engaging multiplayer options and a full single-player campaign.
- Realistic destruction mechanics (weight 0.31): The game features a complex and realistic destruction system, with fully destructible cars and detailed collision mechanics, focusing on the damage and destruction aspects of racing.
- Similar to classic demolition games (weight 0.28): The gameplay is often compared to classic demolition derby games like Destruction Derby and FlatOut, featuring chaotic destruction derbies and similar gameplay mechanics.
- Blend of simulation and arcade (weight 0.24): The gameplay combines elements of both simulation and arcade racing, offering a mix of physics-based racing and arcade-style handling and demolition derbies.
- Extensive vehicle customization (weight 0.24): Players can customize their vehicles with various options, including suspension, handling, painting, and parts, allowing for a personalized gaming experience.
- Demolition derby focus (weight 0.13): The game emphasizes demolition derby events, featuring modern destruction derbies and contact racing, appealing to fans of high-impact, destructive gameplay.
- Challenging AI opponents (weight 0.11): The game includes difficult and aggressive AI opponents, providing a challenging experience for players looking to test their skills against tough competition.
- High-adrenaline gameplay (weight 0.11): The game delivers an intense and chaotic racing experience, with high-adrenaline gameplay that keeps players on the edge of their seats.
- Mod support (weight 0.1): The game supports modding, with a modding scene and Steam Workshop support, allowing players to create and share their own content.

Performance notes:
- Excellent performance on high-end hardware (weight 0.48): The game runs exceptionally well on high-end hardware, achieving high frame rates even at 4K resolution with ultra settings. Players report smooth performance on various platforms, including Linux and Steam Deck.
- Optimization problems (weight 0.29): The game has optimization issues, particularly on AMD hardware and laptops. Some players report poor performance even with minimum quality settings.
- Specific hardware performance (weight 0.28): The game performs well on specific hardware configurations, such as the RTX 3060ti and Steam Deck. Some players report high frame rates and smooth performance on these setups.
- Positive feedback on graphics and design (weight 0.25): Players appreciate the detailed car models, realistic damage effects, and well-designed tracks. The immersive sound design and beautiful graphics are also highlighted.
- Server and stability issues (weight 0.23): Players experience frequent server crashes, game freezes, and long loading times. These issues significantly impact the gameplay experience and need to be addressed.
- Miscellaneous bugs and fixes (weight 0.13): There are various minor bugs and issues reported by players, such as screen flickering and stuttering caused by Bluetooth. Some players have found workarounds to improve performance.
- Launch and connection issues (weight 0.11): Players report long launch times and connection issues during races. These issues can be frustrating and impact the overall gaming experience.
- 64-bit version issues (weight 0.06): Some players report issues with the 64-bit version of the game, including crashes and non-functional behavior. This can be a significant problem for those using 64-bit systems.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for destruction racing fans (weight 0.39): The game is highly recommended for fans of destructive and unconventional racing games, including those who enjoy titles like Nascar, Destruction Derby, and the Flatout series.
- Worth it on sale (weight 0.22): Many players suggest that the game is worth purchasing when it is on sale, indicating that it provides good value for money at a discounted price.
- Recommended for solo play (weight 0.11): The game is recommended for those who prefer playing solo, indicating that the single-player experience is enjoyable.
- Highly recommended for multiplayer (weight 0.09): The game is highly recommended for those who enjoy online multiplayer, suggesting that the multiplayer mode is a strong point.
- Recommended for fun and nostalgia (weight 0.09): The game is recommended for its fun moments and nostalgic value, providing an enjoyable and chaotic experience with others.
- Consider pricing and alternatives (weight 0.08): Some players suggest reconsidering the pricing strategy and recommend saving money for other games or playing alternatives like BeamNG.
- Needs optimization and AMD compatibility (weight 0.07): Players have noted that the game requires a major optimization patch and better AMD compatibility to improve performance.
- Recommended for new players (weight 0.06): The game is recommended for new players, indicating that it is accessible and enjoyable for those new to the genre.
- More content needed (weight 0.06): Players have expressed a desire for more cars, tracks, and a more detailed story mode to enhance the game's content.

Other player notes:
- Used ExitLag for online gaming (weight 0.03): Players mentioned using the ExitLag program to enhance their online gaming experience.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.16): Players are frustrated by a variety of technical and gameplay issues. Multiplayer problems, including server crashes, connection issues, and the need for port forwarding or VPNs, are major sources of frustration. Additionally, repetitive races, aggressive AI, and lack of features or guidance in the game contribute to the frustration. Performance issues, even on modern hardware, and the game's perceived cheating mechanics further exacerbate this emotion.
- Excitement (weight 0.15): Players are excited about the game's chaotic and fun racing experience, which includes high-speed collisions and realistic damage mechanics. The variety of tracks, modes, and vehicles, along with the game's sense of speed and adrenaline-pumping gameplay, contribute to this excitement. Additionally, the anticipation for future updates and sequels, as well as the enjoyment of multiplayer interactions and the game's unique features, enhance this emotional response.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.14): Players enjoy the fun and engaging gameplay, which includes crashing and breaking cars, as well as the variety of vehicles and tracks. The realistic physics and damage models, along with the game's mechanics and multiplayer options, contribute to this enjoyment. Additionally, the game's variety of modes and the ability to play with friends enhance the overall positive experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.12): Players are satisfied with the game's realistic physics, detailed damage models, and overall gameplay experience. The variety of modes and tracks, along with the game's performance and customization options, contribute to this satisfaction. Additionally, the game's improvements over previous titles and the enjoyment of multiplayer modes enhance the sense of fulfillment.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Players are disappointed due to the lack of certain features like nitro and split-screen play, as well as the repetitive gameplay and poor soundtrack. The comparison to older games like FlatOut, which are perceived as having more 'madness' and better damage physics, contributes to this disappointment. Additionally, performance issues, lack of event variety, and misleading advertising further exacerbate this emotion.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.07): Players feel nostalgic as the game reminds them of older titles like FlatOut and Destruction Derby. The comparison to classic racing games and the memories associated with playing those games contribute to this sense of nostalgia. The game's ability to evoke feelings of childhood and the past enhances this emotional response.
- Joy (weight 0.06): Players experience joy from the fun and sharp driving mechanics, as well as the engaging and entertaining gameplay. The enjoyable crashes and destruction, along with the game's humorous aspects, contribute to this joy. Additionally, the fun multiplayer interactions and the ability to play with family enhance the overall positive experience.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Players feel anger due to difficulties in hosting multiplayer games, disruptive players, and being banned from private servers. The poor AI and multiplayer experience, along with game bugs and wasted money, contribute to this anger. Additionally, the anti-consumer EULA and developer abandonment further exacerbate this emotion.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): Players are enthusiastic about the game's chaotic and fun gameplay, as well as its unique features. The high praise and detailed positive points about the game, along with the appreciation for its madness, contribute to this enthusiasm. Additionally, the recommendation to new players and the enjoyment of demolition racing enhance this emotional response.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Players experience boredom due to repetitive races with many laps and monotonous tracks. The lack of excitement in races and the repetitive gameplay contribute to this boredom. Additionally, the mention that the game can get boring further exacerbates this emotion.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Players admire the game's remarkably detailed physics engine and the effort put in by the developers. The game's development history and the noticeable dedication of the developers contribute to this admiration.}