I'm playing the game because I like the handling model, but this is a preference so narrow and the game's negatives are so strong, that I can't recommend this game even to an enemy. Some idiots say that this is a derby game. It isn't. The only way to progress in the game is by winning races. And you don't win races by crashing. However, crashing is nearly inavoidable. Janky physics can send you flying in a random direction at any point. The opponents prioritize hurting you over their own results. There are no clean drivers in this game. Everyone is trying to kill you. Most also seem to try to kill themselves. And there's heavy rubberbanding, so they always catch up to you. The cars are heavy and sluggish, so it is often difficult to dodge a hazard in time. And the grip is limited, so if you ask too much from the car, you crash. With all the bumps and trash and obstacles on the tracks, the car is almost never stable. It is always just one small push away from spinning, flipping or barrelling into a wall. And more often than not, the game is happy to provide such a push. Winning races therefore, and progressing in the game, unavoidably requires luck. And you'll have to restart races over and over until the game finally let's you finish in peace and in a good position.
I don't see what people see in this. It's apparently supposed to be a middle ground between sim and arcade, but instead of combining the best of both worlds it combines the worst. Instead of public roads and pretty vistas we get boring sterile racetracks. Instead of realistic physics we have something far removed without any sense behind it. Instead of accessibility we get handling that demands precision without assists and is braindead simple with assists on. Instead of exciting close races we get braindead AI and endless exercise in frustration.
There are plenty of RPG mechanics here if you like numbers going up and collecting things, but at the end of the day it's just a pure game of risk/reward. Something between a slot machine and backgammon in complexity, but with a lot more dressing and secondary mechanics. Can be a lot of fun, if that's your kind of thing.
teststestest
Training Montage: the Game. The game is mostly about building up the main character into a fighting machine. The combat is automatic, you only watch it. The combat system is pretty fun, but not as deep as it tries to be. The game is VERY grindy. It does have a surprising amount of variety, but it still leans into the grind most of the time. And it is also rather janky. I haven't encountered anything game breaking, but plenty of small glitches.
Saving a game is not implemented.
There are valid complains about the game regarding its EULA, mod support, etc that you can find in other reviews and should take into account. This one is about the merits of the game itself. First of all, it's not an econ strategy and it doesn't play like a colony sim, though it can qualify as either if you squint just a little. It is a city builder with disaster mechanics cranked up. A bunch of critical buildings and functions require human settlers and you don't directly control those. So a big part of the core gameplay is about attracting and catering to colonists, trying to nudge them into decisions aligned with your strategy. Which makes the game a city builder. Another important thing to note is its pacing and depth. A normal playthrough takes around 20 hours. Even though it doesn't have the mechanical complexity of a typical 4X game, it does have a very similar pacing and variety of stategic choices.
No key bind configuration. Which makes certain things impossible to do for me. This is not a tycoon game. It has all the mechanics of a tycoon game, but you are also given a list of "tasks", like "build a line to this city", "earth this much money", etc. And if you fail any of them, it's game over.
There's a difference between a game with a rich story and a piece of fiction with clickable interface. This one is the latter, even though it mimics an actual game. Don't fall for it.
Version 1.12.5, 8 years after 1.0 release, the game can't find savegame files it created itself. This is only the most aggravating bug. The game is notorious for its poor technical state. And bad UI. Mind you, the DLC buttons in the main menu are intact and working. The base game without mods is also pretty bare bones. The only cool thing you can do in it is landing on the Moon (that is, the Mun). Every other cool idea your mind is going to wonder about either requires mods or is not possible at all. Otherwise, the game is just a rocket explosion simulator with unrealistic physics.
