Stock car racing with an arcade twist: NASCAR Arcade Rush is set to bring the world's premier tin-top oval series to living rooms in a light-hearted way, featuring iconic environments with reimagined circuits. Alongside the first trailer, the game's release date has been revealed - it will launch on September 15th.
Image credit: GameMill Entertainment
NASCAR fans have not been spoiled with games about their favorite series recently, and make no mistake: Arcade Rush is not going to satisfy those who are looking for a realistic approximation of their sport, which the name already implies. Instead, focus looks to be on fun and accessibility.
The trailer shows rapid action using cars from throughout the 75-year history of NASCAR. Iconic tracks of the series like Daytona, Martinsville or Talladega serve as backdrops for Arcade Rush's circuits, which use trademark elements of their real counterparts to make for circuits that lend themselves well to arcade-style racing, including power-ups, boosts and big jumps.
Bring on the fireworks: NASCAR Arcade Rush looks to be living up to its name. Image credit: GameMill Entertainment
NASCAR Arcade Rush is going to feature a career mode that is based on the NASCAR Cup Series, with local and online multiplayer, the latter with up to 12 players, also being part of the game. Fans who are looking forward to the Nintendo Switch version are going to have to make do without the local multiplayer mode, however - the Switch is the only platform Arcade Rush will be released on that will not feature the mode.
Apart from the Switch, the title will be released on Xbox Series X | S and One, PlayStation 4 and 5, and PC via Steam.
Wait for Ignition Successor Continues
What about a new, more realistic NASCAR game, though? Mike Straw of Insider Gaming has reported that the series is looking to cancel the licensing agreement with Motorsport Games soon. Thus far, the partnership has only resulted one game in NASCAR 21: Ignition, which launched with an immense number of bugs and was not well received as a result.Whether or not these rumors are true remains to be seen - Motorsport Games' Q2 earnings report, scheduled for release at the start of next week, may yield more info on the future of the various licenses the company holds. While Le Mans Ultimate looks to be in track for its planned late 2023 release, the IndyCar game MSG is working on has not seen much info being revealed.
