Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The Long Road to Launch
I was very surprised after discovering that it took four years to introduce the playable version of Exocross to the release date for developers iRacing and indie developer Orontes Games. After all, Exocross is a pretty special product, perhaps even one of the most conflicting games I’ve tried in years. Essentially, it’s an arcade racing game in the vein of Mario Kart, Motorstorm or Trackmania, where you drive a sort of moon buggy on an alien planet and are asked to win by any means necessary against a series of other cars on tracks that look like they’ve been ripped from Wreckfest.
Physics vs. Fun: A Losing Battle
It’s all about going as fast as you can on gravel roads, overtaking your rivals, and constantly pushing the limits, no matter the road ahead—arcade racing, plain and simple. The crux for me is that the developers have always focused on realistic and detailed off-road physics, which kind of gets in the way of the “fun factor” of the game. As a result, Exocross feels slow and lacks that sense of speed, excitement, explosiveness, and adrenaline that the best games of the genre always boast.
Style Without Substance
Another aspect that doesn’t work for me is that Exocross has an aesthetic that is too realistic to be suited to arcade racing and lacks imagination, playfulness, and color – which quickly gets tiresome. The developers should have spiced up the design with something that doesn’t just look like a big, grey-brown gravel pit and, above all, decorated the tracks with things like spectators, houses, or other buildings to create a better sense of speed. Exocross (released in Early Access in December 2020 and introduced in 100% complete form on July 17) feels more like a physics prototype than a full-fledged racing game if you ask me, and the fact that it costs nearly $40 is hard to believe.
Bare Bones at Premium Price
There is no real career mode, the multiplayer portion lacks variety and immersion, and the races are often monotonous. The four (only four!) tracks are boring and lack any interesting or original elements, and I think the artificial intelligence of the opposing cars is poor at best. The game does include other game modes like Challenge, Time Trial, and so on, but everything still takes place on the same 4 tracks. The fact that there are only 3 cars to choose from doesn’t even need to be mentioned or elaborated on. The car physics is good, though, and I absolutely believe that iRacing will be able to make some really impressive things out of this system in the future, especially considering how realistic the movement of such car chassis is, for example. However, Exocross just isn’t an entertaining game.
About The ExoCross
Title: ExoCross
Type of Game: Racing, Sci-Fi
Developer: Orontes Games
Publisher: Iracing
Released: July 22, 2024
Platforms Available: PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox X|S
Platform Reviewed: PlaStation 5
Level of Maturity: Everyone
Where to Buy ExoCross
Steam (PC): Available for $29.99. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
Xbox Store : Available for $27.99 ($39.99). Check it out on the Xbox Store.
PlayStation Store: Available for $29.99 ($39.99) You can find it on the PlayStation Store.
Official Page: Visit the official ExoCross page for more information.
