There are some things here that are positive foundations. However, ‘NASCAR 21: Ignition’ has just missed the racing line and slammed the outside wall.
Racing games run through my blood. My first ever console gaming experience was ‘Crash Team Racing’ on PS1. I’ve been a true motorsports loyalist since 2007. My first ever NASCAR gaming experience was a classic in ‘NASCAR Thunder 2003’ as ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ from Steppenwolf played and awoken something inside 13-year-old Ben. I’ve owned just about every NASCAR game ever created (yes even NR 2003). After a somewhat shaky return with the NASCAR: Heat’ series, Motorsports Games has now relaunched the franchise with ‘NASCAR 21: Ignition’. With a big facelift from years prior how does all the excitement for us race fans hold up? Well…it’s kind of hard to tell.
So ‘NASCAR 21’ is a major overhaul from the prior Heat series in prior years. Removing the Xfinity, Trucks, and Dirt we are left to solely focus on the Cup Series. This I think was the best move. It kind of brings back that nostalgic feel of those early EA Thunder games that just followed Cup Series with some Busch Series drivers making the field full at times and adding new faces. I want to note that this is technically a PS4 game. When I first launched the game, it was unplayable for a bit. Trying to run a race just froze the game and wouldn’t move or respond at all. After a patch later that day, the game was up and functioning thankfully. That being said I have still run into gameplay issues. During my first race in career mode, it took a 20 car pileup to even bring out a caution. Then on the restart, there was a major pileup even before the start-finish line where I wasn’t able to do anything but pile in. There have also been some smaller graphical hiccups here and there, but nothing too bad as compared before the update.
Handling of a car in-game is something that I have a major interest in. If you’re able to really feel the difference between car types, horsepower, tire wear, etc… then that is something great that you have accomplished. With ‘Ignition’ though it misses that mark. Sure, stock cars don’t handle that well, to begin with. Putting 500-750hp into a two-ton piece of steel and expecting it to stop and turn on a dime isn’t really easy. That being said, these cars were a challenge on the controller. I found myself constantly fighting the balance of making the car loose or tight. I mostly went tight as to just not loop the car as I got near traffic, got near the wall, or just kind of look at the screen in a funny way. On superspeedways like Daytona or Talladega, if I made the slightest bit of a right turn I’d lose the car and slam the wall. Road-course racing was a bit more bearable and functioning and honestly kinda fun. I might just be too aware of the high-end PS5 controller, but I really struggled with this and found it frustrating. I had knocked the assists off as well because I also found those overbearing, but had to turn them BACK on in some capacity just to feel comfortable with the car. I want to note that I do have a sim wheel (Logitech G29) but I chose not to use this for the review as I wanted it to be fully for the console gamer experience. Overall, the handling and feel of the cars aren’t ideal by any means.
Career mode does add some positives though. You’re thrust into the NASCAR drivers world as you have a select amount of contracts like Gaunt Bros, RCR, RWR, and a select amount of others. As you move through the season, you build and gain a reputation as you race. All the while, you’re also trying to make your team’s goals. This varies from ‘make the playoffs’ to ‘just trying to make as many laps as possible.’ There is also the fact that if someone retires from the series, they will be replaced by current Xfinity Series drivers. This is something that I really enjoy as it adds to that realism of drivers retiring and filling in for others. It again brings me back to Thunder 2004 and the driver retirements from that career mode. The career mode is really cool and well built, but again the actual gameplay is what hinders the fun of that.
Now to something that I think we are all really pumped about, the Paint Booth. This was a huge redeeming factor for the game. While I am not the best at creating and designing, this is a great paint booth to create. It brings back a feel from the NASCAR 15 and Inside Line paint schemes. This really makes me happy as there have been such amazing designs to come from this booth. The number of sponsor decals, number fonts, and design possibilities really make for a great time. If you want to see other designs, just search them on Twitter. Some folks in the NASCAR creative community have made some amazing stuff.
‘NASCAR 21: Ignition’ is a new start for the brand. We need to remember that. That being said, this is a very disappointing launch for a game. The overall gameplay lacks in many ways, the AI is incompetent at times and struggles to understand, there are some larger glitches that can easily take you out of the game and ruin the experience as well. The paint booth and career mode are very good and fun to go through. That is about it. I want to add that other users and players are reporting that playing on PC is bringing a bit better of an experience so if you are looking for the game, that might be your best bet as of now. I still think there is a lot of hope for the franchise. There are some things here that are positive foundations. However, ‘NASCAR 21: Ignition’ has just missed the racing line and slammed the outside wall.
