Crumple Zone

That's a good tribute to destruction derby 1. I'm more a fan of DD2 with its bigger and less flat races (chalk canyon :O), but i enjoyed it. Decent handling and physics, good AI, and some satisfying collisions! And the damage logic is cool for me, i think it was the best decision to make things interesting.

Like many other mentioned, this is as close as you can come to a "modern" Destruction Derby on PC. Flatout is pretty different and even if Wreckfest is very similar, this catches the Destruction Derby vibe way more than the other games. Played through it in one go and even if there is not a lot of content, it was really fun for the nine hours is latest. A special thanks to whomever made the music,, I'm not a big electro fan, but it was perfect for the game. Since I saw that there should be a second game, maybe the developer can consider my critics for this game: - The success is heavily based on the first 30-60 seconds in the race, I restarted every race multiple times and almost gave up at some point, because you pretty much only have a chance if you get in the front line at the beginning, which could be difficult, since you always start from the last place and the start is a mayhem... - The change to backward acceleration is way to slow, as it's to drive backwards. If you drove into a wall and have to go backward, you can restart as well most of the time, becauee you loose too much time - The KI is pretty much as agressiv and basic as it can be. In races it's okay, in arena, it's exhausting - There are a few corners where you can get stuck if you get to close, while not hitting the wall, restart.... - You can't reset you car manually and the auto reset does not work when you get pushed around by other cars - The physics are sometimes kinda "bouncy" but it depends more or less on the car [b]7/10

So... The AI is stupid, the damage is only visual (in a Destruction game?!), the physics feels terrible. Story is non-existent, characters are bland. But still, for the 2 hours i played I enjoyed it, and that should be enough for a recommendation.

A love letter to Destruction Derby, just pure, old school fun! Well worth a go.

This game very much takes stylistic insparation from Destruction Derby, from the track designs to the wacky drivers (not a bad thing), however gameplay wize it is a totally different beast. The game is built around one simple principle: when two cars crash, the faster car gets the points while the slower car takes the damage. This is similar to other demo-derby racers out there, only here the faster car doesn't take ANY damage, so there is a large incentive to keep your speed high. Vehicle handling feels a lot like the SImpsons Hit and Run: cars have a weighty, slidy feeling to them, but are still quite responsive. It is arcady yes, but you still best learn to control your drifts or you will have a very hard time! If I were to have one critisism about the physics model it would be that it takes a little too long to change direction and you can't do a J-turn in reverse either. Collisions feel a bit like Destruction Derby only cranked up to 11. When you hit cars, you bounce off them at nearly the same speed you hit them, which can get quite crazy when a big group of cars starts pin-balling off eachother. It is all healthbar based, though the visual damage model is pretty decent for a small indie game. The game has a lot of easter eggs in it too in terms of humerus trackside billboard advertisements and the AI Driver's, most, if not all of which, are based on real people/charicters from pop-culture. I expecially love the driver that is basically H.B. Halicki, complete with his bio saying he dreams of making his own hollowood car chase film. A few last things to note: This is primarily a single player game, no online multiplayer, though it does have two player split-screen with a full AI grid. The game is a little simple and doesn't have a huge amount of content, but it is price accordingly and if your looking for a somewhat nostalgic car crashing game, it will keep you entertained for at least a few hours.

If you're not having fun, you're not playing it right.

It could have been nice. - The driving physics are often weird, sometimes sending you flying - The story is awkward and so are the renderings of the characters - The graphics are rather bland - The tracks get boring after a short while - The achievements are mostly grinding - The car selection is tiny and also gets boring after a short while - The game doesn't always save and sometimes deletes your whole progress in the previous cups --> That made me play the same cup like 5 times and was extremely frustrating

For an indie game, this game's technically impressive due to the effort put into the AI. The AI isn't sophisticated per se, but it's impressive how chaotic the races & derbies can be, without the AI feeling like they're scripted. I also disagree with people saying the physics being janky. It is an acquired taste for sure, but it emulates the era it's trying to emulate well, and I kinda like how its lack of precision can make things more chaotic. So while I like the core of the game, it somehow just doesn't come together for me. The races quickly become exhausting after just a few minutes, because you're doing 7-9 laps without much to do or think about moment-to-moment (not to mention most races are decided early-on, depending on if you can avoid pileups in the first few corners). Most of the tracks are barren-looking and completely flat, and just aren't interesting to drive around. The Derby events are alright... for a couple of rounds, but they do get old quickly. I also don't like how wrecked cars are difficult to make-out from live cars; would've been nice to see them get totalled or set on fire, because sniping the last few cars gets tedious. The other problem is the lack of content: There's only 8 maps - 5 of which are races, and 3 of them are derbies. There's also no variety in the cars or customization, so all the cars look the same. All in all, this game kinda feels like a tech demo. It's got some decent ideas, but it just lacks content and a bit of X-factor to make it really be worth your time. I'd maybe buy this for $1 for 15m-1h of distraction.