NASCAR Heat 5

Solid handling model, decent AI balancing, runs great on low end machines like mine, first NASCAR game I've really enjoyed since the Eutechnyx games.

I've never felt stronger Stockholm syndrome towards a game than that what I feel for this abomination. A game that truly should have been left in 2020, still remains arguably the best NASCAR game since the Eutechnyx era, and that's a really sad statement. This game absolutely blows in terms of driving physics, each car feels like a lopsided brick on triangle-shaped wheels trying to make a turn. For some un-godly reason, that's all thrown out the window as soon as you take flight, as your car's physics turn from that of a tungsten cube to a sponge. Honestly it's embarrassing that this was the premier title game for a professional motorsport, let alone the host of an esports league for a few years. The graphics are equally terrible. Every colour feels off and the entire aesthetic is a poor imitation of reality as a result. But this would all be serviceable if the gameplay wasn't caked in motion blur like the lives of every 704Games employee's life depended on it. You can literally pause the game mid race to see how much nicer it would have looked without the motion blur. The same applies for online races, which couldn't process the motion blur mid race (rip lobbies). So why do I come back to NASCAR Heat 5? 1. The ai are weirdly incredible. For a racing title, I've never seen AI drivers put together such noticeable runs across a season, it's really fun to watch guys run consistently higher or lower than what you might expect them to, and their performances really show in the points. The AI are also relatively unpredictable in their finishing results, which also really helps for surprise storylines across a season. 2. No game since has provided me with as much freedom. I can create my own schedule in champ mode, and drive tracks in Cup that they didn't race at the time. I can even elect to not run the Playoffs. This shouldn't be a positive, but somehow neither NASCAR25 or 26 will have this feature, which blows my mind. I don't even want to THINK about 21: Ignition. 3. Lastly, the modding. In recent years, this game's modding scene has really taken off, with what started as just paint-scheme replacement, now turning into new car models, custom race length, free cam mid race AND in replays. Despite the fact that Iracing will inevitably surpass this game in every aspect (I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hope), I'm optimistic for this game's future, and could easily see something like full track mods in the future. 6/10, shouldn't be my most played game on Steam, but what choice do I have when Iracing won't take their ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ finger out and let me drive a Cup car round St. Pete.