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NASCAR 26 from developer iRacing Studios begins the annual release cycle for the beloved racing series.
Last year’s NASCAR 25 was a re-debut for the series, backed by some of those involved with past hits like the NASCAR Heat series of old, and the results were encouraging.
Now, the series layers atop the foundation with a new game mode, a revamp of certain on-track elements and some careful attention to fan feedback.
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Whether the game can one-up its prior lap will determine if the series finds traction as something more than just another annual sports title in its niche.
Last year, the series emphasized gameplay first and it showed. Rather, it is told through the weighty feel of vehicles, great sense of speed and the expected depth of a game that strives to be a simulation.
Now it’s about improving it all.
It’s clear that braking and general tire behavior got a balancing pass. The wear and tear is different based on driver actions and even veterans from last year might find themselves locking up their brakes at times.
Dynamic tracks make their debut, too, meaning wear and tear on a course make it feel different as a race weekend progresses.
In fact, one could argue this game is quite a bit more difficult. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, as it means a more realistic, variable feel to each event.
Adding on a weightier feel to the whole thing and putting it all together, this year’s game is tougher. It’s not a free win to rely on the same line all race now. And tougher doesn’t mean bad: This feels more realistic, dynamic and rewarding to figure out in the moment, then execute.
Overall? It’s a fun pick-up-and-play title that has already established itself as boasting that must-have sim depth for the hardcore and competitive crowds, too.
As a sports game with a narrow release window, NASCAR 26 does a good job of ramping up the details in the presentation in ways that make sense.
Obvious upgrades to skyboxes and particle effects like smoke are obvious, as are new camera angles to give the whole thing a broadcast-like feel.
This extends to sound design, which is once again roaringly good down on the tracks and even loops in Steve Letarte and Jamie McMurray in fun ways as mentors of sorts during career mode.
This, of course, builds atop last year’s solid outing. The strong attention to detail, general next-gen bells and whistles and some care for scale, meaning big crowds and draw distances, nicely brings everything together.
Like other sports titles, NASCAR 26 brims with information too, including realtime data to help players make decisions. It’s informative and professional-looking, if nothing else, and unlike other sports titles, the UI is solid, too.
Last year, career mode was pretty standard stuff while the weight of the focus clearly went into the on-track gameplay.
And that served just fine…and still does. There’s a bigger focus on the vehicles and overall team management than the player themselves, which is a good thing. Players form a team within a series, customize and get about their business in as-expected fashion.
The reputation system returns, as do team finances. Weekly decisions and facility upgrades play a role in the overall strong brew that is pretty immersive.
The Chase is the big new mode this year. Players go title-hunting over a 10-race stretch to finish a season. They can tweak the field of drivers involved. Doesn’t sound like much, but far too many sports games (looking at you, NBA 2K) offer fartoo many modes that players never touch, anyway.
This year also boasts cross-platform online multiplayer, which should boom the player count nicely for lagging platforms. There’s also a new performance training mode, which is actually really in-depth and lets players find out just how they should tweak the difficulty settings before the races really start to matter.
NASCAR 26 boasts a strong suite of options, as expected, but there’s a big kicker that’s new: Players can edit driver ratings this time. It sounds like a little thing, but it’s a nice bit of fanservice that adds customizability to things like franchise mode and, frankly, it doesn’t show up in racing sports titles often.
NASCAR 26 is a solid follow-up that stays true to what it wants to be: A focused simulation racer.
While most sports games ramp up a mind-bogglingly big list of game modes seeking broadest-possible appeal, this series is happy to stay humble and focused. Overwhelming modes, never mind microtransactions and other genre staples, aren’t here.
The result is simply a good time. The pick-up-and-play potential is there for fans, as is the profound depth to strategy, tuning and overall team management.
Now a top dog in the niche, NASCAR 26 doesn’t give any reason to think the series doesn’t have staying power.
