Gravel

My first honest reaction to Gravel was relief. After years of the racing genre retreating further and further into lap-time obsession and tyre-compound menus, here was something that just wanted me to slide a trophy truck sideways through a Namibian desert and feel good about it. Milestone built this as a deliberate throwback to the pick-up-and-play arcade racers of the nineties, and for about the first three hours, it absolutely delivers that. The structure hangs on four racing disciplines. Cross Country is the standout: open, checkpoint-based point-to-point runs through genuinely gorgeous environments - Alaska, the Outback, Namibia, Mont Blanc - where the long straights and big jumps let the loose handling model shine. Wild Rush puts you on shorter looping circuits in wild outdoor settings. Speed Cross is the closest thing to rallycross here, mixing tarmac and dirt surfaces on real-world tracks including Lohéac and the Latvian circuit Biķernieki. Stadium Circuit throws everyone into claustrophobic dirt arenas packed with jumps and tight chicanes, which is where things get genuinely chaotic and entertaining. On top of standard races you get elimination rounds (last place gets dropped every thirty seconds or so, which is a blast), time attacks, a Smash-Up mode where you crash through coded boards against the clock, and online King's Rush and Capture the Flag modes. The vehicle roster runs to over seventy cars spanning the 1970s to modern day, covering trophy trucks, classic rally cars, buggies, and more from manufacturers like Porsche, Toyota, Ford, and Subaru. Vehicles unlock through level progression rather than a storefront, which keeps the moment-to-moment loop rewarding even when the career itself starts dragging. The handling sits firmly in arcade territory - assists on by default, a 5-second rewind button always available, and a physics model that prioritises fun slides over authenticity. Crucially, Milestone included adjustable driver assists, ride height, camber tuning, and gear ratios, so you can dial in more challenge if you want it. Turn the assists off and the game tightens up considerably. The AI is competitive without obvious rubber-banding, and on medium difficulty races stay close without feeling scripted. Wheel support is reportedly strong, with force feedback that punches above the game's overall ambition level - if you have a force feedback wheel gathering dust, Gravel is one of the better arguments for plugging it back in. Here is where I have to be straight with you though. The career mode - dressed up as a fictional TV show called Off-Road Masters on the in-game Gravel Channel, complete with boss racers and cheesy episode intros - runs out of steam faster than the runtime suggests it should. The 15 episodes with their three-star race objectives keep things moving, but the lack of meaningful vehicle distinction between classes (trucks and rally cars handle more similarly than they should), repetitive announcer lines, some texture pop-in, and generic AI behaviour all chip away at the experience over time. Most critically for anyone planning a Saturday night with friends: there is no split-screen multiplayer. At all. Online only. For an arcade racer that screams couch co-op energy, that is a genuine disappointment and worth weighing seriously before buying. Gravel lands as a decent, unpretentious arcade off-roader that earns its mixed reviews honestly. It does a specific thing - accessible, loud, muddy racing with a massive roster across varied terrain - without doing it brilliantly. If your frame of reference is DiRT 2 or Sega Rally, you will find moments here that scratch exactly that itch. If you are expecting the depth of Forza Horizon or the chaos of Burnout, you will hit the ceiling fast. Solo players grinding the career will find about 12-15 hours of content before repetition sets in. Online-only multiplayer means the group fun is there, but only if everyone is on their own screen. At a discount, the value is solid. At full price, only committed fans of the sub-genre should commit.

Riley · Scout Team

Sports & racing

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