Drag
- July 22, 2024
- iRacing
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"DRAG is a physics-based offroad racing game, emphasizing time attack competition with local/online multiplayer and split-screen modes. Its realism stems from 4CPT physics, soft-body tire model, and collisions, allowing for weight transfer and various racing techniques. With global leaderboards, community events, and regular special events, DRAG offers a rich and engaging experience for 1-2 players."
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The handling model is sublime, providing a fun and engaging driving experience that feels both realistic and arcade-like.
- The graphics are impressive, and the game runs smoothly on various systems, including Linux and Steam Deck.
- The game has a lot of potential with its unique physics model and challenging gameplay, making it addictive for players who enjoy time trials and leaderboard competition.
- The game lacks content, with only a few tracks and vehicles available, leading to a repetitive experience.
- Multiplayer functionality is nearly non-existent, and the AI is frustratingly basic, making single-player modes feel empty.
- The price point is considered too high for the current amount of content, leading many players to feel it's not worth the investment.
- graphics110 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and optimization, with many users noting impressive detail in both vehicles and environments. The art style is considered unique and appealing, contributing to a visually engaging experience, while performance remains stable across various hardware setups. However, some critiques mention a need for more content and improved vehicle handling to enhance the overall experience.
“The graphics are gorgeous for an indie racer, and the mechanics are probably the most realistic I've ever seen in a racing game.”
“The graphics are beautiful, and I'm getting around 120 fps on a 1080ti with graphics at max.”
“I noticed absolutely no frame hiccups whatsoever while running at maximum graphics quality and 2x supersampling, effectively rendering the game at twice my 1440p native resolution.”
“Drag, in its early access phase, is a letdown marked by unresponsive controls, lackluster graphics, and limited content.”
“Graphically... blah, car damage is advertised as realistic?”
“The graphics are also sublime even if the color scheme is a bit muted.”
- music48 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's soundtrack consists of a limited selection of 3-4 synthwave tracks for racing and one for the menu, which many players find generic and low-energy, leading to a quick sense of fatigue. While some appreciate the music's futuristic vibe and find it relaxing, others feel it serves more as a placeholder and would benefit from additional tracks. Overall, the music is seen as adequate but not particularly memorable, with some players opting to turn it off to focus on gameplay.
“Overall between the art style, driving, soundtrack, etc., this game has a really cool and creative vibe.”
“I believe a couple more soundtracks could be nice, but the ones in the game do not feel out of place; they give the game a futuristic feeling.”
“The soundtrack is relaxing and focus-inducing at the same time, nice picks.”
“The racing music is the most milquetoast synthwave you’ve ever heard, and probably have heard before.”
“The songs aren’t very long, are generally slow, not very exciting, and get old very fast.”
“The music might as well not be there; it's generic synth that's too low energy; I turned it off immediately.”
- gameplay46 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a blend of arcade and simulation elements, featuring a clever boost system that encourages strategic racing and drafting. While many players appreciate the fun mechanics and impressive driving physics, some criticize the lack of rewards for skilled driving and the sometimes frustrating handling. Overall, the game offers addictive and engaging racing experiences, though opinions on its execution vary significantly.
“The gameplay is where it counts, and in my first online race, the racing was so tight and neck-to-neck.”
“The boost mechanic is so clever and encourages careful planning and patience of when to attack the car in front of you.”
“A beautiful and overall fantastic racing game with very impressive driving physics and mechanics.”
“You are not rewarded for driving well; in fact, you are handicapped by the turbo mechanic that only rewards turbo for drafting.”
“However, the gameplay itself is atrocious.”
“I found the driving mechanics kind of easy to get around, a bit on the slidy side but reasonably predictable, feels like a 4WD Group B machine with a crap-ton of torque at all RPM ranges and zero assists.”
- story26 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being simplistic and poorly executed, featuring a brief backstory about humanity's future and the transition to controlling RC cars in space due to climate change. While some players found the championship mode and special events enjoyable, many felt that the narrative lacked depth and coherence, leaving a desire for a more substantial storyline to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the story is seen as a weak aspect of the game, with calls for more lore and context.
“The championship mode with the little story it had was alright and did a good job working you through the game and the 4 maps and variations, and the special events are really cool and creative.”
“Fun game, really good physics and interesting story.”
“What is there is a solid story, environment, graphics and soundtrack.”
“There isn’t any lore for any part of the game except the single paragraph of backstory in the beginning.”
“The story is really stupid and told with a narrator talking over comic book style art explaining: 'We’re in the future and humanity banded together to defeat climate change, but this meant we had to get rid of personal cars and sim racers became bored since they couldn’t relate it to anything real. They then sent RC cars up into space for the sim racers on Earth to control.'”
“On the introductory video, I couldn't see much, but regarding the spoken story: I haven't heard that much nonsense in a long time.”
- optimization26 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its stunning graphics and excellent optimization, particularly on systems like Manjaro Linux, where players report high frame rates even at maximum settings. However, performance issues arise when AI is present, leading to stuttering and decreased FPS, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these AI-related performance concerns, the game generally runs smoothly and offers a visually impressive experience.
“The game looks fantastic visually, yet it's incredibly optimized for its visual fidelity.”
“Great optimization and awesome graphics!”
“Performance is excellent for me on Manjaro Linux; I get 144fps locked at max settings 1080p on Zone A-04 when I did a time trial lap. If I crank up the resolution scale to 200%, I get 120-130fps just eyeing it with the Steam overlay counter.”
“- The AI is terrible in this game; they only move in one line and avoid leaving it. The worst part about the AI is its performance; there are several performance issues when the AI is present, as it stutters and decreases my FPS a lot.”
“Multiplayer is stable, but for some reason, it has some weird stuttering not caused by players' PCs.”
“Offer it up free to play with purchasable cosmetics (because the different ones you unlock change nothing about performance).”
- stability12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed; while some players report a mature engine with no bugs or glitches, others experience significant issues such as frequent freezes and non-functional force feedback, particularly in online modes. Overall, the game's stability appears to vary widely among users.
“It's a fun buggy-type racer, but 2 months later force feedback still doesn't work.”
“The online is a bit... buggy at the moment.”
“Freezes an insane amount no matter what I'm playing.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be both challenging and time-consuming, particularly in time trials and leaderboard competitions. While some enjoy the pursuit of perfect runs and improving their times, others express frustration with the game's physics and the limited circuits available for grinding. Overall, it appeals to those who appreciate a grind-heavy experience, especially in competitive driving scenarios.
“So I have been stuck grinding on the first circuit (the only one you can do until you 'beat' some specific times) with no success.”
“I do recommend the game if you like challenging driving games with some time attack grinding attached to it, just expect some frustration due to weird physics here and there and some inconsistencies.”
“Bought this game a day after release, grinding for better times and medals on levels takes up a ton of time.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely criticized for being bland and lacking depth, with reviewers noting a significant absence of creativity and detail. Many feel that the game fails to establish any engaging atmosphere, suggesting that additional story elements could enhance the overall experience.
“More story/beef would be cool to add to the atmosphere.”
“It is an incredibly bland and threadbare game that severely lacks content and creativity, nor was there an attempt to develop any sort of atmosphere.”
“This game made no attempt to build up any atmosphere and misses so many of the finer details that build into this.”
“It is an incredibly bland and threadbare game that severely lacks content and creativity, nor was there an attempt to develop any sort of atmosphere.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players note that while solo play is more enjoyable than playing with AI, it suffers from occasional stutters every 30 seconds, which can impact the overall experience. This suggests that while there is potential for replayability, technical issues may hinder long-term engagement.
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is consistently praised, with users highlighting it as a key feature that enhances the overall experience, making it both enjoyable and entertaining.
“A good and funny racing game.”
“A good and funny racing game.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is perceived negatively, with multiple users describing it as a $40 cash grab, suggesting that they feel the pricing does not reflect the value or quality of the content offered.
“The game feels like a $40 cash grab.”
“The game feels like a $40 cash grab.”
