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."
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 and challenging gameplay, making it addictive for players who enjoy mastering driving mechanics.
- The game lacks content, with only a few tracks and cars available, leading to a repetitive experience.
- Multiplayer functionality is nearly non-existent, and the AI can be frustrating, often leading to unbalanced races.
- Many players have experienced technical issues, such as crashes and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- graphics55 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 5 % 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 stunning experience that runs smoothly across various hardware setups. However, some players feel that while the graphics are excellent, the overall content and gameplay mechanics could use improvement.
“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.”
“The graphics engine and the graphics themselves are beautiful.”
“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 colour scheme is a bit muted.”
- music24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game primarily features a limited selection of 3-4 synthwave tracks, which many players find generic and low-energy, leading to a quick sense of monotony. While some appreciate the futuristic vibe and relaxing nature of the soundtrack, others feel it lacks variety and depth, often opting to turn it off in favor of their own playlists. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as adequate but in need of expansion to enhance the gaming experience.
“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 entirety of the soundtrack is 3-4 synthwave songs for racing and one for the menu.”
“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.”
- gameplay23 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a blend of arcade fun and simulation-style physics, featuring a clever boost system that encourages strategic racing and drafting. While some players appreciate the addictive nature and tight competition, others criticize the lack of rewards for skilled driving and the sometimes simplistic mechanics. Overall, the game offers enjoyable and challenging racing experiences, enhanced by impressive graphics and sound design.
“As an arcade racer, it has an effective catch-up mechanic where vehicles in the back of the pack can draft to generate 'boost' at an increased rate.”
“The gameplay is where it counts and in my first online race the racing was so tight and neck-to-neck.”
“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.”
“The driving mechanics are kind of easy to get around, a bit on the slidey side but reasonably predictable, feels like a 4WD Group B machine with a lot of torque at all RPM ranges and zero assists.”
- story13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being simplistic and poorly executed, primarily conveyed through a brief backstory and a narrator over comic-style art. While some players found the championship mode and special events enjoyable, many felt 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 suggestions for improvement in future updates.
“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.'”
“I read the roadmap of development and saw no mention of AI players, single player championships, a storyline, or context.”
- optimization13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its stunning graphics and excellent optimization, delivering smooth performance even at high settings, particularly on Linux. However, there are notable performance issues related to AI, which can cause stuttering and frame rate drops. While the visual fidelity is impressive, some users suggest that the AI's limitations detract from the overall 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.”
“Performance-wise?”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed, with some users reporting significant bugs and freezing issues, particularly in online play, while others praise the mature engine for its lack of glitches and smooth performance. Overall, experiences vary widely among players.
“It's a fun buggy-type racer, but two months later, force feedback still doesn't work.”
“The online experience is a bit... buggy at the moment.”
“The game freezes an insane amount, no matter what I'm playing.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be a significant part of the experience, particularly for those who enjoy time trials and leaderboard competition. However, some users express frustration with the challenges, citing difficulties in achieving specific times due to inconsistent physics. Overall, while grinding can be time-consuming and challenging, it is appreciated by fans of the genre.
“At the end, you just can do some challenge grinding and that's it.”
“I have been stuck grinding on the first circuit (the only one you can do until you 'beat' some specific times) with no success.”
“Bought this game a day after release; grinding for better times and medals on levels takes up a ton of time.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely criticized for being bland and lacking creativity, with reviewers noting a significant absence of detail and depth that would typically enhance the immersive experience. Many feel that the game fails to establish any meaningful atmosphere, suggesting that additional story elements could improve this aspect.
“More story and depth 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.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users note that while solo play is more enjoyable than playing with AI, it still experiences occasional stutters, which may affect overall replayability. The potential for improved gameplay with a controller suggests that there may be ways to enhance the experience, but technical issues remain a concern.
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, with players finding it to be a good and funny racing experience that adds to the overall enjoyment.
“This racing game is not only good but also packed with hilarious moments that keep you entertained.”
“The humor in this game adds a unique twist to the racing experience, making it a joy to play.”
“I love how the game incorporates funny elements that make every race feel fresh and amusing.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as feeling exploitative, with some players perceiving it as a $40 cash grab that fails to deliver adequate value for the price.
“The game feels like a $40 cash grab.”
“The monetization system is overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
“I feel pressured to spend money to enjoy the game fully.”
