Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks Hands-On Preview – Vehicular Ork Combat
The Warhammer 40,000 series has seen a countless number of videogame adaptations, and it’s not going to end anytime soon. The huge community and the deep lore are two aspects that fuel this desire for more games, and fuel is the right word here since Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks is all about that – vehicular combat, massive car destruction with some racing in-between, which we could try in a playable build right before Early Access launch. Expect plenty of action, but not enough content as of yet.
More Combat Than Speed
Speed Freeks is going the free-to-play route, which means that as a multiplayer-only game – even if you can create a room with bots – it doesn’t have the barrier of a price tag. The common downside to this monetization model is that with open doors comes the higher potential for cheaters and player toxicity, but that’s a conversation for another time. For now, we could at least spot a battle pass with a premium track and an in-game shop, so these should be the main way of keeping the game running without the entry fee.
This build allowed us to test our racing (slightly) and combat (a whole lot more) skills across two modes, a very meager offering that hopefully will be expanded upon official release. But first, a quick look over the available vehicles, which are the assorted selection that you would expect from a vehicular combat game but with the style of Warhammer 40,000 shining through in its design. They look menacing and mostly armored in every area, up to wheels with spikes that are not mere decors, but can be used as an ability to ram other cars and deal damage. With more than one ork aboard, one for driving and the others to man the cannons, throw molotov cocktails and the like, some are best built for speed while others focus on armor or heavy damage, although I couldn’t spot any sort of stats screen with a detailed breakdown of each one. It will take some experimentation to see which vehicle best suits your playstyle.
Unfortunately, given that the two existing game modes are mostly focused on combat apart from a few minor sections involving speed, there isn’t much in terms of actual racing involved, which is a shame. Seeing the whole crew rushing through the wastelands, some of them using ramps to get to higher ground while others move on solid land, explosions blasting everywhere, speed not too fast but very adequate to give the pleasant vehicle handling just the right push, this ended being one of the highlights of this experience and I wanted to see more of it. Not just ten seconds between each 5-minute combat section, but much more than that – eventually, an actual racing mode that does without the weapons and allows us to crash into each other, trying to reach the ending by sheer skill, only vehicles of similar stats being available for this challenge.
But until that happens, we have two modes. Starting with Deff Rally, this is accurately described as a death race through multiple capture points. The two rival teams race to a capture point, weapons blazing, the first one to get there scoring 30 points. Then it’s a battle to earn more points until the next area is unlocked, triggering another race and capture point showdown, repeating a couple more times until the match is over. The mix of two fairly different beats is enjoyable, prevents any of them from becoming stale, and while the Warhammer 40,000 is what shines the most, I can’t help but see some Mad Max Fury Road vibes during the race segments, these odd machines speeding along at high velocity and explosions all over the place. I ended up enjoying these bits more than the capture the point aspect, which felt a little lengthy for my liking.
The other game mode is Kill Konvoy, and it’s something of an escort mode but with a hulking machine. Each team has to protect their own giant Stompa on its march, as their rivals slow them down by destroying enemy vehicles and driving a bomb right into it. An average match in this mode can last for 20-25 minutes at the very least, so make sure you have the time for it before starting. The vast maps provide some nice room for speeding and getting to the enemy Stompa, with some players engaging in combat while others try to find the bomb that randomly spawns. When in control of the bomb, that player becomes the target of the opposing team, so they will need protection to be able to smash into the Stompa before being blown to pieces.
Freeks With Some Potential
Speed Freeks may be somewhat slim in terms of content, even for Early Access, but the gameplay is enjoyable and the game modes are chaotic in a good way. The Warhammer 40,000 identity at the service of a vehicular combat game is suitable, looks quite good, but the mechanics are solid enough as to work with any other type of IP, the same as saying that even players who aren’t fans of this franchise are bound to enjoy the gameplay loop.
Questions are also raised regarding the long-term appeal of the game. Even if more game modes are added, what kind of progression system are we going to have that keeps us coming back for more? And will the progression boosts from the shop pave the way for any game-breaking advantage to buying players? Doubts that hopefully Speed Freeks will clear really soon with a bang.
MP1st was given access to a preview build of Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks for our hands-on session. Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks enters Early Access for PC on August 6, 2024.
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