Well, here’s a game I’d never thought I’d see anywhere other than on PC! Released in Early Access on Steam way back in 2015, BeamNG.drive has received a plethora of updates and patches in the years since. If you’re unfamiliar with it, BeamNG.drive is an incredibly realistic driving simulator with a heavy emphasis on player freedom. Or, if you’re anything like me, it’s a detailed car crash simulator!
Now, in a rather rare move for titles still in Early Access, the game is available on PlayStation 5. Has developer BeamNG done the unthinkable and made a console version of the demanding dynamic soft-body physics vehicle simulator actually playable on Sony’s six-year-old hardware?
BeamNG.drive
After years of seeing clips of BeamNG.drive pop up on YouTube or Twitter, I was very excited to be able to finally get my hands on it! If you’ve played it before, let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear your thoughts as a returning player, and how it compares to the console version.
Gameplay
BeamNG.drive is more than your average driving simulator. Despite it only being version 0.4 (with no plans in the near future for the full 1.0), there’s a lot to do! From simple free roaming to rally events, there’s no shortage of options. There’s even a career mode! This, however, is a little underbaked at present. Missions are disjointed, and I wasn’t a fan of buying insurance and having to drive around carefully. It’s almost at odds with what the game really wants you to do; crash!
It can be a little overwhelming knowing where to start. The cluttered menus don’t help, either! Thankfully, there’s a decent tutorial and some quick-start experiences that give new players a range of content to explore. Major updates get their own sections too, so you can easily see what’s been added in the latest version. Hopefully future updates continue this trend, as it’s great to see everything added in one easy-to-access place.
The Gameplay Selector allows you to select what kind of scenario you want to play. Gymkhana drift courses, driving a bus along a set route, and police chases, for example, give you an idea of the variety on offer. There’s even a mode that lets you control a cannon with the aim of blowing up a bus! I had a lot of fun just jumping into random challenges and trying to earn the 3 stars in each one. These challenges aren’t always explained very well, so some trial and error (or internet searching) will be needed to get through some of the more obscure ones.
Baby, You Can Drive My Car
Easily the most important aspect of BeamNG.drive is driving. And, well, the driving feels great! Each vehicle handles differently from the last; sports cars are much more responsive when compared to trucks (as they should!), with things like environments and current damage also having a major effect on handling. There are a lot of settings to play around with, but by default it feels more sim than arcadey, though perhaps not as strict as pure racing simulators out there.
My biggest issue with gameplay relates to the user interface and navigating menus. What would be a few simple clicks of a mouse becomes a bit of a slog using a DualSense. Quick keyboard shortcuts become several button inputs or navigating the clunky menus. The radial menus do work well for the most part, although it would have been nice to have a “favourites” menu. Sometimes I want to instantly blow my vehicle up without having to navigate through three menus, you know?
Graphics & Audio
Graphically, BeamNG.drive excels in some aspects but falters in others. Vehicles look fantastic; a good thing too since they’re the most important aspect of the game! However, it was the soft-body physics that blew me away. Cars crumple and bend, suspension systems are pushed to their limits, tyres tear off their axels, it’s very satisfying! My favourite thing to do when in free roam was to just spawn a car, drive as fast as possible, hit the slow motion button and watch the carnage unfold. The environments definitely aren’t as detailed, often looking rather generic. Certainly not terrible, though, but they can make the game feel a little lifeless.
As for performance, this can fluctuate wildly. Scenes with a lot going on or with too many cars on screen will see the framerate drop noticeably. It’s perhaps not too surprising given how the physics are working in real time for each vehicle, but hopefully after a few updates things will run a little smoother. That said, you won’t find better vehicle destruction in any game on the market, so it stands to reason that the PS5 may struggle from time to time.
The audio is done well, but there honestly isn’t too much to mention. The sounds of the vehicles are all fine, with larger ones sounding suitably gruffer. In-game music, aside from the main menu, is completely absent. Best to put on your own playlist for this one!
Longevity
As previously mentioned, payers won’t be short of things to do in BeamNG.drive, that’s for certain! Unfortunately, no mod support means that you are limited to just what’s already in the game. If you were looking for the really crazy maps, vehicles, and other things you’ve seen around the internet, you’re probably best off with the PC version.
Final Thoughts
I had a lot of fun with BeamNG.drive, but it definitely has its issues. Limitations of both the console and the controller, as well as no mods, make this an inferior version of its PC counterpart. That said, this is definitely a game I will jump back into every now and then to play around with. Great for a quick gaming session when you just don’t want to commit to something for more than an hour or so. One I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on for future updates, and that inevitable 1.0 release.
Therefore, I’ll be giving BeamNG.drive the Thumb Culture Silver Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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