NASCAR 25 gameplay has fans frothing at the mouth

Much like the Hail Melon move or a photo finish, the NASCAR 25 game has fans jumping out of their seats, and presumably spilling their Bud Light, after long-awaited gameplay footage has been showcased.

And… it looks smooth and solid, with detailed tracks (laser scanned no less) and car models, inside and out.

Xfinity Series driver Anthony Alfredo is seen playing with an Xbox controller – although it could be on the PC build expected in November, but it isn’t confirmed either way – and is able to serenely fight against AI rivals on the ‘hard’ difficulty level.

Producer Matt Lewis explains that they are running ‘somewhere around the middle” in terms of AI challenge, and that “105” is the max level. Consequently, the AI’s performance is hard to gauge, although after the first lap, you do see them taking alternate lanes.

Most of the footage is from the chase camera or cockpit, which shows working rearview mirrors – something which earlier builds blanked out. There are visible changes to rival cars’ level-of-detail, both from the chase cam and in the rear view mirrors, but it’s not certain at what stage in development this particular build is in and the effect is subtle.

Less subtle is the lens flare, which is seemingly used at every opportunity.

Homestead-Miami Speedway in Alfredo’s real-world car and then Richmond Raceway using Alex Bowman’s #48 Cup Series ride are showcased. There’s little in the way of contact and no damage is shown.

Notably, everything in the showcase looks to be a step beyond recent-history NASCAR video games. Also, this is a manicured preview, but there’s not long left now to see the final console versions, with the launch under four weeks away.

NASCAR 25 is released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on 14th October. There’s a standard edition, a Gold Edition (with early access of 72 hours) and a DLC Season Pass. 

For now, just enjoy what is a promising-looking official game, and we hope to be back with our own impressions soon. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.