Coming out of the left-field, Stuntfest World Tour is a brand new franchise by THQ Nordic and Pow Wow Entertainment that mixes driving with running, flying and ragdoll physics.
The relatively fresh development studio based in Austria has previously created the cutesy sandbox MisBits. With Stuntfest, it now looks to have created something that melds elements of prior Wreckfest, Destruction AllStars and Pain games.
Studio CEO and Co-founder Milo Gutmann has prior experience working on the popular SOCOM series of games, while CCO and Co-founder Jérôme Amouyal previously worked on the battle arena driving game Crasher.
Here, you are racing vehicles, but you can rapidly extricate from the car and then bounce your character around the level in order to try and find a shortcut. This is being touted as an ‘aimed ejection mechanism’, which reminds us strongly of FlatOut 2.
At certain times, there will be a jet-powered glider involved too, with you in control flying above tracks resembling a platformer – reminiscent in some aspects of the Trials or Trackmania series. After your in-air manoeuvring, you must aim at the next available vehicle and take control.
There also looks to be a demolition derby arena, analogous to Wreckfest – also by the same publisher, but a separate development studio.
18-player Stuntshow
The end goal is to win an elimination-style festival, made up of several different game modes and up to 18 players online.
The festival area also sounds as if it can be used to meet other players or explore new areas, while the backstage element is used to customise your character and vehicles.
Stuntfest release date
There is no clear launch date yet for Stuntfest, but it will launch later in 2022 and be PC-only at first via Steam.
Its key to success will be able to balance the driving and jumping/flying aspects, plus making the gameplay feel unique as opposed to a melting pot of existing ideas. We hope to share more with your about Stuntfest as it nears launch.
