It’s been more than two months since the release of World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing from the developers at Monster Games and their new parent company, the publishers at iRacing.
Since the release, two new cars and two new tracks have been added to the content list through a pair of DLC packs, and a number of game updates have come alongside in pre-DLC patches, mainly adding more drivers to certain series’ rosters.
Not much has come in the form of features or added-slash-adjusted rulesets. In fact, only the pre-patch for the UMP Modifieds had anything substantial in gameplay changes with an “issue allowing race to end under yellow flag” was fixed and users who have yellow flags turned on were welcomed to an unlimited set of overtime restarts, even if the leader is a foot away from taking the checkers.
While it’s still a fun game and something we gave our highest honor in the Traxion.GG Review and Game of the Year list, I think there’s plenty that could be added to this game, or in future World of Outlaws titles, to make things even better.
CROSS PLAY AND CROSS SAVING
My biggest issue with the title as it stands is that I can’t even play online with PlayStation 4 game owners, and I play on the PlayStation 5 version. Cross-play capabilities are a sorely missed feature that makes online play non-existent for those who aren’t on the more popular platform.
I shouldn’t have to install the PS4 version of the game to play with the majority of those playing online because it takes up more memory on my already packed-out console. On top of that, anything I do in one version won’t copy or save over to the other.
I’ve seen that in F1 2021, cross-generational online play was added, so those on PS4 could race those on PS5, plus Xbox One with Xbox Series X|S. Then for F1 22, cross-platform online play was switched-on – same for GRID Legends too – so that even those using an Xbox One could race those on a PS5.
If not now, for any future additions to the series or releases by Monter Games, I think this should be integral to providing a more sound multiplayer system and fuller lobbies.
Splitting up an already smaller community per the system they play on is not ideal. I didn’t even know there was a decent online presence at all until I asked one of my friends to race against me last week.
Deeper damage modelling
As far as in-game playability, it really is a shame that these machines are all indestructible. That sure isn’t the case in the real-world, as Sprint Cars tend to be quite fragile when disturbed by other cars.
I’m not saying that the damage needs to be realistic or simulated like it is in iRacing, but I would like to see the possibility of turning up the damage level, having DNFs and fixing said damage with a pit stop under caution.
With the Sprint Cars and Modifieds, in particular, having open-wheel chassis, many hits directly to the wheel or tire in the real-world is a bad deal. There does exist a setting for raising or lowering the severity of wheel-to-wheel contact, but that’s only a minor substitution for what could be a more fun option.
A FEW GLITCHES AND ADDED OR UPDATED FEATURES
I noticed on a few of the tracks, when cautions are enabled, just getting out of the groove or slapping the wall will result in a caution period. Specifically with the new Lucas Oil Speedway, if you go near the wall, prepare for yellow. That’s probably more accurate if we’re talking about NASCAR officiating.
In qualifying, if you for some reason have manual shifting on, when the session loads up the track, it will start you in neutral gear instead of in first gear. An odd inconvenience. The fact that there is manual shifting in a title that features cars with only one gear is weird, but maybe cars with multiple gears could be coming?
Finally, if I cause a wreck or spin out, or if an AI driver or multiplayer opponent spins out, they should be placed at the end of the line and not where they are when the caution flies. It is kind of cheap that anyone could flip end over end and maintain their position.
MORE OFFICIAL WoO TRACKS
At the time of writing this, there are only 16 official race tracks in the World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing title. While there are 28 other fictional venues to race on, some that have existed since the first Tony Stewart game was released back in 2020, the World of Outlaws visits at least 50 other venues not included in the title.
Furthermore, of those 16 tracks, four of them weren’t even a part of the 2022 World of Outlaws schedule, but hey, if iRacing and the Tony Stewart games already had the assets to add them into the title, it makes sense as to why they are there.
Lucas Oil Speedway is the most recent venue to be added in both WoO: Dirt Racing, but only as paid additional content. It’s vastly different from many other dirt tracks, and one has to wonder how many of the tracks not included on the roster of tracks would add extra variety.
While the title is still one of our Top 5 Best Racing Games of 2022, there’s still a lot left to be desired from such a niche title. It’s still this journalist’s second most-played PlayStation title in all of 2022, so don’t get it twisted – I loved this game immensely and many others do too.
However, there’s always room for improvement. Even in something as enjoyable as World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing has been to me.
Do you agree with our thoughts? What would you add to the current or future iterations of the World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing title? Let us know down below in the comments!
