GamesRacingWarhammer 40K: Speed Freeks is nearly the orky Mad Max of my dreams, but more variety and fewer bots might get it to the finish lineWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRacingWarhammer 40K: Speed Freeks is nearly the orky Mad Max of my dreams, but more variety and fewer bots might get it to the finish lineWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: PLAION)
You can’t browse Steam for more than 10 seconds without tripping over a Warhammer game.Games Workshop makes a pretty pennyhucking licenses to developers for all sorts of tie-ins, and I doubt they’ll stop anytime soon. But if you’re anything like me, all that grim darkness of the far future wears on you. “There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter?” What am I, in church? Where’s the levity?Where’s the race cars?
There’s one faction in 40k’s smorgasbord of alien horrors that’s definitely having a good time in the grimdark: the orks. These football hooligan-inspired green goons are all about going fast and blowing people up, and it’s about time they’ve been affectionately adapted inSpeed Freeks, a vehicular arena shooter where you pilot shoddy rocket-powered tanks and race to the death. It’s in early access, but already a good, chaotic time.
The orks' cheeky, anarchic spirit is everywhere in Speed Freeks (on second thought, perhaps they should not have been given driving licenses). Every match is a whirlwind of twitchy firefights, exploding squigs, and everyone slamming the “WAAAGH!” button, erupting in a chorus of battle cries. Enemies are “krumped” rather than killed or fragged, and you can customize your ride with all manner of orky attire and tabletop-accurate paints. I haven’t seen so much organic roleplay in a shooter since Deep Rock Galactic had me cheering “Rock and stone!” with strangers, and if you need any convincing that this game’s effect is similar, just take a look at its top-rated Steam guide whichteaches you to speak like an ork.
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(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
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(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
Different vehicles behave something like different characters in a hero shooter, each of them coming with a suite of abilities and special movement properties. My favorite of these is the Boomdakka Snazzwagon, which specializes in hit-and-run molotov tossing. It can leave behind a trail of blinding exhaust fumes to disorient other players or isolate healers from their team, and I found myself playing with a more tactical mind than I expected from a game about fungoid monsters in cars.
Movement is more robust than I expected, too, especially in the nimbler vehicles. While every vehicle can boost to gradually raise its top speed, speedsters like the Snazzwagon can dash to instantly accelerate to an absurd pace. Combining these mechanics allows for some truly ludicrous maneuverability when racing from one point to the next or trying to escape from an enemy tank. Maps are properly outfitted with ramps, half-pipes and spacious arenas, too, so it’s easy to apply them in a shootout.
It’s all pretty impressive stuff for an arena shooter in early access, and it’s sheer frenetic joy at the best of times. But a few gripes have spoiled the fun in my playtime so far, and I’m not sure how much longevity I’ll find in Speed Freeks, which debuts at a busy time for both multiplayer shooters andhighly anticipated Warhammer games.
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(Image credit: PLAION)(Image credit: PLAION)(Image credit: PLAION)(Image credit: PLAION)(Image credit: PLAION)
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(Image credit: PLAION)
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(Image credit: PLAION)
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(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
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(Image credit: PLAION)
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(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
(Image credit: PLAION)
Moreover, with a launch lineup of eight playable vehicles and two modes, there’s not a lot to dig into yet. Maps have some visual variety but lack distinction from one another mechanically, and occasionally players ignore the various landmarks anyway to do donuts around one another like it’s Quake 3 on wheels. While I can see myself losing several evenings to the charming brand of violence on offer here, I’m uncertain it’s deep or novel enough to attract a bustling, active community.
Still, I hope its orky antics secure it the niche it deserves, because it’s damn fun and vehicular combat has gone underrepresented for far too long. I’ve rarely seen Warhammer’s lighter side portrayed with such infectious glee, and I’m eager to rope some friends in and krump some gitz together while the krumping’s good.
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