Wreckfest

The game includes a variety of gameplay features, namely banger racing and demolition derby. The player controls a car in a race or demolition derby, the goal being to win the race or be the sole survivor of the derby respectively. Before participating in an event, the player is allowed to choose a vehicle, select from a variety of assist levels (whether to use a manual or automatic transmission, ABS, AI difficulty, etc.). Players are also able to buy vehicles, customise vehicles, and perform upgrades. The game features three modes: career, multiplayer and custom events.

The races focus heavily on vehicular combat, where players have to find a balance between defensive tactics such as avoiding or blocking opponents and more aggressive tactics such as ramming opponents and shunting them into barriers to put them out of the race and earn points. While Wreckfest's focus on physics and vehicular damage is similar to previous destruction-based racing games such as Criterion's Burnout, it follows a somewhat slower and more strategic approach, resulting in a more traditional racing gameplay experience than in comparable games.

Development on Wreckfest began in 2012 under the working title Next Car Game, and was first announced by Bugbear Entertainment on the Next Car Game blog in August 2013. In an interview with IGN, lead game designer Janne Suur-Näkki stated that the game should reach a "feature-complete state" in 2014, with all key features implemented. In a press release published by Eurogamer, Next Car Game was officially announced for PC.

Due to the lack of publisher support, the development team provided early access to the game via pre-orders on the official Next Car Game website as well as Steam Early Access and also created a Kickstarter campaign as alternate means of raising revenue in order to develop the game. The overhaul of the physics engine has caused updates to the game to slow significantly. The game now receives regular monthly updates from April 2020 with a focus on tournaments and cosmetic DLC content.

Wreckfest received "generally favorable" reviews for most platforms according to review aggregator website Metacritic; the Xbox Series X/S version received "mixed or average" reviews.

The game was nominated for "Best Sports Game" at Gamescom 2017, for "Racing Game of the Year" at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, and for "Game, Original Racing" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.