Milestone’s upcoming off-road arcade racer Gravel has a new gameplay video. Released on the official YouTube channel for the developer, we get a sneak-peek of the title in action. The footage shows off a Wild Rush race lasting two minutes.
Our look at Wild Rush takes place on a wintery Montebianco circuit with the conditions certainly acting as an obstacle. It’s almost blizzard-like weather facing the player but thankfully they’re well equipped in the Toyota Celica GT4 Mk.V.
Gravel’s general presentation continues to remind us of Forza Horizon 3. The HUD looks pretty similar and even the movements of the chase cam give us a sense of deja vu. Mechanically, we can also see a points system that rewards the player for pulling off drifts and overtakes—sound familiar?
This could be footage of the Blizzard Mountain expansion at first glance for those who don’t know anything about Gravel. It’s clear to see that the title is at least inspired by Playground Games’ critically acclaimed racer. To be honest, we mean no disrespect; there’s worse reference points than one of the best driving games this generation.
One thing Gravel does hold over FH3, at least in this video, is a solid 60fps. Horizon 3 can pull off that feat on PC, but is limited to half that on console. It isn’t yet clear if the higher frame-rate will be a lock for all versions of Gravel, however.
Although you can’t pass full judgement on driving physics from gameplay footage alone, we can get a grasp of what Gravel will be offering. The focus is on close and intense racing, as you would expect from an arcade racer. Cars bump off each other and drift with ease on the icy road and it looks really fun. Track design also looks promising which is a huge deal if the title doesn’t want to be forgettable. Fans of the genre have been spoiled with off-road racers this generation but Gravel still has potential to find an audience.
One thing we’re not quite sold on yet is the overbearing soundtrack during racing. We understand Milestone wants Gravel to stand out but this may not be the best way to do it. If the full game is being set to an OTT rock soundtrack, we can at least hope for an option to turn the soundtrack off completely. Although, perhaps it fits in with the corny live action FMV sequences too.
Gravel releases February 27 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
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