Wreckreation’s Track Builder Shown Off in Bizarre Trailer

In case you forgot, it’s been over a year since Wreckreation was announced. Since then, there have been no updates on the open-world arcade racer from the makers of Burnout.

One year later, a new Wreckreation trailer was shown at the THQ Nordic 2023 Digital Showcase to show how the game is shaping up. It's probably the strangest racing game trailer you'll see this year.

Watch the Wreckreation THQ Nordic Showcase 2023 trailer

Not to be confused with Wreckfest (also published by THQ Nordic, incidentally), Wreckreation is being developed by Three Fields Entertainment, an independent studio founded by original Burnout creators Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry.

Originally intended as a direct sequel to Dangerous Driving, Wreckreation is an open-world arcade racer with a unique track builder where you can edit tracks in real time with other players.

Customisation is a core focus in Wreckreation. As the trailer demonstrates, Wreckreation gives you the freedom to create your own tracks with friends, placing straights, curves, and chicanes on the fly.

Tracks can then be further customised with themed items. The trailer shows one track filled with western-themed buildings and windmills in one section and giant dinosaurs in the other. Then the track is filled with stunt loops, destructible objects and giant hot dogs falling from the sky.

Cars can also be extensively customised. The trailer shows options to customise everything from the bodywork paint colour to the glass tint, boost flame, brake lights, license plate, and horn.

It’s a bizarre trailer frankly, with cringeworthy dialogue that makes it look like the cars are talking to each other and narrating the action. It’s all supposed to emphasise the game’s playfulness, but the trailer’s childish tone is like something out of Pixar’s Cars.

No release window

Worryingly, the trailer doesn’t confirm a release window, despite the game being announced over a year ago. Wreckreation was slated for a 2023 release window last summer, but no release window is mentioned in the new trailer.

This suggests Wreckreation might be delayed until 2024 like Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, but we’ll have to wait for confirmation from THQ Nordic.

Wreckreation is an intriguing entry in the open-world racing genre. The customisation options appear to be vast, the track builder looks easy to use, and the damage modelling seems to have improved since Dangerous Driving.

Three Fields Entertainment's founders also have plenty of arcade racing pedigree, having worked on the original Burnout games. With that in mind, Wreckreation will potentially be the next best thing to a Burnout Paradise sequel mixed with Trackmania.

It remains to be seen if the track builder will be a gimmick or a game changer, but we welcome Wreckreation’s originality at a time when racing games are starting to feel stagnant.