Gravel PlayStation 4 First Look: Hitting The Road With Square Enix

ComicBook.com Staff

11/09/2017 05:03 pm EST

While there are a lot of great racing games making the rounds these days, like Forza Motorsport 7, Project CARS 2 and Gran Turismo Sport, they seem to have a greater emphasis on simulation rather than arcade-style racing, which means some fans are getting the short end of the stick. However, Square Enix looks to fix that little issue early next year, as the publisher is working alongside the racing developers at Milestone on a new arcade-style racer called Gravel.

If you're unfamiliar with Milestone's work, it's been pumping out quality racers for years, working on such franchises as Ride, WRC and Moto GP – so it definitely has an understanding of what's supposed to go into a racing game. And with Gravel, it just wants to get down to the good and gritty, rather than leaning on the technical side of racing – and that should please those fans that have been itching to get back into a good old-fashioned driving experience.

There are four different race types available, including Wild Rush races, which have you racing in unique tracks in the hopes of scoring a first place victory; Stadium Circuit races, which require you to compete against others in an enclosed but still lavishly designed set of tracks; Speed Cross, which challenges you to take on players in circuit-based events with a first place victory on your mind; and Cross Country, which features runs across different locations like Alaska and such, just enjoying the open road.

The game does take a little getting used to at first, since its controls have a different approach than most sim games, and if you don't time your slides just right, you can easily go flying off the road, intentional or not. That said, once you get a few laps in and understand the nuances of what Milestone has put into Gravel's controls, you'll get a better understanding of what it's about, technically using the braking system to avoid crashing and getting the momentum to stay in the lead against your opponents. And you can always adjust the AI difficulty on other cars, in case you're in the mood for a challenge or a cakewalk. (We tried out both, and they seem pretty good.)

A Fun, Road-Ripping Arcade Racer

Along with the four disciplines included with the game, Gravel also includes options, including a career mode called Offroad Masters where you attempt to dominate each of the circuits, as well as single races for quick jaunts and time attacks, so you can see how well you do with each run. You can also race online against others in single races, championship and King and Capture the Flag races, in case you feel like proving your dominance that way.

While Gravel may not be as fluid-looking as other racing games on the market, it has a down and dirty appeal that will really connect with arcade racing fans, with quality car models and solid track design. The frame rate is really good, too, keeping up with the momentum of each race so you don't get thrown off. I didn't get to hear too much of the audio with my demo, though, so the jury's still out when it comes to music and sound effects. With Milestone at the help, we're pretty sure they'll be up to speed.

Where Gravel really surprises is with its customization. You'll have hundreds of vehicles to choose from in the game, with a number of items that can be changed up to improve their performance, as well as touch-ups to their design as well. It's pretty robust, and really lets you get behind the design of your ride – something you'll want to do when you're racing against your friends.

While Gravel doesn't look to reinvent driving as we know it, it does look to harken back to a simpler era of it, when it was more about putting your pedal to the metal instead of concentrating on so many gauges. Arcade fans should get quite a kick out of it when it arrives in early 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

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