Simple and dirty.
I love a good arcade racing game. I love a good off-road arcade racing game even more. So when Gravel was announced I was ready to get dirty. The latest from developer Milestone S.r.l. delivers a no-frills experience that is exactly as advertised. A simple single player structure and basic online modes round out the package, yet there was still something about the game. It is pure fun, if not a bit brief on content.
The single player mode follows a TV show featuring some real-live competitors that players have to work towards taking down. As I mentioned everything is straightforward in Gravel. Races are broken down into tiers, with each one featuring new races. Earn enough stars and new cars and liveries unlock. Tracks will also become available in free ride modes as players progress.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
Nothing about this mode is overly special. The races are all lined up, and the modes are pretty standard fare. The biggest downfall is the Smash It events. These require players to hit boxes as they progress. Hit the green arrows and everything is fine, hit the red X and I slowed down, miss the boxes entirely and the track resets and there is a time penalty. I had to set these races to Very Easy every…single…time. The difficulty is just too much.
The presentation is bland. There are FMV sequences of the real-life drivers, but the announcer sounds like he is less-than-enthusiastic about some extreme races. His demeanor is that of someone forced to call a sports event that they have zero interest in.
Even with the bland presentation the streamlined structure kept me going. Sadly the core single player is not very long. I barreled through all the events quickly and was left with online and a smattering of offline modes.
Going online is a literal ghost town. I think I played one match in my time reviewing the game. On Xbox One there are simply no players frequenting the circuit. Sad as the racing in Gravel is actually pretty fun.
Visually the game opts to take advantage of the Xbox One X in the form of 4K resolution. Sadly it is locked to 30fps and does not support HDR. Still the tracks are well-designed and the cars look good. There is a sort of generic drape over the entire game, but it still looks slick.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
