Kerb,after kerb, the engine roars on. Time ticks on and you take towards the corner of the imola circuit in an incredible 47 seconds flat on the Formula 4 car that’s not really up to actual scale. It is an arcade game, after all.
iRacing Arcade is the sim’s attempt to garner some interest in its original variant by releasing a nice and cutesy bite-size version of itself. So how did it fair after a few months since release? Quite well, I’d say.
Presentation
The game’s artstyle, just like it’s predecessors of both Karting Superstars and Circuit Superstar, is what I’ll imagine if the old Bullfrog Production had made a Theme-esque racing title, with how the characters looks very comical and the real-world vehicles also taking a more cartoonish form, which includes the likes of a Porsche GT3 Cup Car, and a Taatus F4 car, does looks well in their mini arcadey form.
And I do appreciate how quick and easy the UI is to navigate around, making the sequence from main menu to a car and track combination ready in a few clicks. Like how quick it is to be racing makes me wish it was on console too, especially the likes of the Nintendo Switch where this sort of quick racing is nice for a short break.
As for performance on its current PC version, it’s running incredibly well on the majority of the PCs on the current market, especially for something that has 4Gigs of VRAM or more, like my current setup of an Nvidia RTX 2060. Though, I do wish it could be playable on the Steam Deck, which is of the current build, isn’t supported yet, which is a shame because this sort of game is worthy of being played on a plane, or trackside as track action is happening.
Though there is one nitpick that I would be is the engine sound being a bit too one-note, like we’re racing Go-karts instead of prototype machines like the LMP2 car, perhaps getting a shift up and down note would have solved this non-issue but it does get repetitive when you race Ais on the track with the exact same car type.
Gameplay
iRacing Arcade uses Original Fire’s physics that they have fine-tuned over their last two games to bring this one and it shows, with how easy it is to throw the car, per say, into the corners, and racing the AI Drivers on track (which includes Indy 500 Champ, Tony Kanaan, somehow) is something alright. They could push you off track and pass down in the inside line like an actual player would and that’s impressive stuff for a game that’s looks cartoony.
Like since everyone has the same car with the same setup and all, it’s all down to skill in how players could go up in the Qualifying round (which is one-to-one the same as the actual iRacing game), then have a 6 to 12 lap race to the finish, which is both intense and engaging with how the higher difficulty racers would react towards you.
The career mode structure itself is quite casual, with you starting out in Fiat 500s, before moving onto Touring Cars, Formula Cars and so on before reaching the pinnacle with the Dallara Formula X cars that are close to the top series as you get.
And its comparison to those Theme-esque games is more prominent as you build up your HQ from a few machine shops, and a danky garage at the start of your journey, to building up quite a setup that rivals even actual race shops in real life. All of it wrap in an experience that’s just quite casual and laid back, which is perfect for short-burst of enjoyment, that it’s a shame it’s not playable on the go (Yet).
Content![]()
With 9 cars (they added the Caterham post launch) and 14 tracks (with some of them including a variant that’s either a reverse version or a smaller one) that’s available for racing in all three modes, it’s quite a good amount for stuff to do, which by the looks of that aforementioned Caterham addition a few weeks after its release, the devs could add stuff later on, like a certain mode that could be played at a couch that they’re working on right now.
So, for now, after finishing the Career mode, there’s always the fun Multiplayer modes, a staple of its bigger brother (which you can even link your account for this one, for reasons unknown) and if you feel like racing against the clock only, then the weekly time trial is the one for you, perhaps.
Personal Enjoyment![]()
To me, racing games don’t need to have flashy graphics or have fancy mechanics all the time. When you have the fundamentals down, it can be fun to play around with. The core of, “Is it fun to set laps too” and “if I race alone, with it give me a good challenge” is just needed for something that I’ll see as a good gameplay loop. And iRacing Arcade nailed that, to a tee.
Like if this was a simultaneous release on consoles, ESPECIALLY on the likes of the Nintendo Switch 1 or 2 systems, I can see it going quite well with its design already up for quick play. Perhaps somewhere down the line for this year is where we get to see, but as of right now, it’s alright on PC.
Verdict![]()
iRacing Arcade is a quick burst of racing game that’s quite needed in the current market. A title that’s emulating a bigger version of themselves but still has the thrills to excite players with pretty robust AI drivers and tracks that’s just begging to be driven over-and-over again.
Just grab it at its current price and enjoy the purist form of arcade racing, in my view.
Played on PC, Review copy purchased by reviewer.
iRacing Arcade
Aquick burst of racing game that’s quite needed in the current market. A title that’s emulating a bigger version of themselves but still has the thrills to excite players.
- Presentation 8
- Gameplay 9
- Content 8
- Personal Enjoyment 8.5