Warhammer 40K: Speed Freeks Review – Vehicular WAAAAAAAGH! With Da Boyz

Warhammer
40K:
Speed
Freeks
is
the
perfect
expression
of
the
speedy,
vicious
Orks
that
star
in
its
chaotic
combat
racing.
Like
the
greenskins
themselves,
it’s
loud,
chaotic,
crass,
crude
and
built
from
scrap
barely
held
together.
If
you
can
forgive
its
rough
edges—and
the
funny
smell—there’s
plenty
of
fun
to
be
had
partying
with
the
boyz.
Just
don’t
get
too
attached:
Orks
aren’t
known
for
sticking
around,
and
you
might
soon
find
yourself
alone
on
the
starting
line,
wondering
where
the
WAAAAAAGH!
went.

Available
On:
PC
Reviewed
On:
PC
Developed
By:
Caged
Element
Inc
Published
By:
Wired
Productions

Review
key
provided
by
the
publisher.

The
game
went
through
a
bit
of
a
transformation.
It
slid
into
Early
Access
9
months
ago
as
a
free-to-play
game,
but
fan
feedback
caused
the
developers
to
head
into
the
pits
and
swap
out
for
a
traditional
paid
model.
Now,
you
just
pay
£15
and
jump
into
the
action
across
2
modes,
8
vehicles
and
a
handful
of
maps.
And
to
the
developer’s
credit,
anyone
who
“bought”
the
game
when
it
was
free
was
given
access
to
the
new,
paid
version,
a
smart
choice
to
help
give
the
game
the
biggest
player
base
possible
when
it
launched
into
1.0.

Basically,
what
we’re
talking
about
here
is
Twisted
Metal
and
a
bit
of
Rocket
League
with
Orks.
These
violence-loving
monsters
really
are
the
best
choice
for
the
stars
of
Speed
Freeks
–
as
part
of
the
Warhammer
40K
universe
they
serve
as
the
comedy
faction
in
many
ways.
Who
better
to
pilot
a
death-machine
that
a
green
nutjob
who
loves
to
blow
shit
up
and
firmly
believes
that
painting
something
red
makes
it
faster?

Orks
are
good
at
smashing
stuff
together
to
make
other,
crazier,
faster
stuff.
The
machines
they’ve
crafted
could
probably
only
be
classified
as
cars
if
you
squint
hard,
but
when
it
comes
to
destructive
fun
they’re
unmatched.
There’s
a
good
mix
of
vehicles
and
abilities
on
offer
–
the
Trike,
for
example,
favours
hit
and
run
tactics,
using
a
grappling
hook
to
close
in
on
enemies
before
employing
a
slicing
melee
attack.
Or
you
can
opt
for
a
heavily
armoured
tank,
complete
with
a
ram
that
can
be
used
to
flip
enemies
into
the
air.
There
are
even
support
options,
like
a
truck
that
hurls
bombs
and
can
heal
allied
Orks,
even
though
healing
other
Orks
feels
very
un-Orky
to
me.
Those
gitz
can
look
after
themselves.

These
scrap-heaps
handle
surprisingly
well,
provided
you
ain’t
expectin’
a
Ferrari.
More
like
a
rocket-powered
wheelbarrow
with
anger
issues.
The
control
method
of
choice
counts
for
a
lot,
too.
On
a
controller,
turning,
accelerating
and
braking
are
mapped
to
the
left
stick,
freeing
up
the
other
stick
for
aiming.
It’s
fine,
but
I
did
find
myself
struggling
in
heated
moments
to
spin
around
or
quickly
change
direction
without
accidentally
going
into
reverse
or
losing
my
momentum.

Playing
with
mouse
and
keyboard
works
well,
too,
because
while
you
might
not
have
the
same
level
of
fine
control
that
a
stick
offers
for
turning,
you
get
the
much
faster
and
precise
aiming
and
firing
that
a
mouse
offers.
In
fact,
and
I’m
shocked
I’m
saying
this,
I
think
mouse
and
keyboard
are
superior
for
this
kind
of
vehicular
warfare.

All
the
vehicles
can
access
a
refillable
boost
bar,
and
the
light
class
machines
also
get
the
handy
dash
button
to
send
your
machine
flying
in
just
about
any
direction.
Using
this
at
every
available
opportunity
is
key
to
doing
well,
because
not
only
does
it
let
you
pull
off
huge
changes
of
direction,
but
it
also
lets
you
boost
your
speed.
The
only
downside
is
that
without
using
boost
and
dash
to
get
up
to
speed,
even
the
fastest
cars
feel
slow.
Getting
stuck
at
base
speed
for
even
a
second
feels
like
a
death
sentence.
Which
is
also
why
it’s
frustrating
how
easy
it
is
to
get
stuck
in
scenery,
Every
couple
of
matches,
I
found
myself
having
to
hit
the
respawn
button
to
get
out
of
somewhere.
The
physics
can
sometimes
throw
a
wobbler
that
an
Ork
would
be
proud
of,
too,
sending
your
car
spinning
in
a
weird
direction
or
suddenly
facing
backwards.
If
you
can
embrace
this
as
part
of
the
chaos,
it’s
fine,
but
if
you’re
super-competitive,
these
moments
might
cause
some
frustrations.

Balancing
these
vehicular
masterpieces
of
mayhem
and
madness
is
something
that
needs
more
work.
The
trike
and
the
drill
car
are
both
machines
that
rely
heavily
on
their
gimmicks,
leaving
their
main
weapons
feel
kind
of
useless,
for
example.

Deff
Rally
takes
place
on
one
of
six
large,
open
maps
and
has
both
teams
duking
it
out
to
score
the
most
points.
Each
round
kicks
off
with
both
teams
racing
toward
a
single
capture
point.
The
first
Ork
to
get
there
nabs
big
points
for
their
side—along
with
the
dubious
honour
of
standing
alone
as
the
entire
enemy
mob
barrels
toward
them.
After
a
while,
checkpoints
around
the
main
area
will
start
popping
up
and
racing
through
them
scores
more
points,
too,
with
the
speediest
Orks
netting
the
biggest
points.
Then
it’s
off
to
a
new
location—cue
another
wild
charge
across
the
wasteland
like
a
Warhammer-flavoured
Mad
Max
scene.
Rinse
and
repeat
until
the
final
stretch:
a
full-speed,
all-Ork
dash
for
the
finish
line.
This
process
gets
repeated
until
it’s
time
to
make
a
mad
dash
for
the
finish
line,
with
bonus
points
being
awarded
to
whoever
makes
it
there
in
time
and
in
what
order.

Krumping
(that’s
killin’,
to
you
humies)
other
Orks
nets
points
as
well,
so
Def
Rallys
are
a
messy
mix
of
Orks
blasting
other
Orks,
and
Orks
racing
around
the
checkpoints
like
someone
has
set
fire
to
their
arses,
which,
in
fairness,
they
may
of.
It’s
chaotic
in
all
the
right
ways,
a
mosh-pit
of
green,
burning
rubber
and
bullets.
While
the
map
designs
might
not
be
visually
exciting,
the
layouts
offer
a
good
mix
of
open
areas,
obstacles,
ramps
and
chokepoints
that
skilled
drivers
can
put
to
good
use.
There’s
a
reasonably
high
skill
ceiling
at
play
because
you
need
to
have
good
situational
awareness,
be
able
to
maintain
high
speed
and
have
precise
aim
while
you’re
zipping
around.
I’ve
definitely
noticed
a
big
gap
between
the
good
players
and
everyone
else
in
the
points,
and
I
don’t
mind
admitting
that
I’m
one
in
the
“everyone
else”
camp.
That’s
fine,
though,
because
the
less
skilled
of
us
can
just
enjoy
the
mayhem.

Kill
Convoy
throws
two
towering
death-walkas
into
the
fray,
both
grumpy
enough
to
flatten
an
Ork
just
for
lookin’
at
‘em
funny.
Each
mech’s
loaded
with
firepower
and
happy
to
unload
it
on
any
Ork
that
gets
too
close.
To
slow
the
enemy
down,
your
team
grabs
bombs
and
rams
them
straight
into
the
other
side’s
walking
scrap
pile.
To
slow
these
lumbering
monsters
down
and
win
the
race,
each
team
has
to
fight
each
other
to
grab
bombs
and
then
drive
straight
into
the
other
team’s
mech.
Just
like,
turning
other
Orks
into
roadkill
does
the
job
too.

There’s
a
progression
system
at
play
where
you
gather
scrap
which
slowly
unlocks
new
cosmetics
for
your
vehicles,
and
new
skins
for
your
Orky
drivers.
Plus,
each
car
comes
with
an
alternate
version
of
of
its
main
weapons
or
ability
that
you
can
unlock
by
hitting
certain
milestones.
It’s
pretty
lightweight
stuff
and
the
customisation
is
limited,
so
I
wonder
how
the
game
was
ever
going
to
fare
as
a
free-to-play
title.
Hopefully
it
means
the
developers
have
some
content
lined
up
for
the
future.
I’d
certainly
love
to
see
a
few
more
weapons
added
for
each
vehicle.
Hell,
they
could
even
go
more
thematic
by
having
the
color
you
pain
your
ride
effect
the
game,
just
like
how
the
Orks
believe
red
things
go
faster,
yellow
things
blow
up
harder
and
so
on.

Probably
the
biggest
issue
the
game
is
going
to
face
is
the
same
one
that
effects
most
multiplayer
games,
especially
the
smaller
ones:
can
it
retain
enough
players
and
for
long
enough?
Even
now,
the
player
base
isn’t
huge
despite
it
being
just
after
launch.
As
I
write
this,
Speed
Freeks
has
typically
been
hitting
a
maximum
concurrent
player
count
of
around
150
people
per
day
for
the
last
week.
And
as
fun
as
it
is,
the
gameplay
does
become
repetitive
fairly
quickly,
so
how
long
will
those
players
be
willing
to
hang
around?
Of
course,
it
can
become
a
self-fulfilling
prophecy
as
people
refuse
to
buy
the
game
because
of
a
low
player
count.
And
will
the
developers
be
willing
to
throw
more
content
at
it
if
the
players
aren’t
there?

The
game
does
include
AI
bots
to
help
populate
matches
with
runtz
what
know
how
to
press
W,
so
at
least
it
will
remain
playable
even
if
you
can’t
find
a
match.
Head’s
up,
though:
it
isn’t
playable
offline.

Bringing
the
boyz
and
their
scrap-heaps
to
console
would
be
the
next
step
to
help
get
the
games
playerbase
scaled
up.
Hopefully,
that’ll
happen
in
the
future
so
we
can
have
some
proper
scraps.

Speaking
of
the
players,
there
are
a
couple
of
gripes
I
have
about
how
the
game
handles
them.
First,
there’s
no
host
migration,
so
if
the
Ork
hosting
the
chaos
decides
to
throw
a
tantrum
and
leave
mid-match,
everyone
gets
booted
out
and
loses
all
of
their
scrap.
A
host
migration
system
needs
to
be
implemented.
And
second,
in-game
chat
is
limited
to
preset
sentences
that
your
character
can
yell
out.
Is
it
fun
to
spam
them?
Absolutely!
But
I’d
love
some
proper
communication
so
I
can
chat
with
my
Ork
brothers,
even
if
it’s
just
text.
Although,
I
do
have
to
admit
it’s
kind
of
nice
to
play
multiplayer
and
not
have
to
worry
about
being
told
what
my
mum
did
this
week.

There’s
also
a
selection
of
bugs
and
problems.
The
developers
are
workin’
faster
than
a
Mek
on
too
much
squig
juice
to
squash
’em,
releasing
what
seems
like
multiple
patches
a
day.
Some
are
funny,
like
explosions
blasting
you
sky-high
or
across
the
map,
while
others,
such
as
the
car
locking
up
on
respawn
if
you’re
holding
the
accelerator,
are
a
bit
more
irritating.

In
Conclusion…

⭐⭐⭐

Rating:
3
out
of
5.

WAAAAAAAAAAGH!
What
is
it
good
for?
Zoomin’,
boomin’,
and
krumpin’
gitz
who
dare
think
their
jalopy’s
faster
than
yours!

Warhammer
40K:
Speed
Freeks
is
a
gloriously
unhinged
banger-smashin’,
nitro-blastin’
combat
racer
that
nails
the
sheer
madness
of
Ork
culture.
For
£15,
it’s
a
laugh—a
green-fueled,
scrap-hunting,
boost-happy
laugh
that
might
just
stick
a
dakka-shaped
hole
in
your
heart.

But
while
it’s
loud,
crude,
and
full
of
speed-freak
charm,
there’s
a
nagging
worry
that
it
might
sputter
out
if
not
enough
players
keep
revvin’
their
engines.
Still,
even
if
da
WAAAGH!
doesn’t
last
forever,
there’s
fun
to
be
had
right
now—especially
if
you’re
the
sort
of
git
who
paints
everything
red
‘cause
you

know
that
makes
it
faster.