GRAVEL

TIME TO GET DIRTY. $99.95 | PC, PS4, XO | milestone.it

Racing game Gravel sends you skittering onto treacherously loose surfaces but it also doles out plenty of races bound on tarmac, too. The roster’s definitely suited to the offroad, your garage full of rally beasts like the Abarth and Lancia Delta, muscular and overpowered stadium trucks and modern BMWs and Subarus are thrown in, too. They try to hold their manners when holding on for dear life on more predictable surfaces, but sideways is usually the best way forward.

If you’ve played any of the Dirt series you’ll be right at home here. Mixed discipline races, either on circuits or point-to-point routes, take you across the world and their length never outstays their welcome. Gravel has no doubt been influenced by the Dirt and Forza Horizon series of games with its modes and overall structure. The driving model makes up for the low-res textures and raspy sound effects and one of the modes with random stop/go signs is a gem. You’ll never be bogged down with gear ratios (you can fiddle with the suspension if you really want to), or driven mad with an economy of upgrades as it’s mostly ‘hit start and go’.

Undeniably fun in short bursts, though it looks better in these screenshots than it does in motion.

One of the many motors you’ll cover in mud and inevitably punish.