704Games' NASCAR Heat 5 is a rather anticlimactic update when compared to last year's terrific NASCAR Heat 4 in that it doesn't add many new features or evolve its already-existing ones. This isn't to say it's a complete letdown, either, because the small incremental changes that NASCAR Heat 5 brings to the franchise are welcome in streamlining the experience for both NASCAR enthusiasts and those new to the sport. Still, it's hard not to feel let down by such a small leap forward for the franchise, especially for the price tag that NASCAR Heat 5 demands of its players.
Much like last year's game, NASCAR Heat 5's biggest draw outside of multiplayer is its career mode, and it's pretty much the same concept as last year. Players will start out racing in what amounts to the minor leagues on dirt tracks and can choose to a racing team or, should they have the funds, create their own team. As far as major updates or changes go to the mode, there really aren't any to speak of. However, customizing the mode to fit one's playstyle is much easier this time around thanks to far less complicated adjustment bars to tweak, as they generally assume players have the same knowledge as a car enthusiast or professional racer.
In fact, simplifying is a big theme with NASCAR Heat 5. Creating a racing team is much more streamlined in career mode, and while players will still have to perform maintenance and upkeep on their cars, it's nowhere near as confusing. There are several in-game menu tutorials and helpers that pop up throughout the mode that pretty much explain what players have to do. In addition to this, there's now a Testing Mode that lets players mess around with different cars on a variety of tracks, so there's no uncertainty over which vehicle runs best on certain dirt tracks or speedways.
Once again, there's the option to skip right over the earlier parts of career mode and jump right into racing on speedways in the big leagues without having to build up reputation. However, the earlier dirt race tracks are some of the most fun to be found in the game, as NASCAR Heat 5 embraces the down and dirty drift-like fun that comes with amateur racing. Still, there's something to be said for the game letting players have the choice to just skip ahead without hiding that feature behind microtransactions.
Online racing remains a deeply fun place for those looking for competition with real life players to get their NASCAR fix, but as far as new modes are concerned, Challenge Mode is the only really big addition that stands out. Players will be put in various scenarios, some based on real life events and some entirely fictional, and tasked with completing a challenge in the correct way. Most of these challenges aren't too complex, but they are a nice little addition to the game for those looking for something more goal-oriented.
While NASCAR Heat 5 is focused on improvement, there are some frustrating glitches and bugs that need to be addressed. Sometimes the game will crash without warning in the middle of a big race, and it's usually preceded by framerate stutters and lag that absolutely have an affect on how well one can race. The title can lag so bad that you'll find yourself crashed into a wall without rhyme or reason, and considering how smoothly last year's iteration ran, there's just really no excuse for such game-breaking technical issues in a game that wants to charge players $50. It's not an issue that pops up too often, but when it does, it's enough to ruin the flow of the entire game.
It's also impossible not to touch on how much the game just looks and runs like last year's game. Many fans will have a feeling of déjà vu playing through NASCAR Heat 5, especially if they picked up last year's title. NASCAR Heat 5 released nine months after NASCAR Heat 4, and it's strange that 704Games and publisher Motorsport Games didn't take more time in fine-tuning this game. As fun as it can be, it might have been a smart move for this series to take a page out of WWE 2K's book and forego a yearly installment in favor of creating something more memorable.
With these criticisms in mind, it's hard to recommend NASCAR Heat 5 to players who already own the still-excellent NASCAR Heat 4, but for those who have either never played a racing game or haven't bought one in years, the game is a perfectly fine option. Annoying technical issues and lack of innovation aside, this is a polished racing simulator that takes every gameplay element that worked so well last year and improves them. One could make the argument that that simply isn't enough to justify a AAA price tag, and there's certainly a lot of merit in such an argument. Overall, however, NASCAR Heat 5 is a healthy serving of familiar racing fun that's still head and shoulders above a lot of other sports simulators available on today's market.
NASCAR Heat 5 is out now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Screen Rant was provided an Xbox One copy for the purposes of this review.
NASCAR Heat 5
