Gravel is an arcade game with some sprinkles of simulation. It disguises itself as a live TV show with a cheesy commentator and fireworks as you cross the finish line, but at it's heart is pure off-road fun, drinking inspiration from games like Dirt and Sega Rally. Although not perfect in several ways, it's still fun to play.
Despite the Gravel name, you'll actually be racing through Alaskan mud, sliding around a snowy Mont Blanc and skipping across Namibian sand dunes. This game is actually less concerned in providing a location that is more connected to motorsport history and more in a dramatic backdrop for non stop action, enormous powerslides and great jumps. Variety surely is not something that Gravel lacks. There are some recognizable rallycross tracks, big open tracks that go from point A to point B and some over-the-top action filled Trophy Truck tracks that kind of remind me of an old arcade game called Super Off Road. The one major issue I have is the terrible billboard smashing mini-game that relies heavily on trial and error. You have to drive through a series of green boards as fast as possible. Missing one resets you to the track with a time penalty, and hitting a red board slows you down.
Gravel gives you several decades worth of legendary off-road vehicles, although you should not expect razor sharp precise levels of accuracy. These are relatively simplistic car models compared to other big name game titles and the interiors shown in the cockpit view are very generic. But some of the scenery and lighting is nice enough, with some gorgeous water and reflection effects. The handling is okay. You have some driving assists that you can turn on or off and even choose the opponent difficulty level. The physics when your vehicle hits another vehicle or on a hard object can be bizarre, with strange flips, turns and strange sideways pushes. The AI is dull and slow at the lower levels but picks up the pace and is very aggressive at medium to high, though the aggression seems to be more about holding the racing line at all costs than ramming you.
The core of Gravel is in the single-player career mode, called Off-Road Masters. You play through several challenges across different tracks and race types, in pursuit of the final showdown with the best driver in the world. Progression is based on stars and unlocking the new events is straightforward. You won't have to ace every race with three stars to carry on, which is excellent. You also level up and that's the way to get new vehicles and liveries. From time to time, you have to race one-on-one against a Master and win, so you can progress. Each time you face a Master, you see a short full motion video introducing that racer. You can also tune your vehicle for each race but honestly, the differences in handling are almost or completely non existent... The simulation racer in me is pissed, but the arcade guy in me completely understands and accepts this flaw. In terms of multiplayer, at this point, finding other drivers to race against is very difficult. There's not much of an online presence, which makes this mode almost useless. Take it for it's single player experience and you won't be disappointed.
Gravel is a lot of fun, offering an enjoyable arcade-racing experience with lots of sideways flare. It has plenty of appeal for fans of single-player games that just want to pick up something they can play right away, without much of a learning curve. But at the same time, it feels like it was designed to compete with the hits of five or six years ago, not the racers of today. The goal here is clearly a modern day Sega Rally mixed with Dirt, with a throwback to a simpler era in video-gaming. The difference is that it's also loaded with a considerable number of cars and tracks, something we’ve come to expect in a modern racing game. This game is available for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The last one was the version I tested. It sells on Steam for € 49,99 which in my opinion is expensive for this game. Eventually, it will be on sale and maybe then, depending also on the price, it will actually be a nice value.