NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+

Genre: Racing Simulation

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local Split-Screen), 2-16 Competitive (Online)

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Review:

NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+ is a Simulation-style Racing game that, as best I can tell, was first released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2020 as NASCAR Heat 5 before being ported to Nintendo Switch in 2021, stripped of any year or number in the title, and including drivers and vehicles from both NASCAR’s 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Before I go on, you should know that I may not be the best person to review a NASCAR game. I don’t follow NASCAR, I have only played a few NASCAR games in my lifetime, and to be perfectly honest both real-life NASCAR and its videogame equivalents absolutely bore me. Yes, I’m one of those people who looks at NASCAR and mainly sees a “Turn Left Simulator”. So if you’re someone who feels passionately about this… er…. sport? Well, this review is probably just going to upset you, sorry. Likewise, if you’re looking for a comparison to other games in the NASCAR franchise, or commentary on how well this game captures real-life NASCAR racing? Sorry, I can’t give you that. What I can give you is an honest layman’s assessment of this as a Racing Simulation.

In terms of presentation, NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+ has some low points and high points. In the positive category, the track textures and lighting are both pretty good here, and the framerates, while not especially high, seem to be pretty stable. In terms of low points, the car models and track decorations aren’t especially detailed, and the game is overall lacking in atmosphere. There’s also some decent sound and a good variety of music (including a lot of Country tunes, of course), but nothing truly exceptional.

As for the gameplay, what’s here is good, or I suppose about as good as you can get when you’re dealing with the dual limitations of a game console with no analog triggers for gas and brake, and a game that’s limited by tracks that just have you traveling in a counter-clockwise circle. The controls felt pretty good to me, I could feel a distinct difference in different types of surfaces, and subtle use of rumble definitely enhanced the experience.

I should mention that while online play in this game still works, and evidently still has occasional players popping in, there was no one playing the game when I checked the online servers, so don’t go in expect a flourishing online community to race against.

In the end, I went into NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+ with relatively low expectations, and this game pretty much met those expectations, and perhaps slightly exceeded it in a few areas. This isn’t a NASCAR experience that’s likely to win over any new fans, but neither is it a shambling disaster of a game. Rather, this seemed to be a solid representation of NASCAR, for better or worse, and I think it’s one that’s likely to satisfy NASCAR fans, though I suspect it isn’t likely to thrill them.

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tl;dr – NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+ is a Racing Simulation that is neither an exceptional version of the event nor is it a terrible one. NASCAR fans are likely to find what they’re looking for here, but probably not much more than that. And Non-NASCAR fans aren’t likely to have their minds changed by this game.

Grade: C

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