Review - ExoCross
- Roberto Nieves
- Jan 15
- 4 min read
Developer: iRacing
Publisher: iRacing
Available on: PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Review system: PlayStation 5
Sometimes, I'm just in the mood for a racing game, but all racing games follow the same formula of racing a track and trying to get first place. In this day and age, you have to do things differently. Do you want a racing game to feel like a pure simulator with a realistic portrayal of racing, or would you want the game to be a loose and fun arcade racer with wonky and absurd physics? Perhaps, a game wants to be both. ExoCross leans more into being a racing simulator on another planet.
A futuristic off-road racing game, ExoCross puts players in charge of a remote off-world truck as they battle for first place and bragging rights. With exciting racing, ExoCross is a good time, but with the limits of simulation racing and a lack of imagination, don't expect to stay on this course for too long.
Dirt and Gravel
ExoCross is a futuristic off-road racing game. In the future, racing has evolved to be unmanned, and the drivers pilot their vehicle from elsewhere. Think of it as giant, life-sized RC cars, but now they are in the future and on another planet. It's an age of innovation and technology, but at its heart is falling in love with the road again. The thrill of racing is here in the future.
ExoCross has multiple game modes. A championship mode features multiple cups and multiple tracks. Challenge mode features an assortment of challenge levels based on certain sections of the planet. Quick race is self-explanatory. Special races have a timed online challenge. There is an online racing mode, but as of this review, it is completely dead.
Intergalactic Racing
The goal of ExoCross is pure, simple, sim-based racing. No weapons. No changing tracks on the fly. Just simple, pure racing in an unmanned drone. There is a lot of technology behind the game, including 4CPT physics that provides remarkable feedback and weight transfer in the racing experience. There is also a focus on slipstreaming and boosting. Of course, there is the AI to contend with as well, which won't be easy to contend with.
The game takes place on a fictional but Earth-like planet. The familiar biomes are there. Mud, arid deserts, snowy fields, and lush forests. There are some interesting sights, including one where a Saturn-like planet fills the sky. However, the planet looks and feels a little too much like Earth and doesn't feature enough to feel like another planet.
Racing with Attitude
Racing in ExoCross is fascinating, challenging, and engaging. Driving a high-speed truck in various terrains at high speed is a special kind of thrill and challenge. While the courses take place on an alien world, the terrain is Earth-like and rich. Deserts, mud, snow, and soil all have different feels to the driving and visual sensation as well.
Handling changes depending on speed and terrain. Going uphill and downhill changes various dynamics. When to apply the gas and the brake is a matter of understanding the speed of your vehicle and the terrain. On many occasions, I went way too fast and careened right off the track. In other cases, I hit a bump and went airborne. Fortunately, there is a reset button to hit that puts players back on track, but at a 3-second penalty.
Race with your gut
There are no weapons in ExoCross, but it is possible to take damage. A bad collision with a racer or an obstacle could set you back for a few precious seconds. Sometimes you do have to get a bit rough to get ahead, especially on the tougher race tracks with the game’s difficult AI racers. Utilizing the aforementioned tactics of slipstreaming and boosting is the key to victory.
That brings me to perhaps one of the bigger weaknesses of ExoCross. The foundation is nice, but there isn't much meat to the bones. The racing is solid, and there's engaging feedback to the racing mechanics. Its focus on pure, simple racing makes it stand out as well. The sci-fi world is interesting, too. However, there just isn't much here.
Not much mileage
The weaknesses in ExoCross get slightly exacerbated by the limits of the racing. There are no weapons in ExoCross. It's pure racing and handling. This is fine and a nice departure, but the extent of fun you’ll have depends on relying on this simplicity in the racing. Accelerate, brake, handle a curve, manage speeds, the basics. There is a turbo that helps in speeding past the competition, and there is a strategy for using it. Too much turbo will send one flying.
However, there is a catch to the turbo: it's nerfed. If you are in first place, the turbo nerfs itself in that it'll only allow for tiny bursts of speed. The full turbo is available everywhere except in first place. I understand this is a simulation, and the team at iRacing pictured a realistic portrayal of futuristic racing. The concept is solid, and the foundation is there, but I just wish more was added to the environments.
Now this is ExoCross
For starters, what would plants on other planets look like? Would they be huge and impede the track? There are no volcanic biomes, and that could have set up an interesting course with heat. Perhaps weather conditions with alien rain or lightning could have also been factored into the courses. There could have been more done to highlight a true out-of-this-world racing simulator.
ExoCross is ambitious, and the foundation makes for a strong intergalactic simulated racer. However, there just isn't enough here to stay for very long. ExoCross needs more imagination to the levels and design to feel like an out-of-this-world racing sim. However, what is present is strong and solid for those who want to check it out. Grab your steering wheel and prepare for RC racing on another world in ExoCross.
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