Upcoming Retro-Inspired Car Combat Game Is Rad As Hell

A gif shows gameplay from Fumes on PC.

We don’t get a lot of car combat games these days, and that’s a shame. I miss when we regularly got fast-paced vehicular combat games that mixed guns, explosions, and high-speed chases into one enjoyable experience. You know, stuff like Twisted Metal and Interstate 76. Well, thankfully Fumes is coming, and it aims to be the retro car combat game we all deserve.

Fumes caught my eye earlier this week when one of the developers shared a video of it in action on Twitter. They were specifically reacting to the recent reports that Sony had canceled an in-development Twisted Metal game. In response to the news, developer Mariusz Tarkowski posted a cool-looking clip of Fumes with the message: That’s why I’m making my own Twisted Metal. That’s a bold claim, but the short clip did indeed look rad as hell, and I was curious. Was this the car combat game I’d wanted for so long? I downloaded the demo and played it. Folks, let me tell you: Fumes is really, really good.

Fumes is an open-world car combat game set in an infinite wasteland filled with other survivors driving around in beat-up, rusty offroad cars, jeeps, trucks, and compacts. All vehicles in Fumes contain big, cartoonish guns that pop out when needed and allow you to target other cars in any direction. Because of how open the map is, you are almost always driving at very high speeds. The lack of obstacles in the wasteland lets you focus on enemy jeeps and trucks chasing you down. Shoot them enough and they blow up, letting you get their scrap and parts which can be used to improve your own vehicle. Add bigger tires, more guns, etc.

Everything in Fumes feels almost too fast and sloppy, but in a good, chaotic kind of way. I always felt like I was in control of my car, but just barely. Being barely-in-control gives the game’s action an excitingly frantic energy. I often felt like I was sliding around, desperately trying to avoid some enemy car with a spinning saw attached to the hood. Again, it’s not frustrating, but fun. You’re always trying to keep your tires down and your car moving forward. Just driving around is a blast even without any combat, which is a good thing for a game set in such an open environment.

Fumes Team

I especially loved that even the enemy cars often spin out of control, slam against the rare rock, or fling themselves across jumps as they try endlessly to blow up your ride. Fumes is not a boring game at all. The rocking music helps a lot too.

The game is currently being developed by a small team who are planning to release Fumes in early access on PC at some point. The demo has already convinced me this is going to be something special. I can’t wait to see the other environments and new content promised by the devs. I’m ready to blow up 100 more jeeps with a big shotgun strapped onto the hood of my rally car. I can’t wait.

Fumes isn’t out yet and it doesn’t have a launch window. It’s currently planned to be released on PC via Steam. You can download the demo today.

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