Automobilista 2 Review

“Reiza made a mistake”. That was the general consensus when they let us know that Automobilista 2 would be sporting the Madness Engine, from the Project C.A.R.S franchise. It was expected that they’d go for the new IsiMotor engine from rFactor 2, which is considered by many as the most accurate simulator out there in terms of raw physics, aerodynamics, ambient simulation (how the climate interferes with the track and car and so on). Yet they went with a rather questionable option, derived from Need for Speed Shift, a simcade at best, which also defines the pCARS franchise. Could it be that Reiza wanted to broaden their public and adopt an arcadey approach? Or maybe they would try and build a solid simulator out of it? After 30 hours of tinkering with all the content and under different weather conditions, I can safely say it’s the latter. And it doesn’t surprise me one bit.

To understand why it’s not a surprise to me, we need to go back in time, before the likes of Assetto Corsa and even Automobilista for that matter: 2013. That was when the then crowdfunded Project Cars had its first public builds to supporters. It was - back then - a full blown simulator, eventually dumbed down to fit the arcade agenda and sell more copies. SMS wanted money, and the simracing niche wouldn’t be able to splash enough cash. By catering to a wider audience, they could get a lot more copies sold, thus making a lot more money. Reiza, on the other hand, could care less about the money. They know very well that the mainstream public would rather watch paint dry than buy a game that features obscure brazilian racing series. If it doesn’t have Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, world renowned tracks, they don’t even bat an eye. And even so, Automobilista 2 is a thing. Which proves, once and for all, that it’s a love testament rather than a wannabe blockbuster. And what a love testament it is! By embracing the rather different and unique brazilian categories and tracks, Reiza brings something “new”* to the table. It’s all about the love for motorsports.

With amazing visuals, informative FFB, realistic tyre deformation physics and above the average sounds, Automobilista 2 made its way into the absolute pinnacle of racing simulation. Reiza did an amazing job with the rF1 engine* (Automobilista 1) and made sure to do it again with MADNESS. Despite being labeled as a bootleg pCars by many (wrongly, of course), it has nothing in common with the previous other than the graphics engine and a few UI elements which are eventually going to be replaced. It drives and sounds completely different. If anything, Automobilista 2 is the Project CARS that people wanted to see in 2013/2014. The simulator that didn’t happen to see the light of the day. Reiza could care less about millions of copies sold and pleasing the mainstream market with dumbed down physics. The community was desperate for a proper next-gen sim - VR compatible - and they duly delivered. A sim from racing lovers to racing lovers.

Therefore, you should be wondering why haven’t you bought it yet rather than if you should buy it. It’s absolute madness.