iRacing® Studios NASCAR 26

Not a step forward. The improvements were overhyped and underdelivered. I'd say I'm disappointed, but Nascar games are clearly cursed. Every time we think we're getting some new passion or excitement behind the games, the ugly truth of the situation ends up exposing itself. Every. Single. Time. I don't get the sense that these games are truly cared about by the developers. The new features don't feel new or exciting. The career mode "improvements" are surface level and don't add any real strategy or depth to the experience. The driving feels terrible. There's no feel at all, everything feels like it's floating along the track. There's still the weird rubber banding of the previous game (most noticeably if you come out of the pits and get in front of a fast car. They will stop for you but somehow if you get out of the way, they magically speed back up immediately). The unskippable podcast episodes that no one really enjoys being forced to sit through. Imagine even if for some sick reason you wanted to play multiple careers, why do I need to sit through these awkward videos every single time? The presentation is still completely stale. The UI is really bad, especially considering they used AI to assist with it's design or(?) implementation. It's all ugly. The menus are ugly. The career mode / garage UI is extremely basic and uninteresting. There's just so much that takes me out of the experience. I fear that we may never get a game from someone who understands what made certain past titles truly memorable. I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting old. I wanted to love this. But I unfortunately just can't. Here's to hoping we don't get another year of overpromising and underdelivering for the next game. I highly doubt they will make many changes to improve on any of the areas I've critiqued before the next game comes out. If they could only improve one thing for next year, PLEASE make it the driving feel. Controllers need more feedback. In past games you could feel the car getting loose or getting tight before it's too late. That process is entirely visual in this game and it makes absolutely no sense. I could take the still incredibly dumbed down and shallow career experience if the cars were fun to drive again. Back to the PS2 games for another year. Hoping for better from this team next year. Peace

OK, It looks to me like its a major graphics overhaul than anything over NASCAR 25. Really wish there was a way to adjust the FOV for cockpit drivers. And a UDP out for Data Capture for PC users that use things like simhub. Good: Menu is easy and intuitive. Graphics look good, just wish i could adjust the FOV. Looks like a lot of content to delve into. Crossplay is a big plus. Bad: No FOV Adjustment, No Triple Screen Support, No Data Capture for PC users that use SimHub. I will Continue to update this as I go.

From a driving with a wheel perspective, this is a major step up. N25 was quite disappointing on that front, and they have made a major rehaul. FFB is actually giving you info and driving on the edge feels way more intuitive. As an iracer, this just does the job for chill racing and with cross play, pc players can actually race other people! Cant say much else about the game so far but the driving alone makes it worth it!

flaming heap of garbage.

Buena mejora desde Nascar 25. El manejo de mejora respecto a la versión anterior, así como se agradece las incorporaciones de la trazada dinámica y la iluminación mejorada. A destacar Peak Performance, me parece una idea fantástica para practicar los circuitos pero que no sea una contrarreloj sin más, si no que te detalla y ayuda a detectar formas de mejorar en el circuito. Por otro lado, modo carrera un poco más detallado, pero aún me sigue faltando pequeñas cosas como poder fichar por un equipo real o añadir sponsors secundarios al coche. Los daños visuales siguen siendo aceptables, pero sin más y sigue sin haber repetición del motivo de la bandera amarilla. Quitando esas “pequeñas cosas” queda un buen juego bastante sólido y que te va a dar muchísimas horas de juego. 8/10

Massive upgrade from NASCAR 25. I put over 100 hours into that game and can see myself putting even more into this one. The physics are harder to learn, which makes it more rewarding. The graphics have improved drastically. I'm glad they kept Kyle Busch as part of the Cup roster, would love it if they kept him for a few more future entries into iRacing's NASCAR games. If you liked 25, you'll love 26.

Overall the game seems to be a big leap forward from NASCAR 25 however IRacing clearly doesn't listen to its fan base. Same issues players had with the 1st iteration still exist.. Graphics and physics seem to be the only change that was really focused on. Career mode only added a facility upgrade requirement into the story line. Still the same repetitive cycle as the previous game. Now for the large glaring issue.. Why and how can such a larger developer leave such problems and gaps within the "realistic" feel of a racing game? I use a G920 wheel, the wheel violently shakes anytime I launch the game and will only settle once i get into the car, then the feedback is non existent, its similar to driving a John Deere 4840. Did they not conduct beta testing prior to release? After the update today I anticipated some of these issues being address, but no, they didn't correct or touch anything related with the controller/wheel settings. From a fan of NASCAR and video game fan, can we please listen to our fan base and try to correct the issue that will cause people from buying your game?!? Its like Jim France was in charge of creating this game at this point, drive it into the ground.