Video games news, releases, esports and culture — all the biggest gaming stories in one place.
Building on Burnout and an underwhelming predecessor are Wreckreation 2’s missions, and so far it’s a promising patch of Paradise
Former Criterion Games boss Fiona Sperry and her studio, now renamed When Tides Turn (formerly Three Fields Entertainment), have unveiled Wreckreation 2, a follow-up to last year's arcade racer Wreckreation, which failed to live up to the Burnout Paradise legacy of its creators. Rock Paper Shotgun's early hands-on suggests the sequel addresses its predecessor's shortcomings by offering a tighter, more physical driving experience that feels closer to Burnout Paradise than anything the team has made since leaving EA's Criterion Games in 2014.
The sequel swaps the original's sprawling, largely empty open world for a new setting around Heartbreak City, an Eastern US-style metropolis, with a driving model built for more natural collisions between cars. The preview build included around a dozen events across familiar Burnout-style modes—races, face-offs, road rages and time-trial "wreckonings"—plus two vehicles, the Dearborn & Schaeffer Nightranger and the Huntsville Nebraska, each offering two upgradeable variants rather than the single special version found in Burnout Paradise. The game remains in early development, with the studio not yet detailing a release date.
In short
- When Tides Turn (ex-Three Fields) reveals Wreckreation 2, sequel to 2024's Wreckreation
- Early build feels closer to Burnout Paradise than the underwhelming original
- New Heartbreak City setting, improved physics, and two demoed vehicles so far
Explained simply
Wreckreation is an arcade racing game released last year by When Tides Turn, a studio led by Fiona Sperry and former colleagues from EA's Criterion Games, which created the acclaimed Burnout Paradise series. The original Wreckreation disappointed players who hoped it would recapture the spirit of those classic games. The team is now developing a sequel.
Burnout Paradise, released in 2008, was a critically acclaimed arcade racer known for its destructive, fast-paced gameplay and open-world design. The team behind it left Criterion Games, leaving fans without a direct successor to that beloved series. This is why the original Wreckreation had such high expectations and why its poor reception was significant.
Wreckreation 2 is being developed with a focus on addressing the problems players had with the first game. The new version will feature a different setting and revised gameplay mechanics. No release date has been announced yet.