Warhammer 40K: Speed Freeks is nearly the orky Mad Max of my dreams, but more variety and fewer bots might get it to the finish line

You can't browse Steam for more than 10 seconds without tripping over a Warhammer game. Games Workshop makes a pretty penny hucking licenses to developers for all sorts of tie-ins, and I doubt they'll stop anytime soon. But if you're anything like me, all that grim darkness of the far future wears on you. "There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter?" What am I, in church? Where's the levity? Where's the race cars?

There's one faction in 40k's smorgasbord of alien horrors that's definitely having a good time in the grimdark: the orks. These football hooligan-inspired green goons are all about going fast and blowing people up, and it's about time they've been affectionately adapted in Speed Freeks, a vehicular arena shooter where you pilot shoddy rocket-powered tanks and race to the death. It's in early access, but already a good, chaotic time.

The orks' cheeky, anarchic spirit is everywhere in Speed Freeks (on second thought, perhaps they should not have been given driving licenses). Every match is a whirlwind of twitchy firefights, exploding squigs, and everyone slamming the "WAAAGH!" button, erupting in a chorus of battle cries. Enemies are "krumped" rather than killed or fragged, and you can customize your ride with all manner of orky attire and tabletop-accurate paints. I haven't seen so much organic roleplay in a shooter since Deep Rock Galactic had me cheering "Rock and stone!" with strangers, and if you need any convincing that this game's effect is similar, just take a look at its top-rated Steam guide which teaches you to speak like an ork.

There's more on offer than novelty, though. The two current modes are Deff Rally and Kill Konvoy; the former is a mix of team racing and point control, and the latter involves both teams defending giant Stompa mechs as they trundle to a finish line (and slowing down the opponents' by dropping bombs on it and scoring kills). While I preferred Deff Rally's emphasis on all-out teamfights, Kill Konvoy gave the bigger, slower vehicles more room to use their long range firepower and fostered unique teamplay around guarding the bomb carriers. I had particular fun in this mode as the Grot Mega Tank, circling the Stompa like a shark and shutting down enemy bomb carriers with a swift broadside. While clearly inspired by demo derby classics like Twisted Metal, it's very much its own thing, and there's more under the hood than one might assume. 

Different vehicles behave something like different characters in a hero shooter, each of them coming with a suite of abilities and special movement properties. My favorite of these is the Boomdakka Snazzwagon, which specializes in hit-and-run molotov tossing. It can leave behind a trail of blinding exhaust fumes to disorient other players or isolate healers from their team, and I found myself playing with a more tactical mind than I expected from a game about fungoid monsters in cars. 

Movement is more robust than I expected, too, especially in the nimbler vehicles. While every vehicle can boost to gradually raise its top speed, speedsters like the Snazzwagon can dash to instantly accelerate to an absurd pace. Combining these mechanics allows for some truly ludicrous maneuverability when racing from one point to the next or trying to escape from an enemy tank. Maps are properly outfitted with ramps, half-pipes and spacious arenas, too, so it's easy to apply them in a shootout.

It's all pretty impressive stuff for an arena shooter in early access, and it's sheer frenetic joy at the best of times. But a few gripes have spoiled the fun in my playtime so far, and I'm not sure how much longevity I'll find in Speed Freeks, which debuts at a busy time for both multiplayer shooters and highly anticipated Warhammer games.

For instance, each game I've played so far has been stuffed with bots—easily spotted by their cookie-cutter orky names and 0 ms ping—despite the fact that I've never had to wait in a queue for more than 10 seconds. I'd much rather wait a minute for a full lobby than have to plow through AI enemies to get a proper scrap in. The worst match I played had a measly three human players, which sucked all the energy out of the on-screen mayhem.

Moreover, with a launch lineup of eight playable vehicles and two modes, there's not a lot to dig into yet. Maps have some visual variety but lack distinction from one another mechanically, and occasionally players ignore the various landmarks anyway to do donuts around one another like it's Quake 3 on wheels. While I can see myself losing several evenings to the charming brand of violence on offer here, I'm uncertain it's deep or novel enough to attract a bustling, active community. 

I don't expect the game to be feature-complete in early access, and the devs are already active in responding to player feedback on forums and via patches, but it's also already stuffed with cosmetics purchasable with in-game currency and a lengthy battle pass. With games like Concord, Marvel Rivals, Splitgate 2, and even Space Marine 2 on the way, Speed Freeks is headed straight into a crowded pond increasingly dominated by big fish.

Still, I hope its orky antics secure it the niche it deserves, because it's damn fun and vehicular combat has gone underrepresented for far too long. I've rarely seen Warhammer's lighter side portrayed with such infectious glee, and I'm eager to rope some friends in and krump some gitz together while the krumping's good.