New Free Steam Game Revives An Underrated Nostalgic Genre

Summary Warhammer 40K: Speed Freeks offers explosive combat racing action with a free-to-play model on Steam.

Speed Freeks calls back to a vehicular action genre that isn't as present today as in its heyday.

Speed Freeks could be an inviting option for Warhammer 40K newcomers along with fans.

Steam can be a great place to find games that scratch very particular itches, and one new contender in that area is Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks. The Warhammer franchise has been well-represented in the world of video games, spreading itself across a wide variety of developers and genres to suit every niche. Some Warhammer 40K games might still be hard for those who aren't fans of the IP to get into, but Speed Freeks could have a pretty broad appeal.

The launch trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks, available on the official Speed Freeks YouTube channel, shows off a high-octane spectacle of combat racing action, from sprays of explosive gunfire to melee swipes at passing vehicles. Getting a major vehicular combat game can feel rare these days, and Speed Freeks sweetens the deal with a free-to-play model that eliminates any barrier to entry.

Although the game is still in Early Access, Speed Freeks can be downloaded and played from its Steam page. As of its launch day, Speed Freeks is sitting at Mostly Positive reviews, a solid start for a free-to-play title.

Related Steam's Big Recent Changes May Change The Way You Play Games Forever Steam is finally making some major changes to its storefront that will make it far easier for players to try a game before they purchase it.

Speed Freeks Brings Combat Racing Back

Vehicular Action In A Creative Setting

Although violent vehicular action isn't particularly in vogue anymore, there was a time when it might have been one of the most marketable directions for a game to take. The Twisted Metal series of demolition derby games held a lot of cultural sway in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and other titles like Carmageddon and RoadKill were happy to jump in on the action. A lot of classic combat racers are still beloved today, and Twisted Metal even managed to get a TV series despite the lack of a new game release.

Other genre-benders like Rocket League and less fantastical demolition derbies like Wreckfest prove that there's a modern market for creative vehicular action. Like the classics of the genre, Speed Freeks leans into an aggressive image of destroy-or-be-destroyed competition. The game avoids the genre's darkest tendencies (and the grimmest elements of Warhammer 40K's dark universe), but it still makes it clear that its methods of blasting opponents out of the picture are a lot less gentle than tossing shells in Mario Kart.

Related Twisted Metal: Black – The Main Characters, Ranked By Likability Aside from the more neutral portrayal of Calypso, Twisted Metal: Black's reimagined characters range from innocent victims to bloodthirsty monsters.

Speed Freeks isn't the first Warhammer 40K game to be free on Steam — the collectible card game Warpforge is another option — it might be the most inviting choice for newcomers, especially when stacked up against attractive but comparatively expensive alternatives like Rogue Trader and Darktide. For fans of vehicular action games, it doesn't seem like there's much reason not to at least check out give Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks a spin.

Sources: Speed Freeks/YouTube, Steam