Story probably isn’t the first thing you think of when you think “racing game” (unless you’re a gamer of culture and the first thing that pops into your mind is Racing Lagoon) but that’s how the June 25th livestream of Maverick Game’s Clutch opened, with a very high fidelity story cutscene showing us that, while we’re all here for the fast cars, there’s still a bit more under the hood. Watch the full livestream below, starting at 31:32:
Maverick Games have gone out of their way to market Clutch as a very different type of beast when it comes to racing games, with its unique open world and emergent gameplay, this big cinematic story is just another aspect of it. Taking control of the young orphan Theo, Clutch’s story opens with a joyride across a city neighborhood, transitioning smoothly to our first taste of Clutch’s take on its racing gameplay.
After Theo’s short gameplay previews, we actually see Cass get behind the wheel and get a taste of Clutch’s open world. Open world is an oddball genre to slot a racing game under, but you can see how dynamic crashing through the barns and fields in the open world can be, though not everything is bombastic, later on in the stream we actually see an instance of stealth driving, which is hilarious and probably a first in any racing game.
There are some interesting mechanics as far as the actual races go. Of course you’ve got your classic first place wins type of races, but there are also in-game streaming events, where whoever pulls the most viewer votes for the stream actually comes out on top; going fast is imperative to this, of course, but this mode incentivizes taking bigger risks to pull of crazier and more stylish stunts for the sake of the viewers.
Of course, it’s not a modern day racing game without a massive amount of customization over your rides. What type of car you can drive is, of course, an option but you can customize all sorts of details for your vehicle up to and including the interior to really change how the inside of the car looks should you be crazy enough to play a racing game in first-person.
Of course, “racing game” is a misnomer according to the devs, who prefer to refer to Clutch as a “driving game”. There are races, of course, but the vision for this game obviously goes above and beyond going fast. The open world, the cinematic story, the stealth gameplay, all of it seems to contribute to a total package that wants to push for more than finish lines.
Personally, I think Clutch is a very very ambitious game, but one that has a lot of potential. Every genre of game can sometimes feel boiled down to a specific formula, racing games (or driving games, if you prefer) are definitely not exempt from this rule. To try something wholly new within a genre many aren’t looking for innovation within is a bold move indeed, and I’d recommend you to keep an eye on this game if you have any interest in car-based video games. I also recommend you watch the full stream for yourself, to really decide if this brave new direction is a car ride you want to be a passenger in.