To say the start of NASCAR 25’s lifecycle was polarizing would be an understatement. Two main sentiments dominated the discourse; Either deal with what we get because it’s a game built from the ground up, or expect better because the framework has existed for over two decades. IRacings…interesting approach to marketing did both sides no favors, but with the game being out, I can confidently say that it falls right in the middle. 

NASCAR 25 released on October 10th for owners of the gold edition and the 14th for the standard on PlayStation 5 and Xbox (Steam in about a month) . It’s developed by Monster Games, which have experience with the recent Heat titles and produced by the ever heralded IRacing Studios, responsible for the premier sim racing MMO on PC by the same name. The unique combination of an experienced console developer along with a team that has perfected online stock car racing that hasn’t been seen before, so what’s the final product? 

Captured on PlayStation 5 Pro 

GAMEPLAY

25 excels in the area you want it to right away, that being gameplay. I’ve put down a handful of hours on both a Logitech G29 and PS5 controller and both feel natural. Force feedback on my wheel was lacking, but after a day two update, felt a little more tense at a place like Bristol. Controller gameplay is the best it’s been in a NASCAR game in years, hands down. Heat did not have the same sort of easy-pick-up gameplay, and I was toying with my settings much longer than I have been in 25. Even well over 50 hours in, I still need to change my settings around and have yet to find that sweet spot. 

Ripping around Bristol in an ARCA car on my G29 was easily the highlight of the game so far. I was diamonding out of the corner and had to be careful with the way I worked my wheel on exit. In traffic I felt the pressure of maintaining my line and got punished for not doing so. Throttle control is very deliberate and you find yourself trying new lines without even realizing it. This encapsulates a true NASCAR game to me. 

Superspeedways were fun, but I feel as if I was getting massive runs when I shouldn’t have (for reference i’ve been on expert settings and 105 difficulty) maybe that will take some tweaking. Intermediates are another track that shine, especially with the Cup car. The times I found a lobby who had racecraft, it was simply some of the best racing I’ve had yet. It’s been a while since I could send someone a message showing my gratitude for a good race. 

The AI is one of the best parts of the new game. On the hardest difficulty, AI drivers will search for lines and defend position, but it all comes down to preference due to the game’s robust difficulty sliders. There’s still a few quirks the AI is responsible for that have come over from Heat, such as bump drafting on intermediates, but that sort of stuff can be ironed out. The game’s difficulty is truly a sandbox for the player’s preference. One massive oversight is the inability to DNF, which is a huge part of the sport. Can you imagine an NFL game without game ending injuries? That’s what this is. It impacts the winners in career as well, as some dominant drivers such as Corey Heim or Connor Zilisch will DNF in real life, which you won’t see here.

While the raw gameplay, from finding grooves to holding lines, bump drafting, etc is the best it’s been in a while, there’re various small issues that hold it back from being as elite as it can be. Pit stops need a revamp from top to bottom. At Daytona, I noticed other drivers not slowing down on pit entry despite black flags being enabled. The fact I have to jarringly pause my race to adjust a green flag pit stop is not great, and the “cutscene” for a pit stop is simply an in-car camera. There is also no way to adjust wedge or tire pressure, that’s only capable in the setup screen before practice. I have a hunch this is due to the fact that a lot of logic was pulled from the World of Outlaws game by Monster. All very minor things, but I figured I’d mention it. All in all this is the best NASCAR game to pick up and play, on either wheel or controller, in years.

Captured on PlayStation 5 Pro

PRESENTATION/SOUND/GRAPHICS

I can happily say I’m pleased on most fronts with the game’s presentation and sound. I love the insistence on maintaining NASCARs brand identity in the UI, it’s small things like that which go a long way. The UI itself is very smooth and loading screens are generally non-existent on PS5 Pro, it’s a breeze to get where I want and utilizes the current generation of consoles better than the majority of sports games in 2025. 

The soundtrack…is certainly better than Heat 5! Beyond that, for myself it’s just okay. System of a Down and Breaking Benjamin are amazing inclusions, but why are you making me suffer through Jelly Roll? For every awesome song in this game there are three more Walmart classics that follow it. As a hip-hop fan, it definitely gives the vibe that they picked the friendliest cheapest options in that department. Plenty of recognized rappers have made songs fit for an E-rated game, but it isn’t a big deal since these days many people just use their streaming playlists. 

I touched on this in my game preview last week, but the sounds during race day themselves are astonishing. Running a race in first person on wheel with the sound up will feel like a real life Crank It Up segment on FOX, and it does an amazing job of immersing you as you drive. Engine notes between series are different and you can even hear the PA system playing music at the track in replay. There are plenty of aspects in this game that show it was made with love by racing fans, the sound design is a hallmark of this. 

Pre-race festivities are better than past games, with the in-car camera before sessions returning from Ignition, showing the car being pushed out and such. I enjoy the focus on the fact YOU are the driver, but it makes things like lack of post race car control and burnouts ever more confusing. This may be a gameplay thing but I’ll mention it here anyway, the spotter needs some work. I have had a few moments where he can’t keep up with the action and I wreck myself because I’m not clear. I should probably use the camera more, but it’s a liability when up on the D pad is the reset button (why can’t I remap buttons?)

The graphics on 25 get the job done. I don’t think they utilize the power of the PS5 very well, and the game is notably clunky on Xbox Series S, with textures popping in and out. Sunset at certain tracks looks phenomenal, while nighttime has a weird “coat” to it I can’t quite explain 

Captured on PlayStation 5 Pro

MODES

25 being the first game in hopefully a long lineage, isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel when it comes to game modes offered. You have the main few you’d expect in a modern NASCAR game: Career, Quick Race, Online and Championship. We’ll break these down mode by mode.

Career 

This is clearly IRacing and Monsters love child in 25, and it immediately shows. Career has a lot of fun new aspects that the Heat games, and even games before that, lacked entirely. Money needs to be managed and keeping your car clean seems more paramount than ever. I started my ARCA season by wheeling my POS to back to back 40 place finishes, each getting more damage. It wasn’t until I was able to get fresh parts that I willed myself out of a hole. It felt like the true Greg Van Alst experience and I loved it. 

The parts system is enjoyable, as I love the ability to repair things at a scale, like EA’s WRC games. You use a currency called Work Points, or WP, for repairs and purchases. It adds a level of cost management and strategy that has been much needed. I would like it to be even deeper though, like WRCs.

REAL sponsors are back which is awesome, even the lower tier sponsor offers are all real brands. It helps the immersiveness so much for myself and engages me to make great paint schemes as well. It’s a bit annoying that we can’t copy schemes or save them when we move our sponsor around (and you will be doing it a lot), but that’s another feature that can be worked on. I also would love to have primary, secondary and tertiary sponsors rather than just one primary. It won’t make much sense when i’m winning the Daytona 500 for the fifth time with one primary. 

I love the Dale Jr Download inclusion as you progress and it honestly hasn’t made me cringe as hard as I figured it would. Jr got his acting chops on for this one. I do wish there was a reputation system that had consequences and a rivalry system along with it. I’m having an easy time making rivals up myself, but the old buddy system from Heat/Thunder is sorely missed.

For some odd reason they chose to drip feed the careers features through the first three races, which was a mistake. I was finishing Phoenix beside myself because I didn’t think I could see the points standings. Turns out it’s unlocked after Bristol. Sure. Parts also seem far too cheap, and the game could have sort of an F1 game vibe where money hardly matters because you’re swimming in it, but TBD.

Overall I’ll need to get to Xfinity/Cup to see how much more they flesh it out, but it’s a fun and rewarding career thus far. Next time, let us drive for existing teams though.

Online

Normally you only get into the details of an online mode when it fails spectacularly, but I have to give credit where it’s due. I usually am the last sort of person to really check out an online mode. I don’t really like using my mic online and prefer a single player came I can pace myself at, but man does NASCAR 25 make online easy and fun. You click on the mode, click X again to find a list of lobbies and boom, the world is your oyster. 

Lobbies are cleanly organized and the time to get into a race isn’t bad at all. Connectivity has been perfect as well with not a single bad connection. You expect this from the people behind an online juggernaut like IRacing, however it’s great to see we have it. I would like maybe a reward for tackling the NASCAR LIVE raking board, maybe some decal options to show the achievement? Otherwise i’m eager to seek more competent lobbies.

Quick race

While the quick race feature in 25 works for solo play very well, there’s one large omission that seems to have gone unnoticed: Local co-op (thanks for the heads up Jack). Most games today don’t support couch co-op like they used to, but for racing games it’s absolutely a must. Hopping into a quick race with a friend or family member and duking it out is a hallmark of any racing game, but for NASCAR it’s even more paramount.

Niche sports like NASCAR benefit tremendously from something like a local multiplayer system. If I throw a party and have an accessible quick race feature with split screen, I could at least introduce the sport to someone unfamilar. The game itself takes massive steps in that depaetment, but local co-op is missed greatly, however when games like Gran Turismo can’t even get it right anymore, how can I expect anyone else to?

Otherwise, quick play is fast, easy and accessible for solo play that allows the player to not waste any time. Fun to throw on at a whim. Well done.

Championship

This mode was a toss up even existing before launch, but it’s a must have for any NASCAR game, in my opinion. You may know it as a “season” mode from other games, but you pick a real life driver and run a season at a length of your choice. It’s fun but a bit bare bones, and the driving will be about 95% of your desire to play the mode. It’s great trying to get Rajah a Truck title, but when the drivers don’t even exit their cars or are shown prerace, it falls flat in the immersion department. 

Captured on PlayStation 5 Pro

VERDICT

NASCAR 25 thankfully does exactly what you need it to in most areas to be a fun and engaging NASCAR game. Now that may seem unremarkable but I promise you, it has not been a gimme in about half a decade. 

The game’s frame is a Monster Games product. I feel a large sense that I’m playing a Heat 6, or even a Heat 7, but that’s just fine. The driving and AI is miles ahead of the Heat series, especially when it comes to plate tracks, and I feel much more engaged as a whole playing. I think not having a better pit stop system and no DNFs is a bit inexcusable, but I’m willing to look past it. The career has plenty of things taken from both Heat and World of Outlaws, and while a massive and engaging step, still needs to be fully realized. 

Roaring down Talladega with a pack of ARCA cars, admiring the unbelievable sounds and sights and jarringly seeing a Tim Pool sponsored car reminded me of all the whimsy and fun old NASCAR games gave me. No longer am I forced to play a game because it’s my only NASCAR game available; I want to get home and put down laps. Hell, even finding lines on an empty racetrack is a blast.

It’s better late than never, but NASCAR 25 finally seems to fix the curse that has been NASCAR gaming. It’s easy to play, responsive and has a lot of love baked in.

While it needs some of the finer things tuned, IRacing and Monster made an effort to give a game the fans have needed for years. I am overjoyed to say NASCAR 25 is a success story, and I’m more than eager to find out what the team has planned for the future.

Rating; 8/10

Pros: Fantastic physics, deep roster, clean UI, wonderful tone setter for career 

Cons: Missing core race features, clunky pit stops, graphical lows, and small features in past games