BeamNG.drive has arrived on PlayStation 5 after 11 years in Steam Early Access, bringing its highly detailed soft-body vehicle physics to a new audience. It is less a conventional racing game than an open-ended driving laboratory, where damaged suspension, missing wheels and destroyed engines can completely change a vehicle’s behaviour.
A driving game built around physics
BeamNG.drive has developed a substantial following over more than a decade. It is currently the second-biggest driving game on Steam, positioned behind Euro Truck Simulator 2 and ahead of Forza Horizon 6. With the PS5 release arriving while the PS5 version of Forza Horizon 6 has been delayed until January, BeamNG.drive may offer PlayStation players a comparatively affordable way to experience its demanding simulation at a good level of visual quality.
The game immediately makes clear that it will not behave like a typical racing title. Its unusual feel comes partly from the simulation technology, but also from its broad, unfinished structure. BeamNG.drive is an unrestricted sandbox, and the developers are still working out how best to organise and present the systems within it.
Players who enjoy driving games may also want to explore RETROCADE’s racing simulators for a more dedicated hardware experience.
More ways to get started
The onboarding process is more approachable than it once was. A tutorial introduces the complicated interface, including the tools used to spawn vehicles, drive them and even set them alight. Recommended Quick-Start activities provide more immediate direction, while Career mode offers a lightly structured alternative to Freeroam.
Career mode asks players to buy a vehicle, earn money and purchase insurance to cover repair costs. Those repairs are not an occasional inconvenience: realistic damage is the central attraction of BeamNG.drive.
When a crash really matters
Soft-body physics simulate individual vehicle components, including suspension and engine parts, rather than relying on a collection of pre-set damage animations. A high-speed impact with a tree can leave a car unable to move because its suspension has failed, a wheel has been torn away or the engine has separated from the chassis.
The results are both technically impressive and entertaining to watch. Freeroam lets players rewind after a collision, while Career mode charges for repairs. Many challenge events offer no easy escape: players must either continue with a crippled vehicle or restart. That consequence helps explain why most racing games avoid fully realistic damage systems—it can end the fun very quickly.
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Handling that rewards observation
The physics also shape how each car handles. Initial impressions can be unsettled by steering that feels jerky rather than progressive and by a bouncy cockpit camera that may obscure—or overemphasise—what the vehicle is doing. Chase view is often the better option, making it easier to watch the suspension respond to bumps and see the tyres suddenly lose grip.
Despite its lack of polish, the underlying handling model is exceptionally capable. Rally mode demonstrates that strength particularly well. Its Rally Loop format combines traffic-filled road sections with special stages, time controls and a fixed event schedule, creating a distinctive rhythm unlike a simple point-to-point race.
A huge sandbox with little hand-holding
Activities can be selected through a gameplay browser or discovered across the Freeroam maps, which include West Coast, East Coast and Utah in the United States, as well as Italy. The options include:
- Drifting, racing and time trials
- Bus driving, trucking deliveries and police chases
- Rock crawling, drag racing and fuel-efficiency challenges
- Precision parking and rally-style driving
- Missions involving cannons and vehicle destruction
There is plenty of enjoyable experimentation here, from throwing hatchbacks around a rallycross circuit to racing battered cars along dusty outback trails. Finding the right activity and difficulty, however, requires patience. Outside Career mode, event design can feel basic, with limited organisation, progression or editorial guidance. Career itself is still in the early stages of balancing and development.
That makes BeamNG.drive a natural fit for players who like to tinker. RETROCADE’s DIY arcade kits offer a similar hands-on angle for people who enjoy building and shaping their own gaming setup.
Outstanding engineering, unfinished design
BeamNG has created an extraordinary technical foundation, but the game design around it remains a work in progress. The interface can be complex and occasionally laggy, while the lack of structure and abrupt transitions may frustrate players looking for a clear campaign.
Realistic simulation does not have to sacrifice coherence. American Truck Simulator, for example, has a strong understanding of the experience it wants to deliver and guides players into it with greater confidence. BeamNG.drive has been in development for 11 years, raising the question of whether that kind of unifying vision can still emerge. Its PS5 release nevertheless provides an accessible new way to experience some of the most impressive vehicle physics in a driving game.
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