Not the WAAAGH you are looking for.
It’s a new month so of course there is a new Warhammer 40K game release and if you have always thought that Rocket League needed actually rockets; well allow me to present to you Speed Freeks. On the surface it presents as a smash up of Twisted Metal and Warhammer 40K’s Ork faction, which honestly sounds like a dream. Gonna nerd out for a second because I found this interesting but the term Speed Freeks is actually a faction of the Orks, they are ones who have become addicted to the sensation of pure speed and belong to the Kult of Speed. This is some cool lore for the Orks who I never really pay attention too in 40K, and while the game Speed Freeks can be fun, its major flaw is that its online only.
Originally a free-to-play title that was released on PC in 2025, it wasn’t long before Speed Freeks shed its battle passes and premium cosmetics for a one-time purchase. I played the game originally with its free-to-play launch and what I found was another Warhammer game that was just ‘fine’ but was hampered by its lack of players. Fast forward to a year and the launch of Warhammer Speed Freeks on console and a lot of the issues I had before are still present. But before I get into that, let’s talk about what Speed Freeks is as a game.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
There is no story mode here and when the game first launched on PC it didn’t even have the tutorial it has now, which is greatly appreciated BTW. As I said the game is online only and peer-to-peer based, so you can either create a server with bots or join another players server to play. As players join the bots will be replaced with real drivers looking for their chance to WAAAGH! Upon starting the match players will be able to choose from different vehicles, some of which will need to be unlocked through gameplay. Vehicles range from tanks to crude flying gyros, each come with their own crew and abilities that give each of them the feel of a different role.
The various vehicles control well enough with some feeling better than others. Combat is actually a lot of fun for what’s here, each vehicle has a standard weapon in addition to their abilities. For the most part players will want to play this as a team and not like a typical PvP game. For one guns and explosions look good but alone it takes A LOT to blow up a vehicle so having the help of friend’s guns is usually the way to go. Also, there is a healer class who administers his live saving first aid through bullets, so he has to be able to shoot you to heal you.
Speed Freeks does itself a disservice by calling it a ‘combat racing sim’ because the racing features are incredibly slim. There are two modes that players can play with the first being Deff Rally. This is probably the closest to a traditional racing mode that Speed Freeks has to offer, players can drive through points, and whichever team has the most wins. The secondary mission here is to destroy opponents, so players can choose whether they want to “race” or destroy which sounds cool in theory but everyone just ends up fighting.
The other mode is Kill Konvoy and feels more like something these Orks would play. The mode has players picking up a bomb and then race it to the opponents giant mech, the goal being to destroy the Stompa before it reaches the objective. Again, the racing elements are almost non-existent here as this mode feels more akin to a payload objective. But if you want to just play this game for the car carnage, this is the mode where you can really cut loose. Maps are pretty open which allows for some cool driving moves to evade or catch up to opponents.
Warhammer 40K Speed Freeks should be commended for trying to fill the enormous Twisted Metal-sized hole that the gaming industry has had for so many years. With an Ork faction who literally seems designed for this, some massive maps and plenty of over-the-top vehicles and weapons; one would think it would have made a bigger dent than it did. Sadly, though the game fails to bring something new and interesting to the battlefield. If you are a Warhammer 40K video game fan as I am, I’d suggest just waiting for a sale on this one.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
