NASCAR 25 Review

Should you buy NASCAR 25? That's the question I will answer for you, and that is exactly why I spent the first weekend diving deep to give you an honest look at what works, what doesn't, and everything in between.  

If you're the type of person who just wants to know whether it's fun to drive, here's my personal TL;DR: I'm having an absolute blast. The game is incredibly fun to drive, the AI is outstanding, and if those are your top priorities, it's a no-brainer. But if you're looking for a detailed breakdown beyond driving and want to know how it holds up across career mode, online play, yada yada—you know the drill—this review is going to go through all of it. 

Let's start with the good because, honestly, there's a lot to talk about. I might spend slightly less time on the positives, not because there aren't many, but because the game's strengths are broad. There are numerous smaller elements that fit into these larger categories, and they collectively make a huge difference. In contrast, the negatives are more detailed and nuanced, but they still affect the overall gameplay. I'm focusing on aspects that actually impact gameplay. 

The number one strength of NASCAR 25 has to be the AI. Racing against it has completely blown my expectations out of the water. Going in, I was cautiously optimistic, and I have to say, in both career mode and single races, the AI delivers an experience unlike anything I've felt in a console NASCAR game before.  

The main reason is the AI's ability to run multiple lines. 

In many previous NASCAR titles, AI would stick to a preferred groove, and if you weren't in that line, the competition would automatically feel weaker. In NASCAR 25, at many tracks, the AI can take several lines while maintaining speed, which makes the racing feel far more realistic. Multi-groove racing isn't just a novelty; it allows every corner to be approached differently and keeps the competition feeling fluid. 

But keep in mind, it's not perfectly realistic in terms of simulation; it's an absolute joy from a gameplay perspective. What's impressive is that the AI isn't just competent at battling for position; it's also engaging when dealing with lap traffic, too. Normally, lap cars are an annoyance, but here, they're annoying in a fun, strategic way. Sometimes they yield; other times, they challenge you.  

They'll race you to the bottom, cut you off occasionally, and create dynamic interactions. It's never repetitive, which is a big deal for long races. The AI doesn't allow repetitive spamming of strategies like dive-bombing, because it sometimes preempts your moves, requiring on-the-fly adaptability.  

Super Speedways are another highlight, largely because of, again, the AI. The drafting system is fantastic, with AI drivers willing to take risks and push you in multi-wide bump drafting. It's not as punishing as iRacing, I should tell you—where an off-center push can spin someone out—the stability here is perfect for a console experience, especially on the PS5. 

You get the thrill and chaos without the frustration of being thrown out of the race for a slight mistake. It's insanely fun, especially when paired with the solid driving physics. 

NASCAR 25 nails the simcade feel when it comes to physics.  

The driving is detailed enough that you can read the car's behavior from inputs and make decisions accordingly. It's forgiving enough for newcomers, but it still rewards precision. The game is a little slippery at times, giving some movements a slight arcade feel, but without sacrificing depth.  

My first race at Charlotte was a tough challenge, but once I moved to intermediate tracks like Vegas, the cars became far easier to handle, showing that the learning curve is well-balanced. The driving physics hit a sweet spot, somewhere between NASCAR Heat and iRacing (probably a little closer to iRacing in terms of realism), but far from full-sim territory. 

Damage and crash physics don't quite match the driving physics. Driving, AI behavior, visuals, and sounds are highly immersive, but crashes feel less realistic, and the way cars take damage doesn't fully reflect the rest of the game's attention to detail. Personally, it hasn't been a dealbreaker since I try to avoid wrecking, but it's an area that could use improvement. 

Scripted wrecks are an interesting concept that could add immersion and excitement, but they currently often look janky. Cars spinning out after a blown tire can look unrealistic. With some refinement, though, scripted wrecks could create more natural caution periods and dynamic race scenarios. 

Drafting, especially on Super Speedways, is another area of the game I enjoyed. Bump drafting and pack racing are both highly enjoyable, and the AI plays well within these mechanics. The game's "bones" are strong. The driving, check. The AI, check. The track feels and the overall racing experience, check.

The game even reminds me of the 2003 NASCAR Season in how it balances simulation with accessibility. For a console NASCAR game, it's extremely polished in terms of core gameplay. However, NASCAR 25 isn't perfect, as I hinted earlier, and there are several areas where it can improve. 

Career mode, for instance, feels fairly shallow. It plays more like a checklist-driven championship than a true career mode. Decisions between races, like choosing between reputation points or money, don't matter as much as you'd like.

While the car damage system adds some consequences if you wreck too much, the career progression is straightforward overall. The Dale Jr. podcast segments are a fun touch. Still, they're generic, appearing only a few times over the first season and a half. 

The rival system is purely a gimmick. 

Drivers will tweet at you after races, but ignoring them again doesn't matter. Wrecking other drivers affects only your car's condition and resource consumption, not your reputation or career. Car upgrades happen too quickly as well; I maxed out my ARCA car by race six, leaving me overpowered for most of the season. 

This makes the career feel less engaging since there's little challenge after the initial races. As for gameplay, starts and restarts are jarring—suddenly you're given control of the car and are almost always slower than the AI, regardless of whether you're using manual or automatic transmission. At some tracks, this can result in an instant drop in position or redlining your car if you don't react perfectly. 

Tire and fuel strategy can also be inconsistent. AI sometimes makes poor calls that gift wins, and tire wear doesn't always match up between the player and AI. Fuel management can occasionally lead to interesting strategic moments, but the AI's logic is often questionable. 

Braking mechanics are tricky as well.  

I've improved since my first sessions, but brakes can lock up too easily, particularly on road courses, and there's little feedback to indicate exactly how much pressure is being applied. A more responsive brake indicator could help us understand what works and what doesn't. Pit stops and mid-race adjustments are underdeveloped as well.  

Currently, you gain or lose little based on your pit crew's performance, so strategy is not NASCAR 25's strong suit. The spotter is another sore point. As a cockpit driver, I rely heavily on spotter information, and in NASCAR 25, the spotter is frequently wrong. 

It might forget to clear a car, miss a nearby vehicle, or call someone who isn't even there. This leads to frustrating situations in which I have to rely entirely on my own judgment rather than trusting the AI. Hopefully, this can be improved in future updates. 

As for the visuals and sound design, they contribute to immersion well enough. The cockpit view in particular makes you feel like you're genuinely on the track. Graphics are solid without being over-the-top, and the sound design, including engine tones, tire squeal, and collisions, adds realism.  

Online performance and netcode surprised me as well. I didn't experience the kind of ghosting or lag that sometimes plagues other racing games. It felt smooth, even during close-pack racing and aggressive bumping. 

Force feedback on PlayStation finally works. It adds resistance under load, which reinforces what you can already feel visually and audibly in the game, but it's not giving you entirely new sensory information. Still, it's a welcome addition. 

Despite these negatives, my overall first impression of NASCAR 25 is extremely positive. 

The game excels in areas that matter most to console racing fans: AI, driving physics, drafting, and immersion. Even with the awkward parts I mentioned, it's a really fun game to drive and keeps you interested for a long time.  

The career mode might need some more depth, and the damage model may need some work, but the base is strong. The game is a great step forward for console NASCAR games because it strikes a good balance between ease of play and realism. 

If you prefer the thrill of driving and racing against other people more than meticulously planned career progression, NASCAR 25 is definitely worth your time. There are hours of entertaining racing that will have you coming back. The highs, particularly in AI fights and Super Speedway drafting, are so high that it's easy to ignore the bad bits. 

After my first weekend with the game, I can confidently say that the spine of NASCAR 25 is top-tier for a console experience. There's room to refine and expand the systems that feel incomplete or inconsistent, but the game already provides a fantastic foundation and one of the best racing experiences on consoles in recent memory. 

So, getting back to what I started off with, should you buy NASCAR 25? Absolutely. It's not perfect, but it's fun and surprisingly deep in all the right ways. If you love racing games, especially NASCAR, this title deserves your attention. Strap in and rev those engines in style.