Assetto Corsa EVO’s 0.2 update is out now

It feels like a chorus I keep repeating right now, but I’ve been meaning to get a preview done on Assetto Corsa EVO for a couple of months now, and I think most people can understand a little why. The performance has been a little lacking. This is understandable, given that the game is in Early Access, though. Even on ultra-low presets and driving around on my own, I’ve run into horrendous frame rates. Hopefully, KUNOS Simulazioni and 505 Games can improve that with the 0.2 patch, which was released yesterday.

“Global Publisher 505 Games and developer KUNOS Simulazioni are pleased to announce that Assetto Corsa EVO, the latest evolution of the popular Assetto Corsa series currently available in Early Access, receives its first major Early Access update today[,] which includes 7 new cars, 2 new tracks, a wealth of new features, overall bug fixes, and performance improvements,” as the press release notes in quite the over-written and run-on sentence.

The press release also discusses the new gameplay experiences, the former of which offers a “fully offline experience.” Labeled “Open Mode” this gameplay mode “allows players to have immediate access to all vehicles and vehicle customization, without any progression or driving license requirement.” While the mode titled “Career Mode,” follows the intended gameplay growth, with “player progression, integrates the in-game economy, and Driving Academy.” Additionally, “the Career-based part of the game can be played without the need for [an] Internet connection.” Fantastic, no one likes always online DRM aside from people in suits.

As for the cars and tracks added, we’ve got a small list with details that would make Jeremy Clarkson wet. Or at least it used to, now he’s excited by tractors and sheep (that sounds bad). You’ve got the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA which is a lovely bit of Italian 2-door design from the 60s, but like all Alfa’s you’ll probably have to head into the pits because something will have broken. That’s followed by the modern Lotus Exige V6 Cup, I think this is the Series 3 variant with the 3.5 Supercharged V6 in it, so it goes 0-60 in a very short timeframe.

Going back a little bit in time, the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 (964) is up next. A quick little goer for a 911, this would be the flat 6 M64/50 engine that should top out at about 180 MPH. For a 1990s car, that’s not bad.

However, what might be “bad” is the Eunos Roadster, otherwise known as the Mazda MX-5 (NA) or (as the Americans call it) a Miata. It’s a car that would get you called gay in the 90s, and now you’re just one of the “girly pops,” as the kids say. It is fun to drive, though.

Oh, good, you can try and be Jeremy Clarkson with the Honda NSX-R next as you throw it around Laguna Seca. Just not in Gran Turismo 4. You can’t complain too much about a car that took design cues from Ayrton Senna, at least not until you’ve spun out into turn 1 of the Fuji Speedway. Though that’s enough nostalgia, time to remember when Maserati wasn’t just a Taylor Swift lyric, as the Maserati GT2 is the modern return of Maserati to GT racing in what is supposed to be a really good car. I wouldn’t know; this was the first I’d heard of it.

The final car is also designed to capture the spirit of racing history. Not really track racing, more the psychotic side of racing in the form of Group A rally, which was dominated by Lancia at the time.

The Alfa Romeo 75 1.8 Turbo Evoluzione might as well punch you in the head and steal your wallet because it looks like the type of 80s/90s car the youth would drive around in. With 500 examples built in 1987 for Group A, it’s just a straight-four, but was also raced as the 75 Turbo Evoluzione IMSA as driven by Rally champions Tiziano Siviero and Miki Biasion, as well as F1 driver and Monaco winner, Riccardo Patrese.

Sticking with the F1 theme, here, the tracks are quite simple. Leicestershire-based track that played host to the European Grand Prix of 1993, Donington Park, is a staple of British racing, from GT racing, superbikes, Formula racing, touring cars, and even the Sidecar World Championship. Because what’s the point in killing one person in an accident when you can get two confirmed kills at once?

A bit more modern in terms of F1 tracks, of course it had to be COTA. The Circuit of the Americas is the Austin, Texas-based track we’ve seen on the F1 calendar for over a decade. For the high-downforce F1 cars, the track is known for its quick speeds and decent overtaking, with strict track limits on the exits of turns 19 and 20. Certainly not one of Tilke’s worst designs.

The last major notable part of this update is the addition of the “Replay Gallery.” Now you can save your replays and watch back for years the time you binned an NSX-R into the Corkscrew of Laguna Seca. For the full detailed list of things in this update, you can check out the update log on the Assetto Corsa website here. There is also the keynote update from KUNOS Simulazioni a few weeks ago, linked above. One of the focuses for the team right now is optimization for those in VR and playing with triple-screen setups, but that is yet to come.