Since its announcement, Fuel has been touted as a massive open-world racing game with tons of things to do and more ground to cover than any other console game. It’s definitely an ambitious title, and the size of the world in Fuel can be overwhelming and intimidating. However, for all the square mileage contained within this game, there is little else going for it in terms of narrative, challenges, races, or gameplay. Though Fuel has its fun moments, the game shows that size isn’t always better than substance.

Fuel is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which oil is sparse and fuel itself is used as currency. So in order to get more fuel, you have to drive all over the place winning challenges and races, while helicopters will take your vehicle from one end of the map to another. I know racing games aren’t typically played for their plots, but even so, the asinine storyline in Fuel is really inexcusable. I’m not even sure why the developers bothered adding a plot, since they seem to be more concerned about creating the biggest world map ever than making an engaging game. I also don’t know why they put in the few customization options that are available for your character and vehicles, because most of them are so insignificant that I didn’t even bother with them.



As I previously stated, fuel is earned by competing in numerous events, and you will get to drive motorcycles, sports cars, and off-road vehicles. Each event is usually only for one type of vehicle, and the game will pick one from your garage for you to use. Some events are just straight-up races in which you will need to come in first place amongst seven other AI-controlled racers, but a couple of things make racing against the computer frustrating. It should be noted that the AI in Fuel is really uneven. In some races, opponents will drive into mountains or continue down the beaten path despite a really obvious and helpful shortcut, while other times, no matter what you do or how perfectly you drive, you will not be able to overcome them all. Since you get absolutely nothing for coming in second or third, messing up in the middle of any challenge will usually mean you’re better off restarting than wasting any more time in a race you can’t win.

In fact, almost every challenge in Fuel requires a lot of trial and error. Shortcuts are necessary for most events, but you won’t always know which shortcut to take on the first try. The game wants you to take chances, but at the same time is very unforgiving. Some challenges are genuinely fun, like chasing down a helicopter by racing down the side of a mountain, but most of them are downright tedious. Checkpoint challenges are the worst, because taking a chance on a shortcut will often mean missing a checkpoint, but staying on the main course means you’ll run out of time. You’ll have to attempt many events repeatedly in order to achieve the perfection necessary to complete them, but the gameplay mechanics in Fuel will make you want to give up before that even happens.



When all else fails, you can always go for a free ride through the open world. The map in Fuel is truly huge and impressive, and there is some fun to be had driving around freely and exploring all that the game has to offer. In addition to physically riding to the challenges and race starting points, there are other things to find on the map, like new customization options for your vehicles or spawn locations. However, actually driving to many of the locations takes a really long time, and will likely get old before you’re halfway there. The fact that day turns to night makes driving in the open world difficult as well, because even though your vehicle has headlights, you won’t be able to see a damn thing. I don’t think a single night went by in Fuel that I didn’t drive straight into a body of water thinking it was land. The whole game uses a graphical style that is supposed to make the game look gritty, but visually, Fuel is not at all impressive.

One of the options that I thought would make Fuel more interesting is the ability to create your own races. Unfortunately, this sounds a lot cooler than it actually is. All you do to make a race is put a bunch of checkpoints on the already-existing map, and then simply drive through them. While the idea of being able to create your own races and compete against your friends is fun in theory, in actuality it’s just kind of dull, like most of the game. Also, no matter what you’re doing, there is no sense of speed in Fuel whatsoever. Whether you’re going 40 or 100 miles per hour, it still feels like you’re chugging along at a leisurely pace, which is a major issue for a racing game.



Fuel is an ambitious project that I don’t think was fully realized. It seems like the developers set out to create a huge open world, did so, and then called it a day. Everything else about the game is completely lackluster, and even driving around the open map, the high point of the game, gets tedious after a while. There is some entertainment value, but it won’t last for very long. I would have gladly sacrificed some of that square mileage for better gameplay and more exciting events. Let this be a lesson to you, developers: size isn’t everything.