Pure Vehicular Mayhem: Why Fumes is a Straightforward Good Time

The vehicular combat genre, once a staple of the ’90s with classics like Twisted Metal and Vigilante 8, has been largely dormant for years. But a small indie team, fittingly named “FUMES team,” is looking to change that with their new car-blaster, Fumes. Released in Early Access on Steam on July 28, 2025, the game is a beautiful, brutal, and straightforward homage to the genre’s golden era. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, and that’s precisely its strength. With its chunky, bouncy physics and chaotic, satisfying combat, Fumes is a testament to the idea that sometimes, all you need for a good time is a car, a gun, and a whole lot of enemies.

Embracing the Old School

Fumes is a game that knows exactly what it is. It’s a fast-paced, single-player experience that throws you into a post-apocalyptic wasteland and tells you to blow stuff up. The game’s low-poly, retro aesthetic is a perfect fit, evoking the look and feel of a classic PlayStation 1 title. The chunky, satisfying physics make every jump feel like a leap of faith and every crash a bone-shaking calamity. You’re not driving a sleek, precise racecar; you’re piloting a rusty, barely-functioning death machine, and the controls feel just as wild and untamed as the world around you. As one reviewer from Shacknews put it, “There’s a sense of frantic energy when driving in Fumes, like your car might flip at any second.”

The core gameplay loop is as simple as it is addicting. You drive through an endless, procedurally generated wasteland, hunting down other vehicles to destroy. As you do, you collect scrap and parts, which can be used to upgrade your ride. You can add new weapons, from machine guns to a buzzsaw, and customize every aspect of your car, from the suspension to the paint job. The game’s open world is a “single-player playground,” full of other “scrappers” to fight, and giant, impressive boss vehicles to take down. These massive, mobile superstructures are a highlight, and the feeling of taking down a huge, lumbering fortress with your small, agile car is incredibly rewarding. The game is all about the “fun, fast-paced, no-nonsense car combat,” and it delivers on that promise in spades.

A Promising Early Access

Despite being in Early Access, Fumes has already received an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam, a clear sign that its straightforward, no-frills approach has resonated with players. The developers have been actively engaging with the community, releasing updates that improve controller support, loot drops, and other quality-of-life features. The team has stated that the game will be in Early Access for about a year, and their roadmap includes plans for a “full-fledged, lighthearted story and lore,” more missions, new cars, and additional boss fights. They’ve also been explicit that the game will have “no microtransactions. Enough of this bullscrap.” This kind of directness and commitment to a player-first approach is a refreshing change in a market often dominated by larger, more cynical releases.

The game also stands out for its lack of multiplayer. While some might see this as a downside, it is a deliberate choice that allows the developers to focus on creating a polished, single-player experience. The game is not a live service or a competitive brawler; it’s a pure, unadulterated “driving and shooting” adventure. This focus on a solitary journey through a desolate world gives Fumes a unique and satisfying flavor that will appeal to fans of single-player experiences.

Conclusion: Time to Hit the Road

In a world of overly complex, overly monetized games, Fumes is a breath of fresh, smoky air. It’s a game that is confident in its simple premise and executes it with style and a whole lot of charm. For a genre that many thought was dead, Fumes is a vibrant and exciting sign of life. So, if you’re a fan of old-school vehicular combat, or just looking for a straightforward, good time, it’s time to fire up your engine, slap some weapons on, and hit the road. The wasteland is waiting for you, and it’s full of fun, fury, and a whole lot of fumes.