A racing game that mostly does away with the racing, Onrush is a chaotic and curious spin on a much-loved genre.
Key events
December's PlayStation Plus games include SOMA and Onrush
Plus Iconoclasts, Steredenn, and more.
Sony has announced its final batch of PlayStation Plus games for 2018 - and while it's short on triple-A showstoppers, there's a fine selection of titles to be found, including Frictional Games' existential horror SOMA and superb racer Onrush, both on PlayStation 4.
Beleaguered racer OnRush will gain a big update at the start of August, publisher Codemasters has promised in an apparent bid to reassure fans after word of this week's layoffs.
On Monday, Eurogamer broke word that a number of staff had been let go from the OnRush team - including the game's director, Paul "Rushy" Rustchynksky - after disappointing sales.
In a statement to Eurogamer at the time, Codemasters promised that OnRush's post-launch content would not be affected by the job cuts - something which today's news backs up.
Layoffs at OnRush dev Evo, Driveclub director Rushy let go
Alongside handful of senior staff.
The developer of Driveclub has been hit by layoffs after its latest game, OnRush, failed to set tills ringing.
Bacon cornflakes. That's what Gareth Wilson said of Blur as he pondered the reasons where it all went wrong for one of the last great arcade racers; how Bizarre Creations mashed together Mario Kart with authentic cars and a downbeat aesthetic for a concoction that plain confused most people. Onrush, the new game from the studio formed from the remains of Evolution Studios, seems to have thought to itself that bacon cornflakes isn't quite unique enough a concoction. How about tossing some eggs in, too? And then how about smothering it all in a sweet layer of strawberry jam?
Onrush
Developer: Codemasters Evo
Digital FoundryEvolution Studios reborn: the cutting-edge tech of Onrush
How a former first-party studio built its first multi-platform game.
World Rally Championship, MotorStorm, DriveClub - Sony may have jettisoned developer Evolution Studios from its first-party line-up, but the studio lives on in the form of Codemasters Evo, and after two years of work, it's on the cusp of releasing its new game: Onrush. What we're looking at here is effectively the same team with the same focus on technologically advanced racing games, still operating from the same studio space in Runcorn, Cheshire. The key difference is that the studio has moved onto multi-platform development, a fundamental shift after years of supporting PlayStation systems only.
There are a bunch of variables to play with in Onrush, even in the current beta. For the opening hours of my first morning playing, however, none of them seemed to matter very much.
FeatureEGX Rezzed 2018: The best games from this year's show
The team at Eurogamer picks its highlights.
EGX Rezzed was wonderful, wasn't it? Tim Schafer of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango fame came to shoot the breeze with editor Oli Welsh on stage, the teams behind Two Point Hospital and Phoenix Point delved into their upcoming creations, and Digital Foundry explained how Sony might get on the road to its next console, the PlayStation 5.
FeatureHow the developers of Driveclub survived the end of Evolution
"It wasn't a shock at the end of the day."
Amid the great Driveclub U-turn the future looked bleak for many of the people at Evolution Studios.
The team behind MotorStorm and Driveclub has announced a 5th June release date for Onrush, its shiny new PlayStation 4 and Xbox One racing game.
Onrush pre-orders are now live for both platforms. Put your money down on PS4 and you'll get access to a beta in May. There's also a PS4 Deluxe Edition with extra vehicle designs and other gubbins.
Onrush is the first game to come from Sony's former Evolution Studios team since it was saved from being shut down by Codemasters. Eurogamer petrolhead Martin Robinson went to visit the team at the end of last year and see its plans to bring the arcade racing genre back to life.
FeatureHow the devs behind Driveclub plan to bring the arcade racer back to life
Inside Onrush, Codemasters' take on Burnout and SSX.
Let's take a second to salute Driveclub, the PlayStation 4 launch title that missed the launch, and then stalled upon its final release thanks to a number of technical gremlins and design oversights. Despite that drama, it flourished into something quite remarkable - a muscular racer with a touch of Project Gotham Racing's flair to its handling and some of Gran Turismo's polish in its impeccable looks. Against the odds, it became what's set to be one of this generation's finest driving games.
Evolution's new racing game Onrush revealed for summer 2018
Looks like MotorStorm meets Trackmania.
The new racing game from MotorStorm developer Evolution Studios, and Codemasters, was revealed during Sony's Paris Games Week show. It's called Onrush and it's coming summer 2018.
