Automobilista 2

As someone with over 300 hours of game time in Automobilista 2, I can confidently say this is hands down the best racing simulator available right now. The physics feel incredibly realistic, the force feedback is dialed in just right, and the variety of cars and tracks is unmatched. Whether I'm racing vintage F1 cars at Spa or modern GTs around Jerez, the attention to detail and immersive driving experience keeps me coming back daily. The AI is competitive, the weather system is dynamic and intense, and the constant updates from the developers show real passion for the sim racing community. I’ve tried many other racing sims, but AMS2 just hits the perfect balance between realism and enjoyment. If you're into sim racing, this is the one to get. Trust me—300 hours later and I’m still not bored!

Now that it's deeply discounted for the summer sale and every man and his dog is going to Reddit to ask if it's good, if it's playable on controller, etc., I guess it's time to do a review. [b]TL;DR: yes, this is an excellent racing simulator, and with a 90% discount on the base game plus 50% off DLC, it's a no-brainer. Yes, it is playable on controller. Yes, it is playable on Steam Deck and on potato PCs.[/b] [h2]Pros:[/h2] [b]Physics.[/b] Ignore older reviews complaining about the physics; they're for an older version of the game. Since version 1.5, they have been very good. The cars react naturally to your inputs and are easy to control. They may be slightly more forgiving than in some sims such as iRacing or ACC, but they're still quite realistic, much more so than Forza or GT7 if that's what you're used to. It's a nice balance between believability and accessibility. [b]Optimisation.[/b] Probably the strongest point of this game. When I first bought it, I only had the integrated graphics from my 12th Gen i3 processor. I was able to run the game at 720p, 40-50fps with the lowest settings (which still look pretty decent). Now I have an RTX 4060 (not exactly a powerhouse GPU), and I run it in VR with 1.2 pixel density and maxed out graphics at 80fps. It looks great and is the best-optimised racing sim in VR. [b]AI opponents.[/b] They're not the absolute best anymore, as Le Mans Ultimate has overtaken it in this area, but they are still quite good. They run good racing lines, but also have awareness so they won't just crash into you. They won't just move out of the way, and will also fight you for position (although they almost never attack you from behind). I have had some very fun battles against the AI in this game. [b]Vehicle damage.[/b] Not just mechanical, but visual too. It looks great and really adds to the immersion. [b]Moddability.[/b] While it's not as moddable as Assetto Corsa (which is why it's my #2 sim and not my #1), there are still a fair few mods. It's built on the Project Cars 2 engine, so most of the cars and tracks from that game have been modded in. The only downside is that sound modding still isn't possible, so modded cars just reuse sounds from other cars in the game – a problem for cars with very distinctive sounds like the Nissan Skyline GT-R. [b]Content.[/b] The base content is pretty good, and is amazing value when on sale, although it is mostly focused on Brazilian motorsport. If you get the All-Inclusive Pack, you truly have an excellent selection of classic race cars (open-wheeler, prototype and GT) and classic tracks, as well as other motorsport disciplines such as trucks and rallycross. [h2]Cons[/h2] [b]UI (especially in VR).[/b] My biggest bugbear with this game is that the UI is somewhat frustrating. While you can navigate the menus with a controller or a steering wheel, the controls are not always logical (sometimes I have to press the right button on my steering wheel's Dpad to go left in the menu). Adjusting the race time or lap count is always quite cumbersome. Cars can only be sorted by the racing series they are used in, not by any other characteristics, such as brand, power, drivetrain, etc. The worst thing is the vehicle setup screen in VR, which is honestly a nightmare, because the informational text requires you to move your head to read it, but as soon as you move your head, it disappears. I always take off my headset and grab my keyboard if I want to change my setup. On the plus side, you can easily exit a race with just two button presses and can close the game completely with 2 more. [b]Multiplayer.[/b] The game has some online time trials and a few lobbies, but multiplayer is pretty dead. Buy AMS2 for the single player experience. If you want good multiplayer without paying an iRacing subscription, Le Mans Ultimate is the best choice.

Love this game, not a fan of all the transactions for tracks and veichles, and the AI is so inconistent. Everything else i love tho

i don't know how many people ever read these reviews if weather games website promoters etc... but its seems very simple to me that even though the game is very good with no reason why it couldn't have 5 times the amount of online players that it should have is the simple face of the greed in lack of free simple setups for the different car classes and tracks. i own pretty much all the content and have done for a while the graphics and choice and game-play is good. the problem is i no longer have any disposable income and even if i still did i would begrudge and refuse to continue to keep paying for setups just to even test out a car for possible new race series. .. Example F309 i know nothing about formula driving can get bye in lower split races on other games as long as there is some sort of setup to start from. so now i have to pay £5 for 1 setup for that car for 1 track this is just so i can practice offline. So OK i don't like that car i want to try gen 2 other formula so i have to another £5 to buy 1 setup for 1 track to see if maybe i would like to try that race well even with there so called cheaper bundles why should ir would i pay 40 or 50 or whatever a month or single payments to be able to see if i might want to do the race which is necessary because i have no knowledge and im not going to spend months researching for a car that i'm not bothered about because i have to pay for a simple setup to be able to do a basic test this isn't a dig at the game or any sim game other than IRACING! and fuck IRACING if people got enough money and stupid enough to pay it and then pay monthly to be able to use it good for them 🤣, my point is this and all the other no top 1'S AC for example the content similar price but I can use all there cars and always find some setup to see if i want to race it. and as a general member of public England who owns the game but doesn't and wouldn't pay all the extra just to be able to test it there should be more focus on getting new users wanting and being able to try the different cars and tracks and races and there is none and that is why even though this is much more update in recent years and potential that it will never get close to a 15 year old game that is and always has been free to play and try once you paid for the content

Very good game, supported by LFM too. If you are looking for a good racing game without having to spend too much money this is it, and the offline racing is unmatched. This game has very good endurance racing too. 10/10 would recommend to anyone

please fix the counter steering when you lose a little grip, im fully counter steering but the car keeps sliding the same way. and when a car hitsyou from the side you kinda stick to that car even when your steering away from the car that sticks to you. not realistic at all. besides that, a lovely game. good sounds, but the handeling needs to be fixed

Actually not as fun as people say it is, I tried to give it a fair shot, but the UI seems very dated, and the car handling isn't it for me.

Controller Support: ★★☆☆☆ (4/10) Picked this up during the summer sale since it was super cheap. I figured, why not? But if you're using a controller, you really need to hear this. Controller support is maybe a 4/10. It's barely usable. Feels very close to Assetto Corsa, and that's not a compliment. The cars are just not drivable on a controller. Even with full assist support turned on, you're going to spin out constantly. It's like traction control doesn’t actually work. It gets frustrating fast. It genuinely feels like the game was designed only with wheel users in mind. You're constantly fighting the UI instead of focusing on the cars. Menus clearly weren't built with controllers in mind; no radial selection, awkward button layouts, and very few controller-friendly settings. There's potential here, but if you're playing without a racing wheel, expect a rough ride.

Would have been really cool if they had figured out how to price this game to just be the cost of the base game without going on sale all the time and not charging me so much for each little tiny DLC... If they sell more copies of the game at the right price, they wouldn't have to separate the player base so much. A subscription based system for ranked multiplayer what have also been a good idea... I bought this game Early because I was excited about it but it won't be my main simulator so, I can't bring myself to purchase all these DLCs. I'm sure there's a lot of greatness in this simulator but I've never even bed inspired to open it.

Has the feed back of an air hockey table. Even a Caterham feels like a jet ski. Waste of money even on sale, Stick to Assetto Corsa, Competizione is a significantly better game weather you prefer gt3 or not, That game will translate to all other Motorsports better than anything in this game.

Game has a lot of good features like accessibility, good VR support, ease of use and attention to detail to more obscure and historic motorsports in a ready package. But as far as the driving which should be the strongest suit of this game, feels really damn bad. Despite turning off every assist the game feels so underwhelming. You literally don't need to do any adjustments to your steering wheel as long as its a straight road nevermind the fact you are going at 200kmph. The driving feels slow and uneventful, when not doing corners, you don't shift weight but just point the cars nose in the correct direction then throttle and you wont have to make any corrections, I could sleep while playing this game.

The older versions would recognize my pedal set. This version will not. The developers should realize that not everyone buys a wheel and pedal set. No matter what I tried, the right steer and the gas pedal were the same axis. Since it would not recognize the pedals, what use is having the game.

Don't understand the hype about AMS2. PhysX is really bad. All RWD cars feel the same. Very gentle and progressive oversteering under accellerating, don't feel the weight difference in handling between cars, tires sidewalls seem really soft and it's like there's assists on, even when everything off because off this uniform gentle oversteer everywhere. Bought it in EA, didn't liked it and I just reinstall it on my new pc and still it's like my first impression -> not for me. RRRE, Assetto Corsa are really better if you want really good physx, FFB, graphic and sounds.

Not a pro sim racer but i love to play them, the LeMans Track in the DLC is spot on could be some improvements but overall felt good, the cars that u get with the base game are enough to keep you entertain. Loved the handling too, some tweaks needed overall a good racing sim.

Fun game to play. Wide variety of settings, tracks and modes. More realistic than most driving games.

Plays excellent on the Steam deck and a controller. Great to pickup and hotlap or do a quick race. Great variety of cars and tracks without the DLC, but plenty of extras if you want to dole out the money. Highly recommended if your looking for a Sim racing game that's very controller friendly and doesn't feel like your playing CAD software

Best car race simulation game with amazing support for VR headsets!

Coming from Assetto Corsa the cars felt much more loose on the rear end, but it's something to get used to. The base content is very good for the price that it currently has, but you should definitely be on the look out for DLC's. It's a great game to play against the Ai, since the online aspect is relatively dead as of now. 8'5/10 would recommend.

An amazing racing sim straight out of the box. For the base game you get a wide variety of different competitions and their respected vehicles classes. There is a lot you can dive into as well as the DLC which really shines, as some of the tracks provide not only their current layout but also older versions of those tracks. If you are into Motorsports history then this game spoils you in multiple versions of tracks you know already. Try it out and experience some really awesome layouts from previous generations. Automobilista 2 does a outstanding job with car handling, sounds, and overall visual presentation where it offers a whole bang for your buck. Definitely recommend if you are rocking a wheel and pedals as the immersion is great especially with VR combined. <3

Detects my external wheel, but not the pedals. They show up in GHub. Not going to menu for an hour trying to fix it.

Bots you play against is ALWAYS faster than your vehicle regardless of what difficulty, map or class. Tried playing with the heavy trucks and the bots can brake, steer and accelerate as if it was a small car, they are also immune to pit manoeuvres while the gentlest of taps to your vehicle's rear end will send you spinning. More fun as a silly arcade game lol

Controller Friendly. Great Graphics. Almost real mechanics. Tracks are very well built with extraordinary attention to detail from turns, curbs to the outside track scenes. Would highly recommend if you enjoy driving in simulation games.

W game, just needs a bit of time to setup with thrustmaster t248 as it is not supported natively

Assetto Corsa * user. Thought I'd try AM2. Tried the demo a few months ago = it's not good. Then I read that the demo is very out of date and isn't representative of the current game - I thought this was odd - why provide a bad, not current demo? Anyway, saw that AM2 was on sale for 90% off, so I thought I'd try it. Long story short - they don't seem to do a good job making setup easy. I have nice quality Asetek wheels and pedals - just a couple of years old. After over an hour of trying and google searches (and a nasty ffb kickback from my direct drive wheel because I couldn't get my calibration correct), I stopped trying and requested a refund. Maybe I'll try again next year when it's on sale again - the graphics did look nice and I'm curious how the driving experience would compare to Assetto Corsa Competitione. But not doing a good job making sure that new users with nice (current) equipment have an easy time with setup makes about as much sense as providing a bad demo. Both provide negative first impressions. And AM2 is an SSD hog - 120 GB for just the base game.

need at least 2 hours into the game to get the right settings with your dualsense controller and your driving feelings. it such a weird way to prevent people from refunding the game until you get to enjoy the game..

This game is full simulation not for arcade gamers. Game is working in VR better then many AAA games and its not hardware demanding as other games. I played game only for 3 hours and i think its 10/10.

it was a very good gaming experience, which enabled me to get familiar with f1 races and i began to be interested

Best racing game if you are into IMSA multiclass racing. Works well with a controller too.

One of the best simulators at the moment. I tried Assetto Corsa, Comp. Evo. But also RFactor 2 and LMU... it seems since the last update this is one that you need to try. It feels more natural/realistic with the cars how they should handle. Also the Grapical performance is way better that all I;ve mentioned before. Keep up the good work !!

Bought this game on sale. It wasn't for me. While it has a lot of historic motorsports mentioned, I don't see myself enjoying the game. The controls feel weak and limp. Street cars are represented by a single car.

I bought this years ago but didn't get into it. But I recently got the F1 bug and was surprised I already had the modern-style F1 cars in this game, and it was actually brilliant. Highly recommended, after you download the skin packs from overtake

One of the best sim racing games and also have a mod support.

Very very good and must be said driving simulator. Perfect ? no but my word its up there in the top 5 sims, looks incredible, sounds incredible and the A.I. is up there with the best. Just need to figure what dlc i want now. Ridiculous price on sale as I am writing this, Buy it, buy it, buy it. Deserves to be way more popular. Edit.. do not go off the demo, feels a completely different game. I'd contemplate taking down or updating the demo if I was the devs as it does not do their game justice by a long shot.

w game i love smashing into other small carts and its a motorheads dream its insane with the different vehicles i just wish that there were more liveries from real life can someone tell me can i mod this game??? love it tho so realistic arguably better than assetto definitely get this game especially with this sale it 5 bucks bruh

amazing sim game trust worth full price for sure buy if 4 dolloers like i did try vr if you have one on it will change your game i use vr everytime i play it now.

Some of the most fun i have had in a racing game in years, no complicated setup and controls, the multiplayer is decent despite what people say online, the community is way better than most video games. Definitely worth the full price though i got it on discount, wish i knew about it sooner.

lovely approachable driving feel and very wide range of cars and tracks, great VR support, for £3.50 its a great deal

Great sim, great phsx, some of the best damage models in sim racing, amazing car and track selection. DLC tracks can be played online even without purchasing which is FIRE. DLC Tracks and Cars are a bit pricey all together but definitely worth it during the seasonal sale. Also purchased season pass and Le Mans. No regrets, would recommend.

Great game. Looks and feels great and is fun to play. Would love to see more vehicles in the game though.

The fanbase of this game is a waste of oxygen. Clowns. React to this with clown if you want me to dress your mother up in a clown outfit and fck her. The game itself: awful. Awkward, floaty, unresponsive steering on all configs, 2005-tier graphics even at max settings, really limited set of cars and liveries without DLC, idiotic AI for opponents in singleplayer, overall: garbage.

pretty cool game, great fun and lots of content

so much fun, the DLCs are so worth every penny, more DLCs u have the more fun the game is. Multi class racing is probably my favorite thing about this game too

Its fun to play even on my wheel but there is an issue if you run one to many cars the game does a weird slow mo thing but its not the end of the world i recommend i still get 30+ fps on my normal laptop

Why wasn’t a straightforward “choose monitor” option included in the settings? This feature would greatly benefit those of us using dual screens and save considerable time. While I can change the default display, doing so alters all my other display settings, which isn’t ideal. For a major game like this, a dedicated monitor selection should really be standard.

the graphics are a bit dated but the gameplay is awesome. pick a car& learn how to drive it & you'll be rewarded with some excellent driving.

This in my opinion is the best race simulator for learning and getting better at trail braking (particularly on the Brazilian tracks). I race on a g29 and usually put in a few laps in the porsche or the center seat closed car before jumping into a rally sim. And it's discounted 90% in the steam summer sale so if you have a wheel you should definitely have this.

decent FFB, one of the best on the market (imo but i use very old wheel) big variety of content even without DLC pretty decent physics and somewhat decent tire model and overall driving experience is great however the playerbase is half-dead and holds on hopes and Reiza's promises 7/10, fun sim but you should beware that you will have a hard time finding a full race even on LFM if you consider buying this i would wait until it gets more popular unless you into racing with AI

Its meh Assetto Corsa is WAY better for what this offers No career mode cept a mod you can download The mod isn't a part of the game though its like using note pad cept it looks nicer Meh

Es increíble aunque a veces la IA se hace un Verstappen aun en modo leve. Recomiendo mil veces este juego al puto F1. Si os preguntais si ya la base es suficiente, sí, lo es, hay variedad de clases de coches y de circuitos.

decent sim, mostly everything is low quality and a fair portion of the car selection are super niche which is fine but the ui is garbage. None of the popular classes such as gt3 have much content beyond dlcs, The only reason to buy this game is if you want to race cars so niche they dont have mods in assetto corsa or are featured in other sims.