NASCAR 26 Reviews
NASCAR 26 convinces without going overboard with changes. Fairly minimal updates to the multiplayer, aside from the much-needed addition of cross-play, with likewise the single-player career receiving minimal but welcome new features. Yet, the overall on-track experience is just quite stunning, with high-intensity racing in ever-evolving race situations that few other racers on the market offer – let alone such an accessible one at that.
Many expected NASCAR 26 to innovate since it played it safe while creating a solid foundation with NASCAR 25. Unfortunately, NASCAR 26 remains safe.
NASCAR 26 delivers an authentic and accessible stock car racing experience with a wealth of licensed content, excellent presentation and a great new learning mode. The career is deep and entertaining, but remains largely unchanged from the previous game, while the shallow online offering and limited improvements make this feel more like an evolution than a true new season.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
I can't say with full confidence that this year's game is a major leap forward. While there are some visual updates and physics tweaks compared to NASCAR 2025, the core gameplay unfortunately feels largely the same. If this is your first NASCAR game, you will love it; it's everything you could ask for as an introduction. But if you already own the 2025 version, this feels like an update slapped with a new year and a fresh coat of paint. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I just don't feel they made a big enough leap to warrant buying an entirely new game. It's unfortunate because iRacing Studios is genuinely one of the best simulation developers out there when it comes to physics and gameplay. Their talent is present here, but it doesn't feel like they are operating at 100% yet. I believe they can and will do a lot more with the franchise in the future. Right now, it just suffers from the growing pains that plague most yearly sports releases.
NASCAR 26 isn’t the giant leap that completely transforms the series, but I don’t think it needed to be. What it needed to do was take the promising foundation of NASCAR 25 and prove that iRacing Studios understands where the series needs to go. For the most part, it does. The driving is the strongest part of the package, with improved braking, tyre behaviour and track evolution making the cars more enjoyable to drive and giving longer races a greater sense of strategy. When the AI joins in and everything clicks, there are some genuinely fantastic NASCAR battles to be had, while the new Chase mode and improved career progression give you plenty of reasons to keep coming back. The visual presentation has also moved forward, and cross-platform multiplayer is a particularly welcome addition that should help keep the online side of things populated. There are still frustrations, and the inconsistent AI is probably the biggest one. Career Mode also feels like it is one substantial layer of personality away from being something truly special, while damage modelling and the occasional technical issue remind us that there is still work ahead. But compare that to where we were with NASCAR 25, and the direction is encouraging. Last year I gave NASCAR 25 an 80/100 because it felt like the beginning of something. NASCAR 26 earns its 82/100 because it feels like that something is beginning to take shape. It may not have crossed the finish line just yet, but the car is certainly finding its groove. NASCAR 26 builds intelligently on the foundations of NASCAR 25, delivering better racing, more interesting tyre and track behaviour, improved presentation and more ways to enjoy the NASCAR experience. It isn’t without its problems, but the important thing is that iRacing Studios continues to move the series forward. There is still plenty of room for improvement, but NASCAR 26 is another promising lap in the right direction.
iRacing Studios NASCAR 26 has excellent driving, improved AI, dynamic tracks, strong visuals, and crossplay, but shallow career progression, inconsistent AI, controller issues, and lingering bugs hold back an otherwise strong sequel.
NASCAR 26 manages to evolve somewhat from its cautious predecessor, demonstrating sound ideas regarding physics, atmosphere, and driving feel, yet it retains too many flaws to be considered a mature title.
Review in Italian | Read full review