Jected: Rivals, originally called StuntFest: World Tour, is a stunt racer from THQ Nordic and developer Pow Wow Entertainment that’s available now on PC for free. I initially had no plans to cover Jected but after putting a couple of hours into it over the past few days, I decided I have enough to say about the game to do this writeup. As I wrote in my previous coverage of the game, Jected shares the same free-form DNA of Riders Republic and that was enough to put the game on my radar initially. Having played it, I think the simplest way to describe the game to someone who hasn’t heard about it before is that it is a mix of Ubisoft’s multi-sports game Riders Republic and round-based battle royale Fall Guys.
But let’s dive further than the title and talk specifically about how Jected works, and later on we’ll go into some concerns I have moving forward. Let’s start with the premise, you are a stunt racer who competes in shows consisting of random challenges. Each game has four rounds, with the lowest-ranking players at the end of each getting eliminated. A wheel is spun beforehand to determine what the challenge will be for that round. These can consist of simple races where the players compete to be the first to finish or events that have you become a human dart where you have to launch yourself off a track to hit a spinning board of targets with your body. These rounds are random and over the course of a match they require you to use all of the different gameplay mechanics Jected offers.
In its current state, gameplay in Jected: Rivals consists of driving, gliding, and jet-packing. You start each round in a car and at any time (whether on purpose or by accident) you can eject from the vehicle with a simple tap of a button. The driving is very arcadey but I think some players might find it hard to get used to the keyboard and mouse controls. Thankfully the game has full controller support and I recommend taking advantage of that. For me, the gameplay was smooth, and the only frustrations I had were in the first hour when I was still coming to grips with the handling. Once you’re ejected, you can free-fall through the air as well as “nudge” yourself in the right direction. You have a limited number of nudges so it’s important to keep an eye on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
While you’re looking down there, you might also realize you can summon your car back just as quickly as you ditched it. With one more press of a button, you can get into a car, even if you’re in the middle of flying through the air. Of course, you can also continue flying with the help of the jetpack on your back. The gadget has two functions, one that lifts you up into the air and another that lets you zoom forward like Superman. Once again, both these also have limited use and unless you pick up floating battery packs, you will run out of steam fast. Lastly, but not leastly, you can also hook onto another player’s car. This essentially lets you parasail but instead of a boat it’s a crumbling car and instead of a parachute you just use your legs. Of all the crazy stuff I did in Jected, latching onto an opponent’s car and riding on it to the finish line was a personal favorite of mine.
Getting to grips with all these mechanics is essential in climbing the leaderboards at the end of each round. Over the course of a full show, you are given challenges that test your abilities with all of them. This wild mix of mechanics is what makes Jected fun and what kept bringing me back day after day. Additionally, with the matches being capped at four rounds, it makes it an easy game to pick up, play for twenty minutes, and put down. My preference was to put on a YouTube video and boot up the game. I would watch the video during the game’s load times or practice areas and just listen when the actual round started. If this was a fully priced game, I would say that the game needs more to it than just that, but as a free-to-play title, the game offers a good time for no money out of your pocket.
When it comes to visuals, Jected looks decent. Textures have a good enough detail and the environment reflects off the car’s shiny surface until you inevitably leave your mark on it. I played the game with all settings on High (except Motion Blur which was Low) and I got a solid performance on my reliable GeForce RTX 2060. The only real hiccups to report are when the character rubber dolls oddly or cars hit certain terrain that sends them flying. However, both of those were rare in occurrence. This is all especially impressive because of the level of destruction that’s present in Jected. Cars will fall apart as you collide with other players and parts of the tracks will tear away as players crash through them. Windows get shattered. Doors get torn off. It’s all part of the experience and the destruction is well done. The audio is also good, featuring a mix of energetic songs and track commentary to listen to over the sounds of cars getting totaled.
I have two big points left to make, one is an observation, and the other is a request (or maybe a hope). Firstly, the observation aka concern. I have played a lot of multiplayer games in the last few years that have met their end too soon. Be it 2020’s HyperScape or the upcoming deadline for EA’s Knockout City, there have been good games that I have enjoyed quite a bit that have closed shop due to low player retention. This will be the biggest hurdle Jected will have to eject over as it nears release. Currently, the average wait for a show is under two minutes with most being quicker. However, at certain times of the day, that wait time has gone on a lot longer. The shows do have a lot of players when they do connect, which is promising, but this is also a brand-new game, and Early Access numbers don’t always translate to a full release. Pow Wow Entertainment did release an Early Access roadmap that shows new features, modes, and cars on the horizon in the coming months with the Progression First Pass expected to drop sometime in July. They also note that additional features will be added based on player feedback.
The second point I want to make is one I will admit is unlikely. As far as I know, Jected: Rivals is a PC-exclusive title and there are no plans at the moment to bring it to consoles. Now, I’m not just saying this simply because I think the game is better with a controller. I really do think the portability of a console like the Nintendo Switch would do great with Jected‘s pick-up-and-go gameplay loop and being on other consoles certainly wouldn’t hurt. I also think Jected is a game that would benefit from being on a subscription service like Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus. (Porque no los dos?) The game is already free but including one of the game’s DLC Starter Packs would entice subscribers to try it out.
I have one more thing in my notes that I want to mention and I couldn’t fit it anywhere else so I’ll squeeze it in here at the end. The game’s name Jected: Rivals is not great and in a weird way, I actually think the original title, Stuntfest: World Tour, was a better title. I am not sure why it was changed but I don’t think it’s an improvement in this regard.
In the end, Jected: Rivals is an unexpectedly fun game that tests your ability to adapt. Crazy but balanced gameplay mechanics make even straight-forward lap races more chaotic and its commitment to the aesthetic brings it all together. Above all that, the game is available for free on Steam right now in Early Access so that alone is a good enough reason to give it a go. Jected: Rivals has a lot to prove over the coming months and player count will be something Pow Wow Entertainment will have to work hard to keep up in a busying multiplayer-focused market, but as it is now, the game at the core is promising and that’s a pretty good start.
