🏎️ Rennsport Review: Ambition Meets an Underdeveloped Reality

There are times when a new sim racing release leaves you wondering what it’s really trying to achieve — and Rennsport is one of those cases. Even after spending significant time with it, it’s difficult to understand exactly what the game wants to be. While there are flashes of potential, the overall execution feels unfinished.

Background and Context

Rennsport appeared suddenly in the sim racing scene, hosting major esports events and partnering with big names like FaZe, Team Redline, and Mercedes. It caught attention quickly, not because it was a polished game, but because it presented itself on the main stage before it felt complete.

Traditionally, racing simulators focus on building strong physics and stability before expanding into esports. Rennsport, however, took the opposite route — starting with esports integration first and trying to build the game around that. It’s a bold strategy, but it comes with growing pains.

Pricing and Content

The game retails for €50 on PC and €60 on consoles, which puts it near premium titles like Assetto Corsa Competizione. There’s a Deluxe Edition that includes Nürburgring Nordschleife and a few extra cars.

At launch, Rennsport includes 18 cars and 13 tracks, mostly from German manufacturers like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche. While the selection covers GT3s and some prototypes, it lacks the breadth and focus found in competitors. The same applies to the track list — solid names like Spa, Daytona, and Road Atlanta are here, but there’s no clear theme or progression.

Interface and Usability

The UI immediately shows where much of Rennsport’s focus lies — in monetization. The in-game store highlights its own currency, REN, clearly designed for future microtransactions and DLC.

Basic usability still needs refinement. Control bindings are buried in menus, and reassigning shifters or pedals is unnecessarily tedious. The interface works fine with a controller, but it feels rough around the edges for a premium-priced sim.

Physics and Force Feedback

Here’s where things get more interesting. The driving physics in Rennsport feel unique — somewhere between Le Mans Ultimate and Automobilista 2. Cars have a believable sense of weight and balance, and there’s a clear, progressive loss of grip. It’s forgiving but not entirely unrealistic.

The force feedback is surprisingly solid. On a Fanatec ClubSport DD+, it feels responsive and detailed, especially over bumps and curbs. The braking behavior also feels grounded, with realistic thresholds for ABS and non-ABS cars.

Overall, the handling experience is respectable. It’s not groundbreaking, but it provides a solid base for driving enjoyment — especially in time trial or hotlap sessions.

AI and Gameplay

Unfortunately, racing against AI exposes major issues. The AI behavior is inconsistent at best — they miss apexes, crash frequently, and generally act more like unpredictable obstacles than competitors. Compared even to Automobilista 2 or iRacing, the AI feels completely unrefined.

Standing starts are currently the only option, and races often feel chaotic rather than competitive. It’s clear that the focus wasn’t on single-player at this stage.

Graphics and Performance

On paper, Rennsport boasts Unreal Engine 5.4, yet the visuals don’t reflect it. While cars look sharp in the garage, in-race graphics feel sterile and lifeless. Scenery textures are flat, vegetation overgrown, and pop-in is constant.

Performance is also uneven. Despite using modern rendering tech like DLSS and FSR, the PC version struggles to maintain consistent frame rates, even on high-end hardware.

Ironically, the PlayStation 5 version runs noticeably better. It’s downscaled but more stable, with fewer graphical glitches and faster loading times. While it’s not on the same visual level as Gran Turismo 7, it offers a smoother experience overall.

Modding and Future Potential

One of Rennsport’s early promises was mod support — a big selling point for PC sim racers. However, as of now, modding isn’t available, and any future system will reportedly require content to be vetted and distributed through an official in-game store, limiting true community freedom.

Final Verdict

Rennsport feels like a work in progress. Its driving and force feedback show real promise, but everything around them — from AI and graphics to interface and polish — feels unfinished.

For now, it’s hard to recommend at its current price unless the upcoming online infrastructure truly delivers something special. The PS5 version fares better technically, but it still can’t mask the game’s lack of depth.

In a landscape where even mid-tier sims are becoming feature-rich and polished, Rennsport needs more than esports ambition to stand out.

Verdict Summary:
✅ Solid driving feel and FFB
❌ Poor AI and underdeveloped single-player
❌ Unpolished graphics for Unreal Engine 5
❌ Limited content and unclear direction
⭐ Potential, but not yet ready for prime time.