No one would ever accuse Forza Horizon for lacking heart. It houses great memories for myself, who isn’t usually much of a racing gamer, as something that catches my attention and has a lot of great gameplay. That said, you don’t dive into those games to chase a narrative. You do it to turn your brain off, race around, and maybe collect a few victories or achievements. Maverick Games is full of former Playground Games staffers that wanted to do more, and in pushing forward to make their newly announced game – CLUTCH – I think they have something great in store. Listening to the passion from the developer who spoke with me during our presentation, that thought has been upgraded to the knowledge that this team is doing something special that could outpace their former creation.
The core of CLUTCH lies in a story. Maverick Games is focused on crafting a fully realized narrative to follow, and it’s going to take you in several directions. The cast is insane, led by Tosin Cole as Theo Martial, Little Simz as Cass Martial, and even Jane Perry stepping in as a fixer for… well, less than legal deeds. If you’re going to build a story into a racing game, having the right talent for the job makes a lot of sense. Every cutscene has been motion captured, which certainly raises the caliber of the narrative Maverick Games is going for.
In this hands-off demo, I got a glimpse at the structure of CLUTCH, and the direction they’re heading towards. If you were starting the game fresh, you’d watch as little Theo and Cass are in a bit of upheaval. They are in foster care, and the person in charge of them steps out of the car to try and fix a situation with whoever has taken them in. Unfortunately, this is where Theo wants his first taste of driving, and in the ensuing section, you smash into several poles and trash cans before ending up in a rough collision.
This isn’t the end, thankfully. From here, I saw Theo getting in with the wrong crowd, embroiled in the world of crime surrounding Monaco and the French Riviera (which is the setting for the open-world). A short section showed a heist where Theo is on the run from the cops. Serious Fast and Furious vibes here, as Theo puts the pedal to the medal to escape.
In another jump, I got a look at Theo engaging in street races with an organization called the Midnight Collective. These take on a bit of Need For Speed energy alongside the Fast and Furious comparison, but CLUTCH does something a bit different with your placement. Instead of your finishing position being the end all be all, live streaming is now a part of the formula. You’ll want to get the most viewers, and as you drive, you’ll be presented with quick challenges called “Flares” to do from the live chat that can earn you more score. It could be a drift, or maybe taking a shortcut, but it’s all about style. It’s a really cool idea, and adds to the variety that exists in CLUTCH.
Finally, I saw Theo and Cass walking towards a professional racetrack. Their adoptive father (played by actor Grégory Montel) is in the R1K, a professional racing organization. They’ve been brought up around racing, which of course explains the two and their familiarity with cars. All three of these aspects of racing will be a key part of what you’ll be doing in CLUTCH, and point to exceptional variety in both story and gameplay elements.
While all three of these segments of CLUTCH look incredible, it’s how you get there that's most fascinating. Tragedy seems to be the trigger for the story, as during an R1K race, Theo’s best friend is killed. This starts the whole organization down a dangerous road, as they look to improve driver safety with AI systems. Theo’s dad isn’t okay with this at all, as he feels this damages the integrity of the sport. In the middle of the conflict surrounding these events, Theo wants out, Cass storms out, and dear old dad is left at home.
Following after Cass, Theo stumbles upon a secret she’s been hiding: The Midnight Collective street races. This is where he gets a taste of it all, and gets in contact with the head of the group, Alex Ashcroft, who is quite opposed to the antics of the R1K (and talks all about it on his podcast). Something worth noting, you’ll be able to swap between both characters as you play CLUTCH, only being forced into a specific sibling for certain story missions.
After all of these events, Theo makes a bad decision in stealing someone’s car. In order to wipe things clean, he hears of a fixer – yes, the one played brilliantly by Jane Perry. She doesn’t deal in money, but in favors, which opens up the final type of missions: heists. This is where my understanding of the game’s title came into play – special “CLUTCH” car parts exist in this world that can give you an edge while driving. The one she’s after is a harpoon, which you may have seen at the end of the announcement trailer.
Theo engages in a theft for her that was a bit slower of an experience during my presentation. This is mainly due to the opening pace being more intentional given the stakes if caught, with Theo descending deeper into a garage park. All of the places you’ll visit are also drivable, so you’re exploring a real spot in the in-game world.
Upon finally locating the car you’ve been searching for in the upstairs apartment, Theo was about to be discovered. Interestingly, there are a few sections of the game where you’ll exit the car, but I doubt there are many that have any substance beyond what I saw as Theo looked through said apartment. Jumping into the car, he sped off through the rooms until launching off of a balcony, and using the harpoon to pull a real Fast and Furious move on the helicopter in front of him and get to the ground safely. You know, until having to abscond with the stolen vehicle and run from cops that are chasing you.
For all the narrative integration we’ve spoken on, not enough has been said about the cars and systems underneath. In all that I saw, the foundation for CLUTCH is absolutely rock-solid. This team has a lot of experience with Forza Horizon, but they’ve gone further in how they’re crafting this game. Unreal Engine 5 houses the game, allowing the team to utilize its outstanding capability for photo-realistic graphics. Just look at the above trailer; what they’ve made is stunning. Alongside that, however, Maverick Games has put together their own ideas, like sky catchers, which had them going on location and getting 24-hour’s worth of day and night cycles to impose as real world lighting that the Lumen ecosystem can work with. At any rate, Monaco and The French Riviera look tremendous, proving the effort the team has gone to in order to reproduce it has been worth it.
I took one look at the gameplay with the cars, and I wasn’t concerned in the slightest. This looks just like Forza Horizon, if not a step above. Maverick Games is going for a “nostalgic realism” with CLUTCH, spending plenty of time scanning in their vehicles, environments, and characters, but adding an extra layer of art direction over the top of that. Shooting these sequences with different inspirations in mind, like Gone in 60 Seconds, Fast and the Furious, and Days of Thunder, gave them ideas in what sort of lenses they’d use for the action.
There are deep systems for these vehicles as well, intensive upgrade mechanics, realistic car reactions to crashes, and more. A big livery of automobiles is planned, with plenty of big names going to be on the roster of car makers. They didn’t say many specific things, but if you’re all about customizing your ride, this game will fit you like a glove. A co-op campaign and multiplayer will also be available. There’s even a post-launch campaign with a full roadmap, but they aren’t going for a live-service angle. This is more about supporting the game and bringing in as many players as possible.
Leaving my appointment with Maverick Games, I just kept thinking about CLUTCH. There are a lot of racing games we tried at Summer Game Fest, but it says a lot about CLUTCH that it managed to make this kind of impression without me getting a hands-on. If anything, I’m super excited for the eventual opportunity to get hands-on experience. CLUTCH looks like a special game, and if they manage to deliver all the things they’re advertising, Maverick Games could turn the racing genre on its head. CLUTCH looks to release in spring of 2027 for PC and consoles.
