FlatOut

FlatOut
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Android, OS X, Linux, Meta Quest, PlayStation 5
First releaseFlatOut
November 5, 2004
Latest releaseFlatOut 4: Total Insanity
March 17, 2017

FlatOut is a series of action demolition derby/racing video games created by Finnish independent video game developer Bugbear Entertainment.[1] The FlatOut series has sold a total of almost 3 million units worldwide. After Bugbear developed FlatOut: Head On, Dutch video game developer Team6 Game Studios developed the next three games in the series, which are the Windows-exclusive FlatOut 3 and two spin-offs on Wii and Android. Kylotonn developed the series' fourth installment, FlatOut 4: Total Insanity, which was released on March 17, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Europe and May 2 in the United States. In 2024, Flat2VR Studios announced a remake of FlatOut (2004) for Meta Quest, PSVR2, and SteamVR. [2]

The series has received both critical acclaim[3] and notable negative reception[4][5] with most notably FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction being considered one of the worst video games of all time[6] and FlatOut 2 being considered the best in the series.[7] It was called a welcome addendum to the derby-racing genre at first but eventually died out due to a lack of critical reception.[8]

  1. ^ Kuorikoski, Juho (2015). Finnish Video Games: A History and Catalog. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-2119-7. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Lang, Ben (2024-08-15). "Flat2VR Studios Announces Four Flatscreen Games Getting VR Ports for Major Headsets". Road to VR. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  3. ^ Matt Gardner (1 August 2019). "13 Years On, BugBear's FlatOut 2 is Still the King of Car Combat. Will Wreckfest Change That?". Forbes.
  4. ^ Rich Stanton (5 January 2012). "FlatOut 3: Chaos and Destruction Review". Eurogamer.
  5. ^ Luke Reilly (18 January 2012). "FlatOut 3: How to Ruin a Good Racing Series Forever". IGN.
  6. ^ Ben Gilbert (17 April 2018). "Worst 50 Games Of All Time, According to Critics". Business Insider.
  7. ^ Chris Roper (17 May 2012). "FlatOut 2 Review". IGN.
  8. ^ Will Usher. "14 Game Franchises That Got Way Worse". Cinema Blend.