LOS ANGELES—After a nearly 20-year hiatus, the Stuntman series makes a return with the upcoming Stuntman: Hollywood. This entry differs from previous series installments in a big way: Developer Saber Interactive has partnered with Universal Pictures and NBCUniversal TV to bring fan-favorite movie and TV vehicles to the action-racer. That means you can drive cars from Back to the Future, Fast & Furious, and Miami Vice while pulling off stunts inspired by those properties. Based on an early build I played at Summer Game Fest, Stuntman: Hollywood is coming together quite nicely and has the potential to be the most exciting entry in the series.
A New Stuntman on the Block
Stuntman: Hollywood plays similarly to the original PlayStation 2 game. You play the titular Stuntman, drifting, smashing, and jumping across obstacles at the behest of an offscreen director. The difference here is that you now perform those actions on the sets of popular Universal films and programs. You’re not recreating scenes, though there are direct references to them and their characters. One stunt on the Fast & Furious track, for example, directly references Vin Diesel’s character, Dominic Toretto.
(Credit: Saber Interactive)
During the demo, I drove supercars from Fast & Furious and the DeLorean from Back to the Future. Saber Interactive stated that KITT from Knight Rider and other fan-favorite cars will be available in the final build. There are also plans to include different types of rides, including motorcycles and muscle cars.
Driving the Classic Cars
The gameplay is quite arcadey. Stunts don’t take long to complete, with each tracking lasting roughly one or two minutes—perfect for quick pick-up-and-play sessions. The real meat, however, comes from not just completing stunts, but also how well you complete these stunts (like smashing through crates or jumping a ramp).
For certain stunts, like driving close to cars, Stuntman: Hollywood has an on-screen indicator marked in red, green, and yellow. Keeping your car in the green earns more points, unlocking more cars and levels. Other challenges require you to hit the boost and keep your car at top speed while completing stunts. In a nice touch, Stuntman: Hollywood gave me the room to freestyle tricks. However, crashing too many times resulted in my getting fired from the movie.
(Credit: Saber Interactive)
The cars I demoed across the Fast & Furious and Back to the Future sets handled well, and they had a good sense of speed. My issue is that the first few tracks I tried were pretty straightforward. It wasn’t until I sped down the final track, a course based on the 1974 movie Earthquake, that things started to really feel movie-like. The Earthquake level had awesome collapsing streets, rolling cars, and disaster-movie chaos.
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There’s a lot of room for Stuntman: Hollywood to lean into the theatrics of movie-making. I’m not sure how far the TV and film well goes, as Earthquake was the deepest cut I played in the demo. I hope that Saber Interactive allows Stuntman: Hollywood to get weird. Maybe there should be a course based on the 1940 movie Danger on Wheels? Or 2008’s Speed Racer (I know that’s a Warner Bros. movie, but a guy can dream).
Final Demo Impressions and Release Date
While playing Stuntman: Hollywood, I was reminded of arcade racers like Cruis’n Blast, which felt like racing through an amusement park. If Stuntman: Hollywood can tap into that level of absurdity, the game has the potential to be a fun, arcade-style good time. Stuntman: Hollywood lacks a release date yet, but it’s set to speed onto PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
About Our Expert
Zackery Cuevas
Writer, Hardware
Experience
I’m a PCMag reviewer and ISF-certified TV calibrator focused on computer accessories, laptops, gaming monitors, and video games. I’ve been writing, playing, and complaining about games for as long as I remember, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve been able to shout my opinions directly at a larger audience. My work has appeared on iMore, Windows Central, Android Central, and TWICE, and I have a diverse portfolio of editing work under my belt from my time spent at Scholastic and Oxford University Press. I also have a few book-author credits under my belt—I’ve contributed to the sci-fi anthology Under New Suns, and I’ve even written a Peppa Pig book.
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