Warhammer 40k fans will soon be able to create their own levels in Speed Freeks. It is a wild racing game with orks driving the vehicles.
Other factions in Warhammer 40k have their place. Space Marines are the eternal poster boys of the setting. They are strong armored and serious. Chaos forces are the twisted mirror. They bring corruption and darkness. Eldar are old and full of secrets. Necrons are cold machines waking up from their tombs. Tyranids are the endless swarm. All of these factions are great in their own way. But they all share one thing. They take themselves very seriously. Orks do not. Orks laugh while fighting. Orks race their machines like children on a playground. Orks invent weapons that should not work but somehow do. This mix of comedy and danger makes them stand out.
On the tabletop Orks are pure joy. When you play them you never know what will happen. Dice may betray you or they may deliver a miracle. But win or lose the experience is full of energy. Building Ork models is a special joy too. Many fans love to loot models from other factions and turn them into Orky machines. A Deff Dread made out of scraps. A Trukk with bits from old cars. A fleet of wild machines painted in red because red goes faster. Every Ork model is full of personality. It feels less like a copy of the rule book and more like art straight from your imagination.
I once watched a game where a player fielded an army made almost fully of looted vehicles. It was like a story on the table. Each machine told its own tale. Some had giant saws. Others had spikes sticking out in all directions. Some had paint slapped on like a child with a brush. And yet it all looked perfect. The opponent lost the battle but still said it was the most fun match he had played all year. That is the power of Orks.
So why did it take me so long to try Warhammer 40k Speed Freeks. I do not know. Maybe I thought it was just a silly side game. Maybe I was too busy with other titles. But when I finally gave it a try I discovered something amazing. This game is Orks turned into pure racing madness.
Speed Freeks is a game that landed on PC earlier this year. It is like a mix of Warhammer 40k and Mad Max. You drive Ork vehicles across deserts and ruins. You shoot while racing. You smash into other cars. You laugh as everything explodes around you. It is not Chaos with a capital C but it is still chaos of the Orky kind. Every match feels lawless. Every race feels like a fight for the loudest engine and the biggest boom. That is why it quickly became one of my favorite Warhammer games.
The game understands what makes Orks fun. You can pick vehicles like the Boomdakka Snazzwagon or other crazy rides. You can throw fire or grenades while speeding forward. You can ram into enemies and send them flying. It is not about balance or order. It is about letting loose. When you play you almost feel like yelling Waaagh as your engine roars.
The developers at Caged Element Inc are keeping the fire alive too. They have already teased more updates. Around Warhammer Day in late October there will be new content. The update will bring more maps for all the different modes. It will bring a new vehicle which has not yet been revealed. Some fans hope for a looted Carnifex turned into a racing monster. The most exciting part however is the map editor. Players will be able to create their own levels. They will also be able to share them through an online workshop.
Think about what Ork fans can do with a map editor. Orks love building. Orks love tinkering. Orks love to make things explode. Now they can build racetracks that twist and turn. They can build arenas full of jumps and traps. They can design wild landscapes that look like Mork and Gork themselves stamped them into the ground. The creativity of the community will keep the game alive for a long time.
This is why the coming Orktober feels so exciting. Orktober is always a green month for Warhammer fans. It is a time when Orks get special love. Now with Speed Freeks getting a big update it will be even greener. I can already imagine players uploading hundreds of tracks. Some will be clever. Some will be silly. Some will be pure chaos. But all will carry the spirit of Orks.
Rich Lambert once said that stepping away from his role as a director was harder than he expected. He called ESO his baby. For many of us Speed Freeks feels like our Ork baby. It is a game built for fun. It is a game that lets us see Orks not as background villains but as the stars. Watching a Grot Mega Tank roll forward while firing wildly is like watching Ork culture in motion. Loud. Messy. Full of heart.
Even though Orks are often treated as comic relief they also hold deep potential. They represent freedom in a grim dark universe. Other factions worry about destiny and survival. Orks just want to fight race and build. They live in the moment. That is why they connect with players. In a universe full of rules the Orks say do whatever makes noise and brings joy. Speed Freeks captures that spirit perfectly.
The update in October is not just content. It is a chance to expand the life of the game. More maps mean more variety. A new vehicle means fresh strategies. A map editor means endless creativity. Players will be able to shape the future of the game. That is rare in many modern titles. For a smaller project like this it could mean survival for years to come.
When you think about the best Warhammer games you may list Dawn of War. You may list Total War Warhammer. You may list Vermintide or Darktide. These are great games. But Speed Freeks deserves a place in the list because it dares to be different. It does not try to copy the grim tone of the lore. It embraces the fun side. It gives Orks their time in the sun. It lets players feel the madness that defines the faction.
If you have never tried an Ork game before this is the one. Even if you do not know much about the lore you can still enjoy the speed and the explosions. It is easy to pick up. It is fast to learn. It is hard to stop playing once you start. Every match feels new. Every race brings laughs. And when you hear the sound of engines and guns together you know you are in Ork country.
For those who want more Ork fun there are other games too. Shootas Blood and Teef is a smaller but very funny title. Tabletop fans can dive deep into building and painting. Mod fans can revisit classics like Skyrim or Oblivion with fresh content. But for raw Ork madness in a modern PC package Speed Freeks is the champion right now.
So as Orktober approaches fuel your engines. Load your Dakka. Prepare for maps that will twist your head. Get ready to shout Waaagh even if you are alone in your room. The Orks are here. They are fast. They are loud. They are green. And they remind us that games should always be about fun.
When I look at the state of the hobby I see a lot of heavy debates. Balance. Meta. Lore accuracy. These things are important. But sometimes it is better to laugh and enjoy. Orks teach us that. And Speed Freeks delivers that lesson on a racetrack of madness. That is why I now say with full conviction that Orks are the best Warhammer faction. They bring joy to a grim universe. They bring laughter to serious battles. They bring creativity to a hobby that can sometimes feel stuck.
The future is green. The future is fast. The future is Orks.
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