Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now

1998 Stainless Games Ltd Action, Indie, Racing

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxPlatinum

Gamicality score

Metacritic Not rated

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 831

How it’s combined

Playability today

3.5

Runs today4/5

Design today3/5

Steam user reviews

Very Positive

88%

884 reviews1

Get it on Steam

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxPlatinum

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Platinum, runs perfectly out of the box.3

Played Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now running today

If the game closes right after launch, move wsock32.dll and winmm.dll out of the game folder and install nGlide (Steam Community).
If it still fails, put the dgVoodoo 2 Direct3D wrapper files in the game folder and start CARMA2_HW.EXE with the -d3d parameter (PCGamingWiki, Steam Community).
If there is no music, rename CARMA2_HW.EXE to any other name and start the renamed file (PCGamingWiki, GOG.com).

Synopsis

A vehicular combat racer in which races can be won by finishing the laps, wrecking every rival car or running down every pedestrian on the map. Between open-world races, a career mode adds timed missions, and prize money buys repairs, upgrades and new cars taken from beaten opponents.

Developer: Stainless Games Ltd
Released: 1998
Genre: Action, Indie, Racing
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

The game kept the dark humor and freeform destruction of the first Carmageddon and added fully 3D pedestrians, larger levels and a detailed damage model. Steam players still praise the crash physics, the sense of freedom and the metal soundtrack, and most reviews are positive. The most common complaints are about the PC release itself: the Steam version often fails to start or plays without music on current Windows unless players apply fixes by hand. Players also point to frustrating missions that restart from scratch and late-game rivals so tough that some reach for cheats.

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

4/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
All of its content still works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
The full licensed soundtrack ships with the digital release, though it needs a fix to play (PCGamingWiki).
No proper support for modern resolutions and widescreen
Widescreen only works through dgVoodoo 2 plus a fan FOV fix (PCGamingWiki).
Full controller support or remappable controls
DirectInput controllers work with remapping and steering sensitivity, but modern controller support is limited (PCGamingWiki).
?Not confirmed yetSteam Deck Verified or Playable
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
No open issue blocks progress once the launch and renderer fixes are applied (PCGamingWiki).

Design today

3/5

Controls feel awkward on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Driving uses a keyboard layout built around the arrow keys and number pad, some menu keys are hardcoded so WASD cannot be fully mapped without a fan tool, and controller support is limited. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, steamcommunity.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
The game draws a stretched or pillarboxed 4:3 picture with no in-game widescreen option, and changing the resolution means editing config files. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, steamcommunity.com.
Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
Career progress is kept between races, and a failed race or mission can be retried right away, though a missed mission objective means restarting that mission from the beginning. Source: steamcommunity.com.
It teaches itself: no guide needed to make progress
Each race shows its three win conditions up front, and missions state their single objective before they start, so the game needs no guide to make progress. Source: steamcommunity.com, steamcommunity.com.
Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Late in the career the rival cars become so durable that wrecking them is a slog, and some missions are hard enough that players turn to cheats to finish the game. Source: steamcommunity.com.
Camera and movement never fight the player
A key toggles between internal and external views and another cycles camera modes, and players still rate the driving and collision physics above many newer games, though some find this sequel's physics odd next to the first game. Source: steamcommunity.com, steamcommunity.com.