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Predictably, it handles beautifully. Control input is responsive, though realistically takes a short moment to go from lock to lock if you’re using a pad. The cars are sure-footed and weighty, and feel like they have more grip than those of Forza 7. Indeed, the game is slightly easier to drive than all-out sims like Project Cars, Assetto Corsa, or Dirt Rally, but it will punish you much sooner than Forza 7 will. The way the vehicles react to kerbs is exemplary: you can ride them if you’re brave, but they’ll bite you hard if you misplace a wheel. Push too hard or snatch at the brakes and you’ll also slide off into the gravel. Some cars seem built for oversteer, but most perform an enjoyably tameable 4-wheel drift when pushed over the edge of the grip cliff. The balance is just right – this is an extremely playable game.
But what it really wants you to do is understand what’s actually happening when you drive. The game is all about weight distribution, traction and discipline, to the extent that the single-player mode isn’t really about racing at all (with the exception of the returning-but-somewhat-sidelined Arcade Mode, which is fun but throwaway). If you’re playing solo, this is a driving game. The main mode takes you through an ultra-punishing driving school, requiring absolute precision if you’re to walk away with the complete collection of gold medals. Prepare to get very frustrated when you can’t get gold on a simple ‘turn the steering wheel’ exercise. Never has a tenth of a second felt so unassailable.
Strictly Cone Dancing
Single player also offers a collection of scenarios to overcome, like a lap of fuel-saving while still trying to pass cars for the win. There’s also a nice little track mastery section that grades you on individual sectors on a collection of the circuits. Finally, you’re asked to perform a perfect lap to get one last gold award, which also gives you that course’s map as a decal with which to adorn your car. Most of the mastery challenges are are easy if you know what you’re doing, but the Nurburgring challenge is gargantuan. Six minutes of absolutely flawless driving through the Green Hell? That’s going to take some doing.
However, it’s all rather pedestrian, and not a patch on Forza 7’s Forza Driver’s Cup career mode in terms of excitement and involvement. In fact, it’s closer to the PSP Gran Turismo’s single-player content. Very, very similar. Careful you don’t get splinters from the over-scraped ideas barrel. No, instead you’ll probably spend most of your time online.
The online mode takes centre stage and features two pillars. You can race however you like in the lobby mode, but you won’t earn any reputation. For that, you need to enter into championships in the Sport mode. This is the game’s main selling point – an FIA-recognised, online racing league with the potential for real-world acclaim. The game keeps you playing rather than waiting in lobbies, allowing you to post ever-faster qualifying times while you wait for entry to start, then allowing you some practice in the couple of minutes prior to the green light.
I’ve hidden your car keys
VA-ROOOOOOOM
It takes itself very seriously, but that can come across as po-faced. It feels like a premium product, certainly, but there’s a hint of that Gran Turismo 5-era pomposity that looked to have been eradicated with Gran Turismo 6. And sometimes it feels like you’re playing an old racing game from the early 2000s, only with far better graphics. It’s nice in a way, as it’s a reminder of the golden age of racing games. But when the competition is striding forwards, it can feel a tad embarrassing, with the series steadfastly refusing to look over its shoulder at the competition, even when they’ve already gone by.
It’s also less spectacular than you might expect. Nothing major, but a few scrappy shadow edges, the occasional frame hitch, and some very diorama-like foliage make for an unconvincing world, especially when the colours are more gamey than lifelike. It’s still gorgeous at 60fps, and the glass effects are mouth-wateringly good, but the overall effect is not as photorealistic as its competitors.
Preserving that showroom sheen