The Crew Motorfest doesn’t draw back from how closely it’s influenced by the Forza Horizon collection. That’s one thing that’s been abundantly obvious in all that we’ve seen of the open world racer within the lead-up to its launch, and it turns into much more so the second you begin taking part in it. From the festive vibe of a vibrant open world setting to the way it touts to be a celebration of automobile tradition, The Crew Motorfest looks like a Forza Horizon recreation in all however title.
That, by the way in which, is a superb factor in my ebook, as a result of I like Forza Horizon. It’s route for Ubisoft’s collection to move in after its earlier two instalments, and although I don’t assume The Crew Motorfest touched fairly the identical heights because the video games it borrows so liberally from, it does come throughout as a stable and suitably shut approximation, delivering a number of the identical thrills and charms, even when it doesn’t ship on the identical scale.
More than virtually the rest, The Crew Motorfest’s change in route advantages the ambiance of the entire expertise. The first two instalments in Ubisoft Ivory Tower’s franchise had been stable sufficient in their very own proper, however their recreations of the United States mainland felt a bit too bland, a bit too missing in persona. Motorfest doesn’t have that drawback within the slightest. The Hawaiian island of O’ahu is a stellar setting for the racer, and easily present in it and driving via its fantastically realized environments feels considerably extra gratifying than something Motorfest’s predecessors had on supply.
“Though The Crew Motorfest touched fairly the identical heights because the video games it borrows so liberally from, it does come throughout as a stable and suitably shut approximation, delivering a number of the identical thrills and charms, even when it doesn’t ship on the identical scale.”
It helps, in fact, that there’s a powerful quantity of selection to be discovered throughout all of O’ahu. From dense rainforests and pristine seashores to city locales and the slopes of a volcano, The Crew Motorfest’s world is brimming boasts unimaginable environmental range, and it has the visible and technical chops to again it up in addition to it deserves to be backed up. Regardless of the place you end up on the island, no matter what time of day it’s, no matter whether or not the solar is shining brightly or in the event you’re caught in the midst of a downpour, Motofest all the time seems beautiful, and almost each street you drive via is a pleasure to behold. Better but, in my expertise, the sport has had subsequent to no efficiency points. I performed on an Xbox Series X on efficiency mode, and really not often did I discover any significant dips in body charge, with the sport largely sticking to a easy 60 FPS.
As for what you do within the open world, the sport is far much less ingenious on that entrance, although nonetheless sufficiently gratifying. A number of that’s all the way down to the truth that the moment-to-moment gameplay right here has seen important enhancements over The Crew 2. The driving feels way more satisfying, dealing with feels way more responsive, and automobiles really feel meaningfully totally different from one another as quickly as you get behind the wheel, in a approach they didn’t in earlier video games. Admittedly, the sport has an annoying knack for bombarding you with awfully written dialogue from NPCs, all of whom are little greater than caricatures, and peppering in cutscenes earlier than the start of an occasion or a Playlist. As annoying as that’s although, while you’re really behind the wheel – which, in fact, is the place you’re for the majority of the sport – it’s arduous to not have enjoyable.
The main actions within the recreation come within the type of Playlists, every of which is a curated assortment of races designed round a selected theme. Ubisoft Ivory Tower is billing The Crew Motorfest as a celebration of automobile tradition, and it’s with these Playlists that it places that aspect on show for all to see. One would possibly put all of its consideration on American muscle vehicles, whereas one other would possibly flip the highlight on Japanese road racing. One is perhaps designed round taking you on a scenic tour via the open world, whereas others nonetheless is perhaps targeted on particular automobile producers, like Porsche and Lamborghini.
“The moment-to-moment gameplay right here has seen important enhancements over The Crew 2. The driving feels way more satisfying, dealing with feels way more responsive, and automobiles really feel meaningfully totally different from one another as quickly as you get behind the wheel, in a approach they didn’t in earlier video games.”
Each Playlist additionally comes with distinctive components to go together with their themes. For occasion, within the Vintage Garage Playlist, you’re not solely being put behind the wheels of old fashioned automobiles, the sport additionally takes away your GPS and driving line to align with that theme. Similarly, while you’re blazing via the races of the Made in Japan Playlist, you’ll be doing so at nighttime via neon-lit streets, with Japanese decorations adorning the environments in superb vogue. I do really feel that the sport might have leveraged the themed nature of its Playlists higher than it does – a number of the occasions find yourself being common races, which I discovered somewhat disappointing – however there’s nonetheless sufficient selection on supply right here that going from one Playlist to the following does result in sufficient of a change in model for the gameplay expertise.
Meanwhile, outdoors of the Playlists, you may take part in a wholesome number of open world actions that present their very own model of bite-sized enjoyable, together with slaloms, velocity traps, and extra. A few these actions really find yourself being fairly totally different from what you’d ordinarily anticipate to see in an open world recreation, like being tasked with driving via a collection of small gates at excessive speeds, or escaping an ever-growing hazard zone. Beyond that, there are challenges to sort out within the Playlists you’ve accomplished and the sport’s multiplayer choices to dive into. Ubisoft Ivory Tower has, in fact, promised wholesome post-launch assist for The Crew Motorfest within the months and years to come back, and if it follows within the footsteps of what we noticed with The Crew 2, there’s going to be no scarcity of latest content material within the future- however even in its present type, Motorfest has no scarcity of issues to do.
One facet of the sport that’s a bit disappointing is how closely it de-emphasizes planes and boats. Like The Crew 2, you may seamlessly swap between vehicles, planes, and boats at any time, and doing so whilst you’re zooming via the open world is as enjoyable as ever. But the precise, authored content material within the recreation virtually fully sidelines the latter two. Yes, the addition of latest automobile varieties like bikes and ATVs does inject extra selection into the expertise, and sure, they’re a number of enjoyable to drive- however the truth that there’s only a single Playlist that mixes occasions for each planes and boats is unquestionably a little bit of a bummer.
“I do really feel that the sport might have leveraged the themed nature of its Playlists higher than it does – a number of the occasions find yourself being common races, which I discovered somewhat disappointing – however there’s nonetheless sufficient selection on supply right here that going from one Playlist to the following does result in sufficient of a change in model for the gameplay expertise.”
Another sticking level I’ve had with The Crew Motorfest is how its development is structured. When the sport begins, you solely have entry to a handful of Playlists, with all the remaining being locked behind sure necessities. Side actions, like open world actions and picture alternatives, are additionally solely step by step added to the open world as you unlock and provoke extra Playlists, which implies that in its opening hours, its open world can really feel a bit sparse. That drawback does begin going away as you unlock extra Playlists, however the sluggish development positively holds again the primary few hours of the expertise. What doesn’t assistance is the truth that quick journey isn’t obtainable proper off the bat both, which implies you’ll be regularly compelled to drive from level A to level B- although fortunately, in these conditions, you may simply hop right into a aircraft and considerably reduce down on the time it takes to get to your goal.
The Crew Motorfest is a stable step ahead for Ubisoft Ivory Tower’s open world racing franchise. It’s a greater recreation than any of its predecessors had been, not solely as a result of the moment-to-moment driving is extra enjoyable, but in addition as a result of it’s obtained a a lot stronger persona, and since it’s an open world setting is an absolute pleasure to behold, even after you’ve spent hours driving via it. Does it ascend to the heights of the Forza Horizon video games it’s so clearly attempting to emulate? No, not fairly. But it does reach a number of the identical methods, delivering a racing recreation that’s properly price trying out for all followers of the style.
This recreation was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.
