7 is lucky for some but is it for Gran Turismo?
From classic vehicles and tracks to the reintroduction of the legendary GT Simulation Mode – GT 7 brings together the best features from past instalments of the series alongside the future. An even more realistic driving experience awaits thanks to haptic feedback, which brings to life what it’s like when the tires hit the road. PS5’s immersive 3D audio allows players to sense the position of other cars and drivers around them.
Gran Turismo 7 opens with an intro that acts like a history lesson in motorcars alongside key moments from history before the game begins to introduce you to the mechanics of the game, which eventually opens up the GT Café, an area that gives you objectives to complete such as collecting certain cars or winning races/tournaments to progress. It’s a simple way of progressing, but it does work well for the most part. You begin with basic cars but either win or buy better ones with money either won across events or through microtransactions.
The microtransaction issue has increased over the past week or so due to a patch making it harder to earn in-game money, so coughing up actual cash for digital cars seems the easier option, but it’s definitely in bad taste and hasn’t gone down well with the GT community. It’s a shame that they’ve let this influence the game, because it is actually a decent racing sim with some good ideas, but the microtransactions have really angered the fanbase.
Cars themselves look fantastic, but ray-tracing only works in certain situations like replays. Tracks are nicely designed, but the backgrounds look a bit bland and sterile compared to other racing games out there. Spectators in the stands or on the sidelines of the tracks also look like they are frozen in place, with only exceptions like flag waving showing any animation. I get that the focus is on the cars, but the environment should also have some life to it and sadly, it feels lacking.
It’s ultimately frustrating because the cars handle well, as long as you know how to customise them properly. Trying to get them to meet certain criteria for races can lead to imbalances to steering and I found myself skidding out numerous times just for trying to get my car over the recommended threshold for the race event. For all the tutorials that GT7 shoves at you, simply one for best to tune your car seems to be omitted. Online races are also a bit mixed with server issues that are better now than they were at launch, but still problematic overall.
The Verdict
Gran Turismo 7 handles well as long as you know what you are doing and the cars themselves look incredible, but the microtransactions are a big sore point. The tracks are nicely detailed, but the environments leave a bit to be desired when compared to other racers out there. Ultimately, it ends up being a good racer when it has the potential to be a great one. Hopefully patches will make it easier to get in-game money through other means than microtransactions, but until then it’s going to be a rough road ahead.