Recent reviews by AMiRi

This is probably one one of the worst racing games I have played in a while and yet another proof that game developer is one of the most overpaid professions in this world.
Not that it matters much, you won't even be guaranteed to see their "work" because half the time the game won't even let you in. Their servers are atrocious and the forced online play makes sure this will hurt your experience constantly. Good job.

Here is why the game is so bad:
1. AI
The AI does not have to comply with the same rules you do. You have to brake into a corner? They full send it through 90° angles without losing even the slightest bit of speed, always with perfect grip. But as if that was not enough, say you actually outdrive them through skill. Does it matter? No. The AI plays dirty. They will ram you on purpose, will make you spin out and drag you off the road. And of course one of the most prime examples of rubberbanding known to man. Nothing like the AI gaining Mach 3 on the last stretch while not being able to catch you before. They took this one out of the EA playbook, I have to assume.
At first I was confused why there was so much emphasis on having other players join you in races but it dawned early that they want to minimize AI races because well... it sucks, it's bad.
This is because the AI is absolutely glued to the ideal line and will force their way onto it by any means necessary. Even if that includes just straight up ramming you away. This in turn also makes some races absolutely trivial as you can abuse the AI's tendencies by simply forcing them to bunch up behind you. The most hilarious thing is at the beginning of every race, the AI that is not on the ideal line, will try everything to get there, even if that means turning a hard right or left in the very first second of a race. Pray mercy you are not in their way, you will be a casualty. They follow that line to such a degree that if there is oncoming traffic on that line, they will simply run into it, making no effort to evade it at all. And if the ideal line happens to go into a very sharp turn, they have a tendency to just fall off cliffs and roads and then it's raining cars like it's Fast and Furious. Absolutely comical.
The fact that whoever designed this actually has a job is mind boggling, honestly none of the developers should, but this department in particular is an embarrassment.

2. Graphics
The game actually looks really good... but for some reason they decided to put this disgusting film grain filter over it, making the game look far worse than it is. This also absolutely ruins visibility in races. If you can turn off, then at least I have not found that setting. Cars models and especially the interiors look real nice though, kudos where it belongs.

3. Customization
Using customization as a selling point in your ads is not that good of an idea if you basically have none of it when the game is actually out. It's cute that you can change the interior of your car, but it's nothing really, The Crew 2 had that as well. There are basically no clothing options, even Forza Horizon 5 has more. That is just pathetic. FH5 also has far more customization for cars in general. At least the character creator is decently detailed, albeit with very limiting models.

4. Online play
Forced online play. No offline mode. Yeah, that alone is enough reason to tell people not to buy it. Timing out mid race is absolutely normal and happened multiple times to me. I have no idea how they want to handle the full stream of players once this game hits the public.
Edit: They have not been able to manage it. You will barely get to play the game you paid for. Congrats, you and me... we both have been scammed.

5. Optimization
Basically nonexistent, the game runs very poorly. I maxed it out at 1440p and my PC should NOT struggle this much to play it, FH5 is a perfect example of optimization done right, here clearly no one bothered. Sad.

6. Empty promises
Thing like the Casino or your own real estate will be part of later updates, yet have been prominently featured in ads and trailers. Sad that this kind of dishonestly has become commonplace in modern gaming. But making a finished game just isn't that profitable. At least the road map for year one seems somewhat fleshed out. But so did the trailers.

7. Gameplay
Driving in general feels fine, but it's hampered by poor visibility, cars that plop into existence out of nowhere (and especially in front of you during a race, very cool feature) and the fact that even as much as touching a blade of grass will half your speed. And then there is the sliding: most of the time it feels like you are playing KT's rendition of "Hong Kong Questionably Legal Street Races on Ice". Brakes in this game are also purely decorative for the most part.
I suppose they want to reward clean driving and reduce shortcuts, which is a good thing. But with how the AI and other players drive, you are too forced to drive dirty or be left behind. Mixed signals at its best.
Offroad races clearly only exist because Forza has them, not because they are necessary. They drive okay. Supercar races is where the AI cheating becomes the most obvious, it's genuinely ridiculous here. I must have skipped the science class concerning downforce in Supercars.
The PR rating is also more or less pointless, it seems to mostly determine your starting position - the lower it is, the further back you start. Yes, it's just as dumb as it sounds.

8. Technical aspects
Whoever designed the physics engine clearly has never driven a car in their sad lives. No, this is not how cars behave on collision, no, they don't flip over from touching a barrier. And whoever designed the tracks clearly never tested the game because it would have been immediately apparent that the tight turns and hairpins this game loves so much are in direct opposition to how the engine handles physics and cars. It's an incoherent mess born out of the lack of communication and competence


Overall it's unfinished, unpolished and half the time you can't even play it. Honestly a wonderful example of the state of modern gaming and absolute masterpiece of technical incompetence and failure. Don't buy until it is heavily discounted about a year in. Or better - obtain it somewhere else so that the developers don't see a cent of your money, they do not deserve it whatsoever.