(Reviewed on base PS4)
I've never played a "Gran Turismo" game. In fact, I've never owned a PlayStation console until I got my hands on a PS3, and now I'm stuck with a PS4. But I'm not salty about not owning a PS5 yet, because Sony's last-gen console was able to give me a racing sim experience, unlike anything I've ever experienced to date.
gran turismo 7 spash screen
Mr. Fundamentals
Now, I'm no car guy by any means. But I completely appreciate the amount of technical know-how that goes into appreciating the world's greatest and fastest cars-I'd even compare it to gaming PCs, which I know like the back of my hand. Underneath it all, "Gran Turismo 7" has everything that a car and racing nut can possibly hope for in terms of how the game handles and presents itself.
Case in point, I have never played a racing game that actually teaches me how to race. I came from playing the snot out of Microsoft's competing "Forza Horizon 4," and there, it was touch and go from day one-race however you want. But that's not the case in GT7. By way of the License Center, I get to earn a license that allows me to race through the game's 34 different tracks at launch because god forbid if I didn't learn how to race like a pro truly, I would've had my *** handed to me in every single race.
gran turismo 7 screenshot
Consider the License Center as the game's tutorial mode, where you get to learn the intricacies of going fast but also being smart about it. I'm a noob at racing sims, so I just assumed that all you need to do is go fast and be careful around corners and such. But I never assumed that certain clever techniques allow you to turn corners in the fastest way possible (i.e. the out-in-out method), as well as other stuff.
You get to learn these techniques as you work your way through different licenses that open up tracks in the game. If you don't get the appropriate license, you don't get to race. That's because all of the know-how you get at the License Center is critical to making you competitive throughout the game. I didn't earn all the licenses by the time I had to write this review, but I tell you one thing: the challenges are TOUGH, and there were multiple times where I just got to squeak by the challenges' requirements to earn the license.
gran turismo 7 license mode
The only problem I see with this is that it might be holding back absolute beginners from going through the game. But this is a great way of implementing a challenge without being overly cartoony, such as what "Forza Horizon" does. And it's a refreshing take on a genre that can be quite tough to make fresh with every new iteration.
Handle Me With Care
On the side of the controls, let's get this out of the way, I am not a simulator guy. I didn't get to play "Gran Turismo 7" on a racing wheel, which might have been the best way to experience a game like this. But never once did I feel like I'm missing out on what the gameplay can offer, just because I'm using a typical controller.
Let me say this, though: I had a blast using the DualShock 4 in this game. Maybe the PS5's DualSense offers a far better experience, but the PS4 was what I had at hand, and it didn't take away anything good. While the game did offer a more "immersive" control scheme via the gyro controls (where you tilt the controller to the sides like a steering wheel), though, I still preferred steering with the left thumbstick because it allowed for extremely precise movement. I tried racing with the gyro, and it just didn't feel right, which is where a racing wheel might have come in handy.
Coming from "Forza Horizon 4," however, I do miss one thing terribly: the option to turn on Manual w/ Clutch. It was something that I really loved with that other game, as it gave me the sense of truly having control over such a powerful machine. Granted, it might be an immersion breaker since not all cars drive stick, but it still would've been great to have that option.
Tinkering Under The Hood
As for the races, "Gran Turismo 7" offers so many options that allow you to customize your own racing experience truly. There are so many Car Assist toggles that you can turn off or turn on at will shortly before a race even begins, which is something that I really loved. All of these options contribute to a game that is accessible to all players regardless of skill level.
gran turismo 7 screenshot
Despite all of the options, however, I feel like the game has a bit of a balancing issue-particularly with the Intermediate skill level (yeah, I'm no expert, but I don't have to be). There are times that the car I use will let me win races without a sweat, and at times it will absolutely suck compared to other racers. That's even if the car itself is well within the performance requirements for a specific race.
Moving On Up
There is a term that I'd use to describe the overall feel of "Gran Turismo 7:" a racing RPG. This is evident by how they handle the game's sort of "quest log," represented by cafe menus. Each menu will give you a task that you need to accomplish to raise your Collector's Level, which will allow you to get even more awesome cars as a reward.
gran turismo 7 screenshot
The tasks in the Menus will vary, however. At times, it will ask you to collect a specific set of cars based on a particular theme, say, Japanese Compact Cars or something like that. Or sometimes the cafe menu will ask you to place at least third in a specific racing championship, to which you get a reward ticket as a gift. Choose the gift ticket, and it will bring you to a roulette-like screen, wherein you could win credits, tune-up parts, or perhaps even entire new cars to add to your growing collection.
However, there are things that do prevent "Gran Turismo 7" from being a full-blown racing RPG. It doesn't actually let you role-play, for one. There are no skill trees. There are no choices that affect an overarching story. But given the fact that this is a racing game, Polyphony Digital did its absolute best to bring forth a refreshing take to a game genre that can very quickly get old if you don't do it right.
Work It, Girl
If you're a car nut, you absolutely love taking amazing photos of your car. Bar none. That's where Scapes mode comes in, which is likely the best implementation of a photo mode I've ever seen anywhere. It is the first time that I've ever seen real-life photos be used in conjunction with 3D-modeled cars. And considering how the cars in "Gran Turismo 7" can look downright photorealistic, they barely look out of place when combined with the photos.
gran turismo 7 screenshot
On the subject of graphics: the game looks absolutely amazing. Polyphony Digital wasn't kidding when they said that the game would not look too different on PS4 compared to its PS5 version. The game runs at a native 1080p with a solid 60 FPS, and I barely noticed any frame rate hiccups even during the most demanding sections of a race.
When you watch the replay after finishing a race, you can easily use the footage to replace something in real life, and untrained eyes would never suspect a thing. The game just looks THAT good and performs like a dream, all due to work done by Polyphony on the technical side.
gran turismo 7 screenshot
To close things off, let's talk about the game's presentation. I have another term for it: arcadey. The game's implementation of its music always makes me think that it would not look (or sound) out of place in an arcade in Tokyo. "GT7" always gave me that vibe, even if the overall gameplay is not even arcadey at all. It's more of a direct competitor to "Forza Motorsport" than "Forza Horizon" if you think about it.
Lastly, I love how the entire game is basically a celebration of global car culture, with lots of historical backgrounds being offered for every car you add to your collection. But this kind of presentation will only cater to car nuts, I'm afraid, as it could be far too boring for somebody who "just wants to race." This makes GT7, I think, a niche game intended for true car lovers who can appreciate all of the historical bits that go alongside the racing.
Conclusion
I enjoyed "Gran Turismo 7" for everything I experienced within it. I'm sure I missed out on a lot despite having played it for an entire week, but I do think that the game has set the bar for every other racing sim out there that dares to compete.
SCORE: 9 out of 10
Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce
