Project CARS is a fairly unique racing title, developed with both the financial and creative help of its fanbase (CARS does in fact stand for Community Assisted Racing Simulator). It's a realistic sim with incredibly high fidelity graphics, and is finally set for release on May 8. Let's see how it fared with critics with some excerpts from around the web.
IGN, No Score Yet [Testing Online Play]: "Project CARS is still just a game, and it still falls over now and then. On one occasion I was beaten by a jerk AI driver who didn't make his mandatory pit stop until the last lap of a race and won by passing the finish line in pit lane. On another I got hung up against some kind of invisible barrier while stopping for tires at Bathurst but as you don't have manual control during pit stops I couldn't rectify it and had to quit the race. But these kinds of flaws can be ironed out.
"The important thing is Project CARS wants to make me feel like a racing driver just like FIFA wants to put players on the pitch in their favorite football team. It worked."
PC Gamer, 83/100: "The line between simulation and arcade has blurred substantially throughout the years. I'm pretty sure it's because developers have finally got wise to the fact that sterile sim racers are just rarely much fun to play, no matter how realistic the suspension tuning options are. But I think it's also a matter of audience appeal-the threat of having to be liked by everyone. That makes it all the more refreshing that developer Slightly Mad studios has found a way to make simulation exciting again, but without cramming with fluff or compromising on its vision.
"Project CARS has given me a real challenge from get-go. This is an unforgiving, tough racer that requires patience and skill, especially if you're using a gamepad. You can't just sling your car into the apex and hope to drift out the other side unscathed. CARS is about learning each discipline individually-studying it, mastering it."
GamesRadar+, 3.5/5: "There are two important questions that I feel I need to address. Firstly, as I know you're wondering: is it actually fun? Answer: hell, yes. Secondly: Will everyone find it fun? Answer: hell, no. You need a certain mindset to get the most out of Project CARS. You need patience, discipline, knowledge of racing theory or at the very least a willingness to learn.
"Personally, I love that approach. And the game is undoubtedly made for people like me. It is a landmark for racing sims. Whereas Gran Turismo 6 managed to fool my brain for a few seconds into thinking I was looking at reality, this has entire minutes of perfection where I simply can't believe my eyes. If only it were a little more polished and consistently awesome, it would be a classic."
ShackNews, 6/10: "Because of [the hyper-realistic gameplay], I feel Project CARS won't receive the mass appeal games like Forza Horizon 2 or DriveClub have received. Instead, only those who are really into realistic driving simulators may flock towards Project CARS, although they might get bored easily considering there really aren't any unique game modes either. It carries a sense of realism in spades, but there isn't much under the hood.
"At least it supports VR headsets, so I could also see those looking to get that level of immersion within their racing games giving Project CARS a shot. Outside of those target demographics, Project Cars will most likely frustrate mainstream racing fans with its real-world driving mechanics, but may entertain realistic driving simulator fans who know their way through similar games. One thing is for sure: Slightly Mad has created one beautiful racing sim that highlights the look and feel of high performace vehicles.
