DriveClub, a game which got delayed a year because Evolution Studios needed more time to polish the game, it was originally scheduled to be a PS4 launch title.  After waiting a year, DriveClub launched on the 10th of October, but was riddled with online connection problems. So much so, Evolution Studios presented a temporary system of “One In One Out”. The online, one of the games prominent features which weren’t featured at launch caused a lot of uproar and disappointment.  After a few weeks since launch, Evolution has been working their asses off to get the online features working. While the connection problems aren’t completely fixed, more gamers are able to connect following a release of on-going updates, so with the online running as smooth as it can, with still a few minor issues, I wanted to wait until I could actually connect online to give the title a fair review and not have to backtrack later causing me to update the review just for the online considering it’s the main feature of the title.

DriveClub does offer a solid singleplayer mode, which is challenging, interesting and very fun. The arcade-style racing is certainly an enjoyable style of racing, it works well with DriveClub and makes it possible for pretty much anyone to pick it up and play.  As you can imagine, the more of the singleplayer you play, the more cars you unlock as you progress, the harder and further you get into the singleplayer mode, the better cars you start to unlock. A nice system, which I took full advantage of whilst the online was not working.  The solo races range from standard three lap sprints, to the more challenging drift tasks and point to point racing. With each race and event in the campaign you can unlock sub stars depending on your performance. These stars are essentially challenges for each race, if you for instance beat the time that was set for the race or set a set drift score, you’d unlock a bonus star, which helps your career progression.  It’s a nice feature, some of them are a tad too hard however, but the large majority of them are fun and mix it up a little.

 

Now, moving onto the A.I. The A.I I feel can be intelligent majority of the time, with them hitting you back, over taking and drafting to pick up speed. However, they tend to stick in a generic line, until certain moments of the race where they attempt to take over other racers. This happened a fair bit and the A.I certainly loses it racing etiquette. If you are expecting for an easy drive, don’t. The A.I will do its best to hit your rear end and slide swipe your car if you are in their way, which can be frustrating especially if they manage to spin you out during one of the last corners. It’s annoyingly fun when you are bashing into each other, but there’s times in the race where it’s not needed, and can become irritating.  Hitting into other cars at a certain speed or, you will get punished, just like cutting corners, you will experience the car stalling for about 10 seconds. This is also irritating considering that the games A.I operates in such an aggressive manor and the game favours clean play as you are rewarded for it, which can get even more frustrating when an A.I has rammed you off the track, only for you to get penalised. During each race, you will also earn Fame Points and if you have too many collisions you will lose those points rapidly.

The A.I racers do add that challenge though, and they don’t hold back and really push for the finish line, which is something I’ve enjoyed whilst playing offline. Just as expecting, when you are really far behind, the cars will slow down a little, but not too much, you may find yourself catching up to the last 2-3 cars, but it will be a struggle to get up to 1^st depending on how many laps are left of course. It’s a challenging experience, but not so challenging that you end up coming last all the time, just a few tracks can catch you of guard, tight corners, or a bad drift can mess things up. But that is all a part of the experience, learning the cars, learning the tracks, pulling of sweet drifts and making it to the finish line.  There is a variety of types of races you can participate in with the offline side of DriveClub, which is nice considering some racers focus purely online with the whole social aspect. If you were looking to pick it up for offline itself, I don’t feel you will be disappointed, but at the price of £45 it’s debatable.

After the singleplayer there is off course the online multiplayer to tackle. Now that it’s almost working fairly smoothly, the online multiplayer is actually very good. It’s very competitive as you can imagine, and is very challenging especially if there are races from the same club, doing their best to not let you passed or working as a team, which is a very interesting aspect which no other racer has done before. Heck, even if you come last you still rack up plenty of Fame Points, which is the games currency that you attain through singleplayer and online. Even if you win or lose, especially if you are part of a club, it doesn’t matter if you’re winning or losing you are still earning points for your team. That’s where the social aspect of the game shines and it really works.  However, Fame Points only help increase your personal level – or the level of the club you are a part of – this means you will have to earn Fame Points to level up and to unlock more content, instead of using the currency to purchase extra cars (this is a feature I would like to see implemented).

The overall experience of the racing itself is rewarding. The game does a good job with its arcade-esk simulation style, with real world physics. It’s not your generic arcade racer as it utilises so many different features to its benefit to make it feel different. The day and night cycle is easily one of the most interesting features to be included and can really change the tone of the race.  The handling of each car is authentic, and each is different from the last.  The game does have a steep learning curve though, and you will need to master a lot of cars, pulling of the perfect turns or drifts can be key to having a successful race. You will learn with each of the cars that you use, that they all drift differently and snap in and out of drifts in different fashions. It’s not a too long of the learning curve as it is just picked up generally over the course of singleplayer play.

There are so many great cars too, from the Lotus Evora, the Volkswagen Golf GTi even the ultra-rare Pagani Zonda R.  Each car feels unique, each car is beautifully rendered and looks just like their real-world counterpart. The audio is spot on also, each of the cars engines sounding unique, such as braking sounds etc. It’s all there, giving that unique feel. One down side for me personally is there is no music whilst racing; I believe this is a much needed feature for myself. Most people however might find music whilst driving distracting. The good thing is now however, the latest PS4 2.0 update has just released and we can now listen to music via USB device whilst gaming. I guess it’s time to make our own playlists and hit the road. Whilst, I am still talking about the uniqueness of the cars, I don’t want to forget that the game does have quite in-depth customisation options that allow you choose from a range of colours, tints, decals and designs. It’s not the best customisation for a racing title, but it’s certainly a good one and again, adds to that unique feel for each player and for each club.

As I mentioned previously, the tracks have a learning curve due to the fact that there are so many different variations and locations. There are some mesmerising tracks that will really blow you away. For me personally, the snowy locations are my favourite, as it is just beautiful to look at. I did get distracted a few times on my first few races as I just couldn’t take my eye of the environment around me. Fantastic work here from Evolution Studios it has to be said. The racing provides that sense of motion that is very lifelike, each vibration of the car as it bobbles over bumpy terrain or driving at high speeds down tight Canadian mountain roads, with motion blur and shaking camera just ties it all up into a tasty package, even at a surprising rate of 30fps, DriveClub still holds up very well.

Overall I feel that DriveClub is easily one of the most enjoyable racers I have had the chance to get my hands on recently. It’s fun, fast paced, has a huge range of cars, tracks and modes. The online does still need some work however, with the remaining connection issues, lag being present during some races, lobby menus being very delayed and the variety of races online needs to get to the extent of those that are available in singleplayer. DriveClub received a lot of stick at launch due to the online problems, but the singleplayer campaign is very enjoyable and features a lot of great content, gameplay and stunning visuals. The soundtrack however is lacklustre and is something that I feel is really missed; thankfully the recent update adding USB capabilities should fix that. However, the driving, the cars, the locations and the social side of the title are unmatched and I personally feel that Evolution Studios have been very unlucky launch, because once the game begins to work how it should online, it should make for a fantastic racing experience and worthy addition to its genre. DriveClub is one of the most enjoyable racers that I have played in recent times, despite its problems. It’s not the best, but it’s certainly not the worst. If you’re looking for a racer that is realistic, but has a hint of arcade, then look no further as DriveClub is title to go for.

Do you want reveal the Review Score?