Driveclub VR

Driveclub VR is an outstanding showcase for PlayStation VR. As the lone racing game available for it, it stands atop a short mountain — but its core foundation being so well-crafted bodes well for it working as a showpiece for quite some time. Anyone who loved the original game should check it out, while those who always wondered what was so good about it will find out in the best way possible by experiencing it in VR.

Driveclub VR isn’t pretty, but it’s still some of the best racing found on PlayStation 4. I’ve never found drifting around corners to be this satisfying, and having to actually look at my mirrors helped fool me into thinking I was actually behind the wheel. If this is the end for Driveclub, it at least gets to leave on a high note.

DriveClub VR is a good beginning for PS VR, where the racing genre will be a priority. It has almost everything from the original game (handling, day-night cycle, circuits, social tone) and it’s a good adaptation to virtual reality. It is one of the most complete games you can find right now for the headset.

DriveClub VR is a brilliant racing experience, but be warned that you might think you're going on a beautiful holiday to the south of France yet end up touring the sites of Hull. That's a metaphor, by the way, you don't get to drive in either location. I'm saying Hull isn't very nice to look at. Like DriveClub VR.

If you’re willing to overlook some blurry visuals and get down to the serious business of racing you’ll find that there’s still a lot to love here and, for a launch title, it’s an impressive first outing for racing games on PSVR.

Despite some rough edges that mar the experience, Driveclub VR is a great racing title that justifies getting back into the seat of a Koenigsegg Agera R as long as you don't mind being motion sick every now and then.

Though a sizeable visual step down from the regular version of the game, DriveClub VR remains a worthy offering. Boasting tons of content, great handling and some cleverly implemented VR immersion, it’s a worthwhile buy for PSVR owners looking for a decent racing game to showcase their latest purchase.

Immersive and lots of content, it is a pity that the poor graphics overshadow the overall result of Driveclub VR.

I love DriveClub VR for its competent driving physics, the concept and the heightened immersion behind the wheel. But the visual compromises Sony had to settle for take a lot of the atmosphere away.

DriveClub VR delivers as it comes to content. Dozens of cars and tracks are there for you to explore as you get the feeling like driving these cars. Though its graphics are way below par, it is a nice first step in virtual reality combined with racing.

Driveclub VR is mostly a rebuild of the standard PS4-game, but the VR-part does offer a new experience. Too bad it is not an experience that you cannot miss.

A great spin-off offering a well-rounded package that condenses, but doesn't surpass, the pleasures of its bigger bro. Just be aware of possible motion sickness. [Dec 2016, p.93]

Rough visuals dampen its impact. [Issue#180, p.41]

Maybe it's not the best way to enjoy the full potential of Driveclub, but on the bright side we are in front of a complete experience and a perfect demo that let us enjoy the promising future of racing genre on VR.

Those who have previously played Driveclub will no doubt get a kick out of trying Driveclub VR with its host of new tracks, but it’s unlikely to wow them as it feels just too familiar and too visually inferior to impress.

It’s a pity that Driveclub VR had to sacrifice so much in its visuals to achieve the necessary smooth and immersion in VR. Also, it’s questionable the decision to be sold separately for those who own the original title.

Recycling DriveClub with a VR twist, DriveClub VR offers a lot of content and challenges, and above all gives us a new sense of immersion that is really enjoyable. Of course the PlayStation VR player pays that with a global visual downgrade, but the deal is still a good one, especially with this PSVR launch line-up, where DriveClub has no competitor yet.

The requirements of the VR and the limitations of PS4 have taken its toll on DriveClub. This version has many virtues, but also many flaws, most of them technical.

Driveclub VR has its shortcomings and doesn’t quite match up to the high bar that the original game now sets, but even then, it’s an outstanding racer, especially if you have a racing wheel. Driveclub VR is an essential purchase for racing fans on PSVR.

The AI can be annoying, and not everyone will get the game’s approach, but if you engage with the game’s strong social angle, there’s a great racer in here to enjoy.

Virtual reality racing has an enormous amount of potential. Racing games are often visual delights however, so what Driveclub VR lacks in this department is notable despite the sense of presence that makes it so fresh.

When I heard about DriveClub VR, I was really expecting the same PS4 experience as the previous title, however I was sadly mistaken. Sure, it has very similar parallels, especially with the amount of content but it’s all about the illusion and due to the reduced graphical capabilities of this game, particularly if you’ve played the previous game, it’s a little disheartening. Nonetheless, the gameplay is sturdy and the VR aspect works but it missed reaching the next level which would have been amazing. I’m really torn here!

DriveClub VR is currently the only one to offer such an experience in virtual reality. And that saves it from being a total fail. But the feeling of speed and immersion are both damaged by poor graphics and low ambition.

Driveclub VR offers a nice gameplay experience in the most complete package seen in a PSVR game to date. Too bad that most players won’t be able to disregard the low tech graphics and the quite high nausea factor that hits in after 10 minutes of gameplay.

While the game may not be anything near the visual showcase that the original game was for the PS4 itself, Driveclub VR is one game that gives a glimpse at the potential of VR racing and needs to at least be tried by any PSVR owner.

Racing in VR is a thrill, but playing Driveclub again isn’t, which makes Driveclub VR a pretty unenticing offer despite the game housing more content than other VR titles so far.

Driveclub VR retrieves many of the contents included in the "classic" edition, but it would have needed a more careful optimization process, aimed primarily to "restructure" circuits and layouts and to lighten the rendering job. The new development team, instead, cut features and reduced visual enhancements. The result is a "scrambled" and ugly look.

DriveClub VR delivers a thrilling experience, but poor graphics and lack of new content, together with the absence of local multiplayer and the lack of players in the online department, hold it way back from greatness.

DriveClub VR should have been a free update of the original with less content. Many vehicles, each of them state of the art, some new tracks and easy to learn controls so anyone and everyone can drive. But that's it - every other positive aspect of the original is lost along the way, leaving only just an experience or test field.

DriveClub VR has all of the features and functionality of its PS4 forebear, so you're guaranteed quality handling and plenty of content here. But the compromises made to get the virtual reality working strip the racer of its visual prowess, and its poor image quality can make it hard to see. There's no shortage of effort been invested here, but we can't help but wonder whether the rewards were worth all of the evident exertion.

In small doses, I think it does its job of demonstrating the potential of VR racing. The racing genre is perfect for seated VR, and Driveclub VR delivers a functional example of that experience. Unfortunately, that’s really about all it delivers. Beyond that it’s just a pre-existing game with fewer features and graphics that make me feel like I have the vision of a 95-year-old man.

It could have been a perfect VR game (as it’s based on the best racing game PS4 has to offer), but turned out painfully mediocre. Literally painfully, because every time I played it, it gave me a headache after less than an hour. [13/2016, p.78]

Rather than being PlayStation VR’s killer app this updated racer lays bare its limitations in embarrassing fashion, at least until the PS4 Pro comes along.