Driveclub

As it is today, Driveclub is a still a pretty darn compelling package for racing game fans, and an enjoyable and addictive racing experience for PS4 owners. It's worth taking for a test drive at the very least.

Driveclub is a must-have for any PS4 racing fan. It’s ideal for anyone who enjoys a good arcade racer. It’s challenging, but teaches you how to overcome every single one. Because of this, Driveclub is far more rewarding than its peers. This coupled with fantastic graphical fidelity, impressive sound design, and adrenaline-inducing sense of speed makes Driveclub one of the best racing games available on current-gen systems.

An online environment boasting razor-sharp hooks even in its infancy. [Dec 2014, p.77]

While lacking in its core gameplay variety, the endless potential of its online rival club challenges opens up this next gen racer in ways never before seen.

Driveclub is a focused, thrilling racer for players looking to push themselves and compete in all new territory, working up a sweat as its captivating sights and sounds fill your senses.

Driveclub lacks many things and the track design is not always inspired, but it's a fun game with Ridge Racer and Project Gotham vibes in his vein and a compelling Tour and Challenge modes that will engage people for a long time.

DriveClub is one of the greatest racing games we've seen so far on the PlayStation 4. There is a lot of content in the game in both online and offline and the challenges add lots of additional gameplay. The multiplayer experience with your teammates is certainly original in its kind.

The more you play, the better it gets. DriveClub is a great racing experience meant to be played online, so if you want to make the most of it, make sure you go social on PSN.

When you're on the track Driveclub is stunning to behold, but it's held back by a lack of event types. [Christmas 2014, p.74]

A few less serious forms of racing would do a lot to improve to the experience and catapult it into the same realm as the greatest of arcade racers, but what’s on offer represents a commendable attempt at changing the way we think about how competition is served in a racing game.

Driveclub delivers driving fun on gorgeous and expansive maps, offers a variety of ways to race and a bevy of cars to choose from. It won’t satisfy your need for a Gran Turismo-esque experience, but it will certainly bring enjoyment to your racing lives.

A racing arcade game with entertaining driving model which is based on the maximal socialization of gamers through clubs and personal challenges. It is a concept that is working well by itself, and in upcoming months and years it will get better and better.

Right now, those prepared to embrace Driveclub for what it is will find a very accessible, carefully crafted, refreshing speed-over-sim driving experience that often provides fabulous fun.

Going open-world is now a fashion rule for all the racing games, and DriveClub is kind of a rebel from this point of view. But offering only closed tracks is absolutely not a problem here, as the game distinguishes itself with its thrilling sensation of pace. It's true that we'd have appreciated more subtlety in the driving and less rubbish in the collisions but DriveClub is at least accessible to everyone. Visually well-shaped, Evolution Studios' game is lacking a good AI and this little bit of craziness... Fortunately, the players can count on the included online functions to compensate.

More arcade than simulation, Driveclub makes good use of PS4's graphical power and social features without pushing the pedal to the metal.

The parts that are exceedingly well-polished (gorgeous cars, skill-based driving) make those that trip up (ugly A.I.) all the more disappointing. It sets a high bar for the inevitable competitors to follow, but like an inexperienced driver on a hot lap in a solo challenge, it’s sloppy in the turns.

If you like making friends while driving the cars you love, DriveClub is definitely a good choice. It could have more variety and deeper social options, but it deserves a try.

Driveclub tries to differentiate itself from the competition with a lot of elements built around racing. Ironically, the racing itself is the high point of the game, next to the occasionally beautiful graphics and lighting effects. Thanks to weird online restrictions, the club system loses a lot of its charm.

If you like racers, you’ll feel right at home with Driveclub. The game feels like a modern Project Gotham Racing, balancing realism and arcade fun. Weird design choices in the multiplayer keep this title from being a modern classic. Try out the free PlayStation Plus-version to determine if this game is for you.

Driveclub is like the car genre version of Destiny. It’s very focused on community and it will prosper or not under this premise. If there’s interest shown by the community, then we have a game that can endure for several months, but otherwise, the whole effort it will be in vain.

DriveClub is a good arcade racing game with an interesting social side. If you’re looking for a fast and graphically stunning racing game to play with your friends, this could be an interesting option.

The combination of arcade and simulator games feels great on this title making everything just work in the way that it should.

As you finish the Tour and start to take on more and more challenges, Driveclub starts to show its true colours. It may be difficult for some to adapt to in an age where racers sprawl across open worlds featuring hundreds of cars and tons of tracks, but this is a game with a very singular focus.

It really is a great game; it just feels a bit unfinished in the car selection and customization fields. Racing fans should really check it out. I just hope you like European cars.

Driveclub isn't necessarily the innovative or revolutionary game that we were expecting, but that doesn't make it a bad racer. Far from it.

It's a game whose appeal lives and dies in its online time trials and sensational visuals, and whose sense of one-upmanship and competition is leaps above the rest of the pack.

While too simplified to be a sim and too serious to be an arcade racer, Driveclub's online integration, beautiful environments and accessible handling make for a great new-gen racing package.

That said, the tentacles of Driveclub can grip tight if you get invested in the game’s asynchronous challenges, and it’s very much geared around encouraging us to hop online and compete by making it so easy.

Driveclub’s controls are brilliant and the single-player mode is fine but the online aspect is a joke and the whole Club thing has little to no bearing on the gameplay. Its problems might be fixed in the future but it's definitely not the best racing game of the fall in its current state.

DriveClub works as advertised, and despite the seamlessness of its single-player and online features, the game's not wildly more captivating than most other racers out there.

It sounds better than it looks, but it's an accessible experience. [Issue#250, p.52]

An absolutely beautiful arcade racing game, but the inside doesn't do justice to its pretty shell. Although the career is repetitive the biggest game destroyer is pretty much the hideous AI, which is more from the Destructive Derby than from an enjoyable arcade title. [Nov 2014]

Driveclub isn't exactly a triumph but it's a polished, very entertaining game that delivers an adrenaline-filled good time.

A visual feast that won't sate you if you if you're a sim-leaning soloist. Offers social, arcade fun in spades, however. [December 2014, p68]

If you can look past the inconsistencies, DriveClub is a great racer.

A cool racing game with rich multiplayer options. There's a lot of content, good car mechanics and challenges. However there is no modification option and the number of cars and circuits fall short of expectations.

Sony's attempt to compete against similar offerings in the market. Driveclub is so visually driven that it looks like they forgot about all the other features people love about driving games.

If anything, one could describe DriveClub as inconsistent. Issues with required connectivity, sub-par A.I, a fairly shallow career mode and a lack of depth where the cars are concerned hold DriveClub back from being the sort of big-hit exclusive title that the PlayStation 4 will be remembered for in future. However, some great ideas and great handling cars keep the racing and challenges surrounding your friends interesting and fun… as long as you stay connected to the servers.

DriveClub is a great racing experience which includes enough content, both single-player and social, to keep fans of the genre occupied for months, especially if they are determined to always be better than their friends.

DriveClub gives you the chance to challenge players in an amazing visual atmosphere. It's a pity that the lack of gameplay variety and customization are such a burden for a game that could have been much better than what it actually is.

The highly competitive (and sometimes highly unfair...) A.I. will make you want to bang your head against the nearest wall, but this game truly shines when you play with friends, create a Club and start enjoying online this beautiful racing world Evolution Studios has created.

It's a fun and engaging arcade racer, but the focus on the social activities isn't supported well enough by a rich infrastructure. Surely, there's potential, and DLCs will strengthen the offerings, but right now the fun definitely ends too soon.

So racing fans who are not looking for a sim racer, but are wanting a robust driving game to compete with friends against, should give this one a spin.

Driveclub is fast and easy to get into, nice to look at, and it has a lot going on in the background to keep you connected and competitive with your club members and other individuals. But that doesn't change the issues in the foreground. Its approachable and enjoyable racing is marred by AI cars that love to unfairly bash and crash on the single-player side. And bugs with the interface and the networking kept me from fully enjoying the multiplayer side.

DriveClub doesn't have any one element that makes it an incredible game or a huge leap forward for the racing genre, but it makes some smart choices underneath top-of-the-line presentation. And in embracing a social media-influenced setup to build enjoyable asynchronous multiplayer, it teaches a few important lessons other developers should learn from.

A technically proficient racer with a social side that can be fun. But overall it lacks some things that make racing games great, especially ones that insist on arcade style progression. Hardcore racing fans will be pleased by the bevy of cars available and may enjoy creating a club with their friends, but players like me won’t be converted due to the lack of customization and/or arcade style gameplay.

The sense of speed offered by Driveclub reminded me of the brilliant first GRID and I was having a lot of fun until I realized that cars are indestructible. Whether you stroke a wooden fence or smash into another vehicle at 300 km/h your car drives exactly the same afterwards. [Dec 2014, p.66]

The singleplayer is certainly enjoyable, but the online races are the biggest treat. It's a shame this aspect of the game still isn't working as was originally intended.

For all its successes, the fact remains that even after significant delays, what's been delivered is far from finished. [Dec 2014, p.110]

DriveClub’s balanced physics and impressive presentation make for an all-around excellent racer, even if there’s still a lot of room for Evolution Studios to expand and improve upon. However, the overly aggressive AI and archaic progression system may deter non-racing fans, while the ongoing online issues remain infuriating.

Driveclub is incredibly well put together but slightly bland, and is hampered by a lack of distinct personality.

If you don’t have PS+, then definitely wait for it to hit $20 or so since this is going to be a love it or hate it kind of experience.

Driveclub is a fun racing game that takes a little getting used to but lacks some of the options I would have expected from a modern racing game.

DriveClub is an authentic racing game, with engaging social aspects and beautiful graphics. It, however, severely lacks personality and might become stale after a while.

Racing fans will undoubtedly have fun with it for at least a little while.

PS4's first exclusive racing game offers a fresh experience, but doesn't do anything new and has a limited amount of content.

DriveClub could have been just an average racer if it didn't offer all these excellent community features. The whole point of the game is here, and that's a good one.

Even understanding the length it took to create this many, 50 vehicles just doesn’t offer the same variety as competing racing titles do. Considering most people find a handful of particular vehicles they want to continually race with, this may not affect most players, but a wider variety would allow a larger share of players to find just their ideal ride.

After a slow start Driveclub really opens things up and the feeling of ”just one more time” is never far away. Evolution Studios has managed to make a game that is as fun as it is good looking. Unfortunately, the lack of content is a bit disturbing.

A great multiplayer racer, but quite dreary as a single-player game, DriveClub feels like it needed more time in development to polish out its dings and flaws.

It really feels as if DriveClub shot itself in the foot by even suggesting that it was on the same level as other simulation racers out there. It’s more of a hybrid arcade/sim style game that just doesn’t have the chops to compete highly on one side or another.

The dearth of content and poorly implemented online systems make Driveclub feel incomplete. Coupled with the fact that PlayStation Plus members get a reduced-content, but fully featured, version of the game with their subscriptions, there’s little reason to buy the full game.

Perhaps the only area where Evolution Studios has not deceived players is the graphics. Attention to automobile details is on the crazy level, and manifested thoroughness for design of salons needs a standing ovation too. At an average speed under 160 km/h and taking into account the sinuosity of local trails one can’t afford to feast of surrounding area beauty but even the catchable details are definitely nice. [Nov 2014, p.108]

While the racing is good, the game itself is sterile and lacks surprises. The high expectations weren't met. [Issue#246]

We gave it time, but it still isn't the game we'd hoped for. It may get there one day, just not right now.

DriveClub is not an awful game but feel free to skip this one as you’re not missing much.

Even though it has its qualities, ultimately, the just above-average DriveClub isn't worthy of the team that kick-started racing games on the PS3 so spectacularly.

DriveClub is very pretty but full of contradictions and some design flaws. If you focus on multiplayer, you should give it a chance but remember: a quite unpleasant single player mode is unavoidable. The AI drives perfectly and therefore kills all the fun - until this issue is fixed, DriveClub remains a game for the most patient car lovers.

It won’t blow your socks off mechanically, but people looking to just pick a car and drive in an exotic location without any complications will find fun here, it’s just a huge shame that Driveclub could have done with more work before being released in its the current state.

For now Driveclub is a distinctly mixed experience; skeletal in some aspects, but breathtakingly complete in others.

Right now what you’ve got with Driveclub is a grand single-player game with a set of demanding challenges on lovely tracks using distinct cars with uniquely appealing driving models. In other words, you’ve got the latest game from Evolution Studios, and a worthy successor to the games they’ve been making in the Motorstorm franchise, but one that has almost none of the online features that were intended to give it its indentity. What you don’t have is the game they intended to make or any meaningful ETA as to when that game will be ready.

Driveclub’s social features help elevate an otherwise unexceptional racer, but the dearth of content and some curious design choices keep it from rising too high.

Beautiful and very nicely presented, but at the same time very shallow and frustrating.

There's plenty to admire here, though, if you take Driveclub at face value and don't take things too seriously.

Driveclub is a well-made, sometimes irritating juxtaposition of the old and new.

What we're left with is a flimsy framework - a sort of clothes horse for content - rather than a truly great racing game.

Amazing audio, good looks, very average gameplay. [Issue#255, p.70]

Given the game outlay plus the cost to play online, what’s unavailable is shocking. The community will have moved on before it’s sorted. For that reason, and everything underlying it, what we have here is a potentially excellent game dragged down to the level of the mud you race in.

There are too many dings on the chassis, from the constant inability to activate promised features and occasionally glitchy effects of current and standard modes.

With Evolution's pedigree in mind this is not the racer every PS4-fan was hoping for. The challenge system provides a good amount of fun and motivation but in terms of general content, it leaves a lot to be desired.

A game that should probably have been cancelled rather than delayed, with its complete absence of personality or new ideas.

Though nothing in Driveclub is inherently broken, its forced combination of clean racing and horrible AI have the potential to frustrate players more than any minor glitch could. Add this to the lack of any meaningful customization options and missing weather system, and you have the makings of a disappointment.

Driveclub is ordinary menus and ordinary races, standard time trials, and a few drift events. Driveclub is bland social competition. Driveclub is the fear of risks and the embrace of the ordinary.