Project CARS

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 460 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 239 out of 460
  2. Mixed: 117 out of 460
  3. Negative: 104 out of 460
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. theBluePeanut
    May 26, 2015
    3
    Having bought the game yesterday, I installed, only to find everything except the quick race option was locked. This is apparently a very common problem- the game or last patch needs to be deleted and reinstalled then the console must be restarted. So, off to a great start there. It has also crashed 5 times in the last 3 hours I've played it (my PS4 has never crashed until today) so notHaving bought the game yesterday, I installed, only to find everything except the quick race option was locked. This is apparently a very common problem- the game or last patch needs to be deleted and reinstalled then the console must be restarted. So, off to a great start there. It has also crashed 5 times in the last 3 hours I've played it (my PS4 has never crashed until today) so not good there either.

    Once you get playing though, the graphics are great, and some of the detail is amazing- especially on the car interiors. However, playing with a standard controller, the game doesn't feel 'realistic' at all. I know cars don't use thumb sticks but I found my tyres cooling down during a burnout and I had more grip on a wet track (3 secs off my old lap record??). Also the collisions are awful, the impact angles don't seem to have any bearing on the outcome and the 'damage' is bordering on random it seems.

    The tyre model is apparently the most realistic ever, but the model appears to be based on ridiculously cheap tyres- low grip and low wear. This improves with the higher performance cars though.

    The handling is good, although not as realistic they suggest- FWD cars are horrible too. I admit to never driving a Focus ST, but if it handled like that a lot of people would have died, it's like a blancmange on ice. Again, the higher performance cars seem better.

    One of my 2 major issues though is that there's no real sense of progress. Sure driving is fun, but I have a car for that. I want to win something, achieve things in the game. An invite to drive an old Caterham isn't enough. It's too much of a sim, and as such lacks completely in fun. The option to start at the top seems great but I get the impression it's only there so less people notice how badly they've recreated the slower cars.

    The other major issue is that there are some simple little issues which should never make it past alpha testing, yet have. The default option on every screen seems to be 'Exit' or 'Abandon Season' or 'Don't save progress' which means if you're not 100% paying attention, you can say goodbye to any record of that 24 hour race you just won vs your mates, as the game suggests for you to do. Also you must have certain keybinds, like gear shifts (I drive auto in real life so do on games too) which limits your options for other things. If you want to drive a 'Formula A' car (F1) then you can use DRS...but not without manually changing the keybinds away from something useful like 'camera up'.

    All in all, the game feels like a uni project rather than the blockbuster racing game we're told it is. Buggy, poorly thought out and in some places just plain bodged, the pretty graphics don't make up for all the issues. If I want a hyper-realistic driving experience on cold tyres that looks visually stunning and sounds amazing, I'll pop outside and drive my real car. I'd also hope not to crash every 30-45 mins like the game too...    … Expand
  2. Skw1981
    May 28, 2015
    1
    10 Rating???? (That mean perfect Which it is not by a long way.
    Crowd funded,More the hype the more profit each of them make(Be careful of rating with this one)
    The game has bugs and gets boring very fast with No car designing and No online points Leaderboards being 1st to getting a podium is actually pointless it goes nowhere.After 30 hours 300+career races/50 online im no longer    10 Rating???? (That mean perfect Which it is not by a long way.
    Crowd funded,More the hype the more profit each of them make(Be careful of rating with this one)
    The game has bugs and gets boring very fast with No car designing and No online points Leaderboards being 1st to getting a podium is actually pointless it goes nowhere.After 30 hours 300+career races/50 online im no longer interested in it.
    Rated it 1 because the hype pi_sed me off. Project cars,ps4    … Expand
  3. Ebarnes7
    Jul 7, 2015
    2
    This Game is a terrible car game in my opinion, whatever race you are in unless you push to the limit and break at the latest possible point, there isn't a way of passing the other racers.
    All racers have no awareness of what is going on around, fair enough it's a race where you will get nudges off other drivers and you will do the same no doubt but you get hit from all directors, you go    This Game is a terrible car game in my opinion, whatever race you are in unless you push to the limit and break at the latest possible point, there isn't a way of passing the other racers.
    All racers have no awareness of what is going on around, fair enough it's a race where you will get nudges off other drivers and you will do the same no doubt but you get hit from all directors, you go around a corner sensibly and 2 cars will hit you on either side, this will send you spinning.
    This game is a rival to Forza Motorsport as far as I am concerned, and in my opinion, get an Xbox and buy Forza 6 when it is released, because this game is absolutely terrible.
    I saw the trailer and thought, yeah that looks good for the next gen console and for it to be the first racing game it looked very well made, but if you've played Forza you'll know, the competitiveness of the game, the gameplay, the graphics, the controls.....the lot are superb, but this just isn't.
    The steering on this is outrageously horrible, the breaking is terrible, and when you change the transmission from auto to manual you won't fail to notice, once the revs hit the red the car doesn't just Rev constantly, the car changes up a gear, if I'm not mistaken, that's auto still?
    With this game you don't feel in control, you do with Forza!
    With this game you feel your playing a game, with Forza you feel like your actually in a race, it is made so well!
    I think the only decent thing with this game is the weather graphics, the sun reflects beautifully off the track surface and the rain is just remarkable, but weather doesn't just make a game.
    I really do believe that they need to rethink this game, and take their time with updating this, as much as possible!    … Expand
  4. kaldow
    May 24, 2015
    4
    From a graphical perspective certainly the best racing game on the PS4 so far. However the career mode is not transparent, frustrating and boring. The next racing game for the PS4 that will end up in my board not being used anymore. Again I will reactive my PS3 and continue with Gran Turismo.
  5. Injun
    Sep 15, 2015
    4
    I had high hopes for this game only for it to have some major game breaking bugs. I bought Pcars on release and I have held back on my review to give Slightly Mad Studios a chance to rectify the bugs that they've been promising.

    This game should have been great and nearly pulls it off. I have persevered with it and after putting in 100 hours I can't take anymore. Graphics are good,    I had high hopes for this game only for it to have some major game breaking bugs. I bought Pcars on release and I have held back on my review to give Slightly Mad Studios a chance to rectify the bugs that they've been promising.

    This game should have been great and nearly pulls it off. I have persevered with it and after putting in 100 hours I can't take anymore. Graphics are good, sound good, presentation and UI is poor.

    Oh where to start.....well there are a lot of crashes to PS4 home screen or worse restarts the PS4, which I can't see is any good for it. I've lost count how many times Pcars crashes the PS4. It's the most crashy console game I have ever played! You'll want to commit suicide when the game crashes after doing 23 hours of Le Mans 24 hour!

    In career mode tuning setups are frequently lost between sessions (practice, qualifying) and you'll spend more time setting your car up, re-doing unsaved setups and force feedback settings, if you have a wheel, than actually driving.

    The AI drivers frequently cheat, smash you off the track and go faster off track than you can on track. They never crash out of a race or retire even though the chance of that happening to you is high as this is a racing sim as advertised but the AI aren't very well simulated.

    Multiplayer is just a demolition derby most of the time as penalties/ flags are non existent for bad driving but you'll get a penalty for someone smashing you off the track!....great!

    Don't dare complain on the official forum as you'll get abused and shouted down by SMS, head of studio Ian Bell and the rest of the brown-nosers that are the WMD community.
    To top it all off SMS started working on Pcars2 a few months ago when Pcars1 is in a shocking excuse of a game!    … Expand
  6. GmoBarrientos
    Aug 23, 2016
    4
    Its a "good game" with good graphics ....but the lack of sense of progression, undfendly menus, bad music (music sometimes souds more like a survival horror more than a racing game!), bad controls (with some cars works fine but with others simply seems broken) and bad IA (OK, is good to be unpredictible and agressive but is too agressive) and a lot of bugs ...saddly, ruins the experiencieIts a "good game" with good graphics ....but the lack of sense of progression, undfendly menus, bad music (music sometimes souds more like a survival horror more than a racing game!), bad controls (with some cars works fine but with others simply seems broken) and bad IA (OK, is good to be unpredictible and agressive but is too agressive) and a lot of bugs ...saddly, ruins the experiencie . Its a shame because with some adjust, better menus and better campaign modes, this games could be great.....but the true is, in the actual state, is more like some experiment or betta version of good game...… Expand
  7. Fricke88
    Sep 4, 2015
    1
    If you're looking for a racing game where the laws of physics inconsistent with every car, and where you need to spend hours in order to find the optimal controll settings for each car, then go ahead. For every other individual who's just looking for a good sim racer, look elsewhere (Forza). This game tries to be all fancy with graphics and interface, but game play wise it's a mess.If you're looking for a racing game where the laws of physics inconsistent with every car, and where you need to spend hours in order to find the optimal controll settings for each car, then go ahead. For every other individual who's just looking for a good sim racer, look elsewhere (Forza). This game tries to be all fancy with graphics and interface, but game play wise it's a mess. Controlls suck if you play with a pad.… Expand
  8. GameRogue
    May 7, 2016
    0
    It is not a game. This title should never have been released on a games console. Games are designed to entertain this so called game will leave any new user baffled as to how it works, there is no explanation in the control settings menu as to how any of the sliders effect control its just blank. It’s as though you are required to know how every detail of a car works before you play.It is not a game. This title should never have been released on a games console. Games are designed to entertain this so called game will leave any new user baffled as to how it works, there is no explanation in the control settings menu as to how any of the sliders effect control its just blank. It’s as though you are required to know how every detail of a car works before you play. Driving in a straight line using the default controls is a technical impossibility. Attempt to turn right then left for example at an apex and the weight shifts so violently the car will instantly slide in the opposite direction. Fans will say the controls must be tweaked to suit your playing style. As a new user I don’t have one yet and the lack of assistance or any sort of guidance as to what to tweak and how my tweaks effect gameplay is frustrating. As there is no in game modification of controls I must suffer through constant loading screens to tweak controls then more loading screens to see the effect. After attempting to play the game for the past week and trawling through forums for a user friendly control setup I have yet to complete a race. In terms of graphics, benchmark it against the much cheaper driveclub and you will see just how bad a pc to console port can be when compared to a console build. The damage is technically ok and trust me you will experience this first hand on your first corner however it’s a generation behind. The cracks in the windows look like they have been created in ms paint. The textures are straight out of playstation 2 development kit guide. The physics may be sim but it certainly doesn’t look or feel like how you would expect a car to act, unless you’re playing with some sort of steering rig the physics do not respond controller gestures as you would expect. For example you would expect a RWD BMW’s wheels to spin smoothly when throttled aggressively with no traction control or anti spin assists instead they jitter and catch grip un expectedly. When I’m in a 500+hp BMW I expect the engine to overpower the tire treads not to somehow catch grip of something and be launched forward for one frame and loose grip in the next. A sign something is very wrong with the physics is when doing doughnut’s in a RWD car you would expect the back end to spin around out wildly and outpace the front, yet somehow this sim offers a very controlled almost locked in turning circle with the rear wheels spinning but as if on tracks. Some may say it’s not sim to do doughnut’s on a track which is fine but as a sim I fully expected the physics would allow it yet they don’t making the physics very unrealistic for a claimed simulator. Overall project cars lacks any sort of fun, it’s an infuriating grind to accomplish any sort of victory which is rendered hollow by the fact that the time and energy spent could have been used carving out a real racing career and I could almost guarantee it would be far easier.… Expand
  9. roundtablegamer
    Sep 15, 2016
    3
    Project Cars is a game that puts you right in the driver’s seat through a very generic career mode. Slightly Mad Studios brings us Project Cars, a simulator racing game that is the farthest thing away from being fun.
    The main attraction is the career mode that turns out to be very bland in all aspects. You start off racing go-karts with a company you sign with at the beginning of your    Project Cars is a game that puts you right in the driver’s seat through a very generic career mode. Slightly Mad Studios brings us Project Cars, a simulator racing game that is the farthest thing away from being fun.
    The main attraction is the career mode that turns out to be very bland in all aspects. You start off racing go-karts with a company you sign with at the beginning of your career, as you win races better offers will come from different companies in a new kind of racing. As you progress through the career mode you realize that there is no variety in this game whatsoever: you go into a race to qualify, compete in a sprint race and then the final race of that event, the person with the most points win the event. The only varieties within the game are the cars; the tracks do not change, and lack any setting change. I was hoping to be driving along some nice European mountains, through the inner cities of Japan, but that is not the – it is the same tracks over and over again.

    Project Cars is a game that is not worth the time or the headache, it is nothing but a very big bore. With the lack of modes except for the Career mode and lack of tracks Project Cars is not even worth renting.

    Project Cars: 3/10
    Would not recommend.
    Reviewed by Ice at Gamers of The Round Table.    … Expand
  10. CopperySinger5
    Sep 11, 2015
    0
    This game wants to be good but, lack of support and content, makes it beta at best. I hear they are celebrating the announcement of project cars 2 already, well this review is for project cars 1. it is appalling to see so much concentration on a sequel when there is so much left to be done with this new game. 0 for this insulting game. I suggest to stay away from project cars because IThis game wants to be good but, lack of support and content, makes it beta at best. I hear they are celebrating the announcement of project cars 2 already, well this review is for project cars 1. it is appalling to see so much concentration on a sequel when there is so much left to be done with this new game. 0 for this insulting game. I suggest to stay away from project cars because I feel it is overhyped unfinished and abandoned by the developers. unless they make some serious game improvements before they release the sequel… Expand
  11. pablo2008jedi
    May 22, 2015
    1
    The game is great, when it works! By that I mean, turning off tyre wear etc.. and only having dry races. There are some bugs that prevent me from playing the game as I thought it would be.

    This has the potential to be one of the greatest racers out there, but for now it feels almost like a Beta, or early access.
  12. motoracinerd2
    May 14, 2015
    2
    The Good - After figuring out the settings and all of the options...the game worked beautifully. I loved how I could personalize everything to fit my personal liking. I also liked that there are so many options for picking what difficulty level you wanted to play with. The amount of different racing forms was also pretty cool. Graphics were good, but not as good as I thought they'd be.The Good - After figuring out the settings and all of the options...the game worked beautifully. I loved how I could personalize everything to fit my personal liking. I also liked that there are so many options for picking what difficulty level you wanted to play with. The amount of different racing forms was also pretty cool. Graphics were good, but not as good as I thought they'd be. And sound was good.

    The Bad - Glitches. I was sent spinning off the track during a rolling start when the CPU controlled my car. The game froze on the last corner in another race, (a race I was leading). Moving up in career mode, and getting contracts isn't as easy as they make it seem. Spent three years in Karts waiting for a contract to a higher series. Menu is a little confusing, but not terrible. (This is nitpicking), but wish I could've picked a helmet and fire suit.

    The Ugly - If it weren't for what I'm about to say, this game would be a 7. But my game doesn't work anymore after about 7 hours of gameplay. When I press the gas (with my TS300 wheel or gamepad) the car doesn't respond. I can change gears, turn the wheel, rev the engine...BUT THE CAR WON'T GO!!! Not sure what happened, but a game can't be any good if it doesn't work. I'm pretty pissed about this because I traded in all my other racing games for this game, and after one day of play...it's toast.

    Final Verdict - This game had great promise, and maybe it can still live up to some with major patch work. They should've delayed it another year to get it right. I'll be looking forward to the F1 2015 release next month...I may even trade this game in for it. Right now, I feel like I've been robbed of $60.    … Expand
  13. DreamCore
    May 17, 2015
    0
    The physics in this game is the worst i've seen in a car game for a long time. I don't understand how this passed quality assurance. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this game. If you want a more realistic game your're better of bying Need for Speed or some other arcade racing game because this game is a joke.
  14. shianghorng
    Sep 19, 2015
    0
    The worst PS4 title to date. No where close to being the best car simulator, Gran Turismo 6. Controls are all over the place with user unfriendly menus and submenus.
  15. fashion_police
    Jun 1, 2017
    0
    There are way too many bugs for the game to be deserving of a 1. Some are more game-breaking than others, such as when two cars get stuck together when they barely touch, but ultimately all are incredibly annoying and make the game unenjoyable.
  16. FrenchToast
    Aug 10, 2020
    3
    Game is unplayable due to broken controls. I looked online for optimal controller setup and it still has this bizarre input lag, can barely drive in a straight line. Deleted the game 30 minutes after downloading.
  17. aguarner11
    May 16, 2016
    2
    There is nothing special about this game. It's just another racing game with slightly improved graphics. I was (and I think a lot of people too) too much hyped about this one. We should have expected this lame game.
  18. mysteryx
    Nov 23, 2017
    0
    Unfinished game full of bugs, for now unplayable! Instead of fixing it, they get out of dlc that looks like a gossip! I'm really disappointed with this behavior.
  19. Jaco2201
    Jan 8, 2017
    2
    As other said, graphics is only positive thing in this game. But once you turn off every "magic drive and no damage" things and if you want to fully control car, game crushes as crazy. Physics is so unrealistic that can be frustrating. For example if you follow one car, same speed, same corner and you drive 50km/h behind this car, your car will be blown away from truck like crazy. SameAs other said, graphics is only positive thing in this game. But once you turn off every "magic drive and no damage" things and if you want to fully control car, game crushes as crazy. Physics is so unrealistic that can be frustrating. For example if you follow one car, same speed, same corner and you drive 50km/h behind this car, your car will be blown away from truck like crazy. Same corner, your driving style and speed of 120 km/h and it goes nice and without any mistakes. Third lap, same corner, tried speed of 30 km/h and you are off. I don't want to play whit every possible assistant I can have, I want to play racing game with full control without any problems.… Expand
  20. Zealar
    Aug 11, 2017
    0
    The game doesn't deserve more than a 0 for me because it literally doesn't work. Whenever I get into a online lobby I get a notification that I got "removed" by the system. It only happens in the game and for two months I have not managed to play the game. I tried to solve it but nothing works. I don't recommend this game.
  21. pedroleao
    Apr 19, 2021
    2
    I played this game for 1 hour, and i got the conclusion that is the worst racing game i've ever played, bad gameplay, ok graphics.
  22. BaraaKLF992
    Feb 19, 2021
    2
    Unplayable..
    I have been a gamer for 20 years.. Yet I habe never seen a game as terrible! The AI is straight up cheating.. The menu choices and the way they appear afer a rav is stupid..
    You finish a race first then you get the enu of continue.. Restart or exit and for some reason the selection is always on restart or exit so that if you press X immediately you may restar the whole damn    Unplayable..
    I have been a gamer for 20 years.. Yet I habe never seen a game as terrible! The AI is straight up cheating.. The menu choices and the way they appear afer a rav is stupid..
    You finish a race first then you get the enu of continue.. Restart or exit and for some reason the selection is always on restart or exit so that if you press X immediately you may restar the whole damn thing.
    The cars spin on their own.. I restarted that one race for more than 10 times and it's just obvious that they don't want me to win it.. Everytime the car spms in the same straight line for absolutely no reason!!
    I habe never had a wors experience in my life.. Not to mention tht I once finished a race in lat place yet for some reason I won it afterwards..
    Overall I don't advise anyone to buy this piece of crap.. I boght it along with PC2 for about 20$ from the PS store in a discount and I really feel cheated and I totally regret buying them.. If only I could get a refund..    … Expand
  23. Janez1
    Apr 25, 2021
    0
    Controls assignment menu doesn't accept 20 button PS4 controller. This bug make the game useless.

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best PS4 Game of 2015
40
#40 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
29
#29 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Games Master UK
    Aug 5, 2015
    90
    By ignoring the rulebook, this newcomer has made itself a contender for racing sim royalty. [Aug 2015, p.66]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    Bugs aside, a tremendous and uncompromising simulation of a kind we may not have seen previously on consoles. [July 2015, p.89]
  3. Play UK
    Jun 27, 2015
    60
    Graphically stunning, dynamically awesome, aurally beautiful. This is what Project Cars could have been if pest control had done a better job exterminating those pesky bugs. [Issue#258, p.66]
See all critic reviews »