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
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  1. Hadez
    Jun 6, 2015
    5
    The main positive is the graphics quality during gameplay, very detailed and the lighting works well however it lacks in the design creative leaving the world and the cars boring to look at. The main problem with the game is the menu interface, career mode play and in play glitches.

    First. The menu interface is a joke. There is no rhyme or reason, all menus look different from each    The main positive is the graphics quality during gameplay, very detailed and the lighting works well however it lacks in the design creative leaving the world and the cars boring to look at. The main problem with the game is the menu interface, career mode play and in play glitches.

    First. The menu interface is a joke. There is no rhyme or reason, all menus look different from each other and are not clear in their functionality, sometimes when you finish a race the cursor might default to "continue" or " restart" so if your not paying attention you may restart the race by accident with no " are you sure message". Also there is no menu option to change controller options while in a saved career, or maybe there is and I just haven't been able to find it in the menu mess you hav created.

    Second. Career mode ! Now I don't know how long it will take me to progress from Kart mode to the next level but there is no end in sight. Day after day the calendar ticks over to more and more kart races. I am currently racing a kart round but can see GT3 rounds on days before me on the calendar. Are these races I am missing or need to somehow gain an invetation to ? Even when I get an invitation message there are no invitations in my email, just comments on my performance. Bored now !

    Third. Glitches. When starting a race you can naturally hear the cars around you and then you rev your own and the sound is loud and glorious but I have started two races now where my car or kart should I say has the same decibel level as the cars around me and on other car on the grid is loud as mine should be. This makes the race **** ! Also sometimes when you finish a race the cursor defaults to restart instead of continue which can cause you to accidentally restart and lose a great performance....

    I think a 5 is generous. But with a little attention to the basics in game design and this could have easily been an 8,    … Expand
  2. ducini
    May 19, 2015
    5
    After finding the last GT disappointing I was eager to play Project Cars after watching several video's online depicting close, respectful racing that was beautifully rendered. Project cars is certainly a visual treat however its also a game that left me felling disappointed. There is a novelty to having every race type unlocked in career mode and allowing you to choose where to start,After finding the last GT disappointing I was eager to play Project Cars after watching several video's online depicting close, respectful racing that was beautifully rendered. Project cars is certainly a visual treat however its also a game that left me felling disappointed. There is a novelty to having every race type unlocked in career mode and allowing you to choose where to start, however herein lies a problem I had with the game; where was the sense of achievement. Racing is well simulated and after completing the Clio cup I thought "That's nice" but I was left with no challenge or sense of achievement. There is nothing to make we want to plough hours into the game to unlock better cars, upgrade, pitstop strategies, tracks; it's all there right out of the box. So I tuned my attention to the online aspect hoping for the close wheel to wheel racing that had been in the online video from the development stages. Instead I was met with players who just ram into you causing you to spin out or become damaged. Where was the respectful racing portrayed online? So after a week my copy went on eBay and I cut my loses. A beautiful game. Yes. A great idea being crowd funded and developed. Yes. However ultimately its just gets a bit dull with no achievement structure to keep you devoted to Career mode and frustrating racers online who think they are playing demolition derby.… Expand
  3. robinzvak
    Sep 17, 2015
    7
    I havent got steering wheel and pedals, without this accessories im not recommended this game. If you are casual driver player im not recommended too.
  4. ahussainn98
    Jun 3, 2015
    6
    Very well made driving sim. Not an arcade game at all. Hard to master because of that. But polished and rewarding. Good verity of cars and locations good online mode ect. Few bugs, and great visuals and sound design. Great.

    adel hussain
  5. Icey
    May 10, 2016
    5
    Great graphics but disappointing overall. AI makes barely any mistakes, yellow flags don't exist & it's basically a procession until the end. Boring for what is supposedly a sim
  6. reaper6661978
    Jun 20, 2015
    6
    I think they should put a Mechanic / Pit crew simulator in the game to reach out to all aspects of the racing world. Actual changing of tires with the pointer and lug-nut, same with changing worn or damaged parts. This game would get a 10 from me if these options were avalilable.
  7. iawra
    May 19, 2015
    5
    Graphics:
    My first impression was that the image is blurry, I own a high definition 500hz LED TV and I'm used to crystal clear pictures, and after customizing the video setting from both: game and TV, the picture still blurry. Project Cars is supposed to shine at this field, and it doesn't. And I'm not talking about the bug on reply camera which is out of focus sometimes.
    Physics: I'm    Graphics:
    My first impression was that the image is blurry, I own a high definition 500hz LED TV and I'm used to crystal clear pictures, and after customizing the video setting from both: game and TV, the picture still blurry. Project Cars is supposed to shine at this field, and it doesn't. And I'm not talking about the bug on reply camera which is out of focus sometimes.

    Physics:
    I'm a hard sim fan, I have a playseat, wheel, clutch and H shifter. All I have to say about physics is that the game feels more as an arcade than a sim. There is no connection to the road, driving with or without abs doesn't make much of a difference in dry conditons. Damage system is weak, when you crash it doesn't feel like a crash at all... Forcefeel mapping for certain tracks is dull. Overall conclusion is that physics are great for an arcade, and just avarage dor a sim.

    Other:
    Content is poor, but this has room to improve with DLCs. Most tracks aren't laser scanned, which feels just dull after driving on nordschleife Assetto Corsa. AI is decent and MP is promising. And weather physics are almost excellent.    … Expand
  8. hostaman
    May 29, 2015
    7
    Anyone giving this game 0 is an idiot, but anyone giving 10 is turning a blind eye to its' many faults and missed opportunities.

    The driving simulation is possibly the best of any racer I've played. For the sheer weight and feel of a car it beats GT by a long way. On this aspect alone the game would score an easy 10. The driving is tricky and requires skill and patience, with each car    Anyone giving this game 0 is an idiot, but anyone giving 10 is turning a blind eye to its' many faults and missed opportunities.

    The driving simulation is possibly the best of any racer I've played. For the sheer weight and feel of a car it beats GT by a long way. On this aspect alone the game would score an easy 10. The driving is tricky and requires skill and patience, with each car handling very differently. This is not a game for the casual arcade racer.

    Unfortunately the game fails in all other areas. I found the career mode really dull. There are no rewards or unlocks and the races are really easy, unless you manually adjust the AI to make it more difficult to win. A strange choice. Much as the vaunted "Freedom" may have sounded good, it provides no incentive to progress, and allows rookies to jump straight into the most difficult multiplayer and wreck others races.

    It's multiplayer where the game both shines and provides the greatest let down. If you manage to find a "clean" race with a sensible qualification period and lap count, the game is an absolute blast. Unfortunately you'll mostly be playing public games which are like the wild west and filled with trolls. While this is no fault of Slightly Mad Studios, they have provided no features in Multiplayer to punish bad players. When you're punted off the track or rear ended by a troll, it's most often you that will be punished for corner cutting. The lack of penalties for trolls can be rage inducing.

    Add to this the lack of cars (almost no Japanese cars is very disappointing), slow menu loading (with no egg timer to show that anything is happening) MP joining bugs and crashes (5 or so in a week) a potentially awesome game ends as just ok. A missed opportunity.    … Expand
  9. mearlam
    May 13, 2015
    6
    I tried to like this game but for me it is just not very exciting, it felt like a grind from the very beginning.

    I should have really expected it given it is a "sim" but I am not sure that means there should be no fun in the game. I started with karts and found the handling bad; I changed career and tried another few and they were just as bad. Lots of people are saying the handling    I tried to like this game but for me it is just not very exciting, it felt like a grind from the very beginning.

    I should have really expected it given it is a "sim" but I am not sure that means there should be no fun in the game. I started with karts and found the handling bad; I changed career and tried another few and they were just as bad.

    Lots of people are saying the handling is realistic but given it is very hard to control a normal car going around a corner at 60mph I am not sure, driving a real car is easier at that level.

    If you are after a sim racing game where you practice over and over, qualify over and over and then race then you are in for a good time. If you are like me and get bored with a track quickly then this probably isn't for you.

    I should say I did not try this game with a wheel and I would have liked to but the wheel options for ps4 is an £80 with no feedback or a £270 one with...no thanks.

    Pros:

    * Lots to do
    * Cars look nice

    Cons:

    * handling is poor/difficult with a controller
    * standard graphics in the day time on a normal track is bland
    * not a lot of atmosphere    … Expand
  10. HenriqueV
    Aug 1, 2015
    7
    In may ways Project Cars is the game I was expecting for years, but its also disappointing in many ways.

    First you should know is this not a racing game about tuning, customizing, getting an engine boost, improving XP and other poorly implemented RPG elements. Its a game about racing. You can drive any car you want, in any track you want. If you want to drive a McLaren in you first    In may ways Project Cars is the game I was expecting for years, but its also disappointing in many ways.

    First you should know is this not a racing game about tuning, customizing, getting an engine boost, improving XP and other poorly implemented RPG elements. Its a game about racing. You can drive any car you want, in any track you want. If you want to drive a McLaren in you first race, you can.

    This approach was a hit for me, since I never thought its fair to pay full price for a racing game where most of its cars and game modes are locked from the beginning.

    Cars available will satisfy most of the racing fans, from 70s F1 cars to McLaren P1 super sport car. But to be honest the list is not long as you would expect and desire. To other side, the amount of tracks available will put to shame most racing games around.

    Gameplay (driving) is superb, as long as you find out the ideal controller configuration for you. Its almost impossible to drive with the default dual-shock settings. Every car is a completely different animal and offer you different approaches in races. Some of them are really fun to drive. The game did an amazing job in letting you feel the car.

    Setting up play a huge part here. Every track/car combination means a different kind of set up. The way you adjust you car may affect drastically the performance and the way the car reacts to your driving style. The bad part of this: the game do a poor job explaining itself. it means you find yourself searching the youtube and gaming forums looking for a decent track/car setup and you will never know if which setup is ideal to your driving style.

    I'm still waiting for a game that will make a good use of the race engineer. You race engineer could help you to find the ideal car/track adjustment.Its a little frustrating, because we are talking about a game designed for PS4/XBOX1 and high end PCs and the race engineer here is only a voice saying useless things in the radio "You are P1", "Great driving".

    Despite the game advising you to consult your race engineer prior to setting up, in the official forum of the game the developers answered: "You're gonna have to do your homework or find a nice nerd friend.". Thats a huge miss. Race engineers are important for a reason.

    The game has a slide difficult bar that goes from 0% to 100%, so you can fairly adjust the AI to your driving abilities. Thats one of the best features of the game, since one of the biggest problems in racing games that usually feature the classic easy, normal, hard levels, is the huge differences between those levels. In one difficult there will be a 2 seconds per lap gap between you and the P2. In the next level you will struggle to in the last positions.

    To other side the Ai skills suffer a bit as long as your set the bar higher. Racing is not only about driving fast. Overtaking and defending your position play a huge part in the process. In Project Cars Ai only understand what is drive fast. 100% difficult Ai will give you a huge challenge, but the cpu controlled opponents doesn't know how to overtake or defend position. If they are faster than you, they will probably try to make a kamikaze overtake in the first corner. The outcome is usually you car destroyed or going off track. Its a nightmare to race in open-wheel categories, since they are more sensitive to this kind of aggression. At some point I realized I had to turn the damage off in order to enjoy most of the races.

    Career mode is almost immersive. Empty boxes and stationary crowd hurts the experience, as do the dull presentation. The teams are presented by generic badges with no colors. You don't even know the livery of your car before signing the contract. You can choose your driver number before entering a new career, but that number won't be in your car as you race. You can't choose a customized helmet. Every single race your driver you be using a different helmet, and thats a problems for open-wheel races where the helmets are as iconic as the cars liveries. The championship opponents performances are random. The driver who won last race, will be out of points for the next 3 GPs. It means you can easily become a champions if you are no more than regular, like ending 3rd and 4th every single race.

    Like I said before, race engineer only says useless things on the radio, so you don't know when people behind you are pitting and for many laps he won't even say the gap between you and who's behind or in front of you.

    Online multiplay is fun, but the menu is bad implemented. For example, you must enter a lobby before getting to know the game settings (assists on/off, how many laps, qualify time). If you don't like this lobby, you must leave the entire online mode and enter it again in order to see the lobbies list again. Very far from useful.A wild variety of bugs also hurts the online experience.

    Engine sound is a highlight. Graphics are decent, but not superb.

    Good game that could be great with improvements.    … Expand
  11. nmakrodimitris
    May 30, 2015
    5
    I've got dq 3 minutes before the end of the 24h Le Mans race after i went in to pits to change the AI driver to myself! 20 years of gaming i've never been so frustrated in my life with a game! Stay away people from this worthless broken garbage! SMS is a joke and must shut down their company and never make another game again!
  12. Sky-Line___
    Aug 20, 2015
    5
    I bought it 70€, didn't play more than 20hours on it, a waste of money.

    Let me explain you: - There are not enough cars, and some of those are never used - The game looks good but PS4 can do better I'm sure of that - There is no point, you play it when you wan to race, but no level system, no cash system, and the solo mode is boring, i played it online most of the time, which is    I bought it 70€, didn't play more than 20hours on it, a waste of money.

    Let me explain you:
    - There are not enough cars, and some of those are never used
    - The game looks good but PS4 can do better I'm sure of that
    - There is no point, you play it when you wan to race, but no level system, no cash system, and the solo mode is boring, i played it online most of the time, which is pointless too.
    - The game is not configured for pads, i spent 3hours to find the perfect settings, because it was unplayable otherwise

    The best part of PCARS, is the number of tracks.    … Expand
  13. ryuzo7980
    Oct 17, 2015
    7
    Unfortunately Project CARS is only recommended for hardcore motorsport fans. This game is absolutely simple as good old GTR2, RACE 07 and over 9000 SimBin simulators. Career is totally repetitive. There is no unlocks. Small amount of cars. Poor sound quality. Lack of pitstop animations. Graphics looks like you playing Gran Turismo 6 on PS3. Framerate drops (sometimes is really insanelyUnfortunately Project CARS is only recommended for hardcore motorsport fans. This game is absolutely simple as good old GTR2, RACE 07 and over 9000 SimBin simulators. Career is totally repetitive. There is no unlocks. Small amount of cars. Poor sound quality. Lack of pitstop animations. Graphics looks like you playing Gran Turismo 6 on PS3. Framerate drops (sometimes is really insanely dropping) and bugs.

    But with that problems its good racing game anyway. Honestly Im not motorsport fan. Im not watching F1, not watching stuff like LMP series, Super GT, GT3, DTM, Touring and etc. But I like this game and take a good time with it.

    Playing version 5.0    … Expand
  14. aaschmidt
    Jan 29, 2016
    7
    Few things. Great cars, feel wonderful. Great tracks, feel wonderful. Buggy, but for most not game breaking. (T500rs on ps4 barely works without a few bugs) however, the career is a huge letdown. The career itself is fine, but the fact that only 20% of the cars can actually have full seasons is disapointing. Between bwm, ruf, ford, and mercedes there are somewhere around 35 cars.Few things. Great cars, feel wonderful. Great tracks, feel wonderful. Buggy, but for most not game breaking. (T500rs on ps4 barely works without a few bugs) however, the career is a huge letdown. The career itself is fine, but the fact that only 20% of the cars can actually have full seasons is disapointing. Between bwm, ruf, ford, and mercedes there are somewhere around 35 cars. Only 6 of those cars can actually be used in a full season in the career mode. It almost feels like 80% of the cars are useless. And it seems like these issues are never updated. The only thing the updates seem to change are adding more cars and track (cars that you cant even use in the career)… Expand
  15. lizardking420
    Jan 28, 2016
    6
    Doesn't handle like real life. Game says most realistic simulator yet its not even close. Its chunky, clunky and linear. Its like 1% better in realism. The game lacks content. No real cars on road. lack of real physics, cannot do donuts BORING!!!! Damage is better but it won't do everything. The graphics are horrible and compared to the pc which should run this at maximum. it missingDoesn't handle like real life. Game says most realistic simulator yet its not even close. Its chunky, clunky and linear. Its like 1% better in realism. The game lacks content. No real cars on road. lack of real physics, cannot do donuts BORING!!!! Damage is better but it won't do everything. The graphics are horrible and compared to the pc which should run this at maximum. it missing everything i was buying it for like the beginning trailer then i start seeing graphics with bland textures popping in and out. The actual core game is okay for a simulator, its not very real although its more real then most games. the clutch and everything works correctly, everything though including the steering could use much more improvement, a real wheel is centered under the car and is stable as it if changes lane, its safe for old grannys in a van why would it be like this at 100 kph or 80 mph in any of these cars. i hope you die if you drive like this. if you need to practice your shifting with clutch with a g27 you could throw tis pos in there. other then that its waste of $… Expand
  16. krafttho
    Nov 12, 2015
    5
    The amount of anticipation going in to this game was truly off the charts, however the product falls quite short from its hype. A difficult yet always enjoyable game premise combined with average graphics makes for a disappointing game that causes the average gamer to cringe at its price. The cost reward would be much higher had the game been released at a much lower price. There is notThe amount of anticipation going in to this game was truly off the charts, however the product falls quite short from its hype. A difficult yet always enjoyable game premise combined with average graphics makes for a disappointing game that causes the average gamer to cringe at its price. The cost reward would be much higher had the game been released at a much lower price. There is not doubt as to why the price has dropped drastically since it's initial release. If intensive racing games are a must then this title is surely for you, at the right price.… Expand
  17. iCSiMarcelinmBR
    Dec 26, 2015
    7
    Anyone giving this game 0 is an idiot, but anyone giving 10 is turning a blind eye to its' many faults and missed opportunities.

    The driving simulation is possibly the best of any racer I've played. For the sheer weight and feel of a car it beats GT by a long way. On this aspect alone the game would score an easy 10. The driving is tricky and requires skill and patience, with each car    Anyone giving this game 0 is an idiot, but anyone giving 10 is turning a blind eye to its' many faults and missed opportunities.

    The driving simulation is possibly the best of any racer I've played. For the sheer weight and feel of a car it beats GT by a long way. On this aspect alone the game would score an easy 10. The driving is tricky and requires skill and patience, with each car handling very differently. This is not a game for the casual arcade racer.

    Unfortunately the game fails in all other areas. I found the career mode really dull. There are no rewards or unlocks and the races are really easy, unless you manually adjust the AI to make it more difficult to win. A strange choice. Much as the vaunted "Freedom" may have sounded good, it provides no incentive to progress, and allows rookies to jump straight into the most difficult multiplayer and wreck others races.

    It's multiplayer where the game both shines and provides the greatest let down. If you manage to find a "clean" race with a sensible qualification period and lap count, the game is an absolute blast. Unfortunately you'll mostly be playing public games which are like the wild west and filled with trolls. While this is no fault of Slightly Mad Studios, they have provided no features in Multiplayer to punish bad players. When you're punted off the track or rear ended by a troll, it's most often you that will be punished for corner cutting. The lack of penalties for trolls can be rage inducing.

    Add to this the lack of cars (almost no Japanese cars is very disappointing), slow menu loading (with no egg timer to show that anything is happening) MP joining bugs and crashes (5 or so in a week) a potentially awesome game ends as just ok. A missed opportunity.    … Expand
  18. Darkmegacyber
    Apr 12, 2016
    6
    A nivel de graficos el juego esta mas que bien. Es alucinante, pero tiene algo como que no te engancha a jugarlo a fondo. otro punto que le encuentro negativo es la poca cartera de vehiculos que tiene. El juego es ahi ahi.
  19. eSKAone
    Sep 7, 2017
    6
    It is good. Play it with a wheel (for example the 'Thrustmaster T300RS') and you will feel how good it is. After Two years having it played only with controller input I bought this wheel and a 'Wheelstand Pro V2', and it is night and day.
  20. Hairy100
    Dec 18, 2016
    6
    Project CARS isn't bad overall, it does get tedious if you start from the bottom though, the physics are good, and questionable at the same time, the Mad Mike Mx5 they put in, in one of the DLCs is obviously a drift car, but its impossibly hard to have any control over a drift, I do like the game, I think you need to be into motor sport to like it though.
    Another point that does annoy me    Project CARS isn't bad overall, it does get tedious if you start from the bottom though, the physics are good, and questionable at the same time, the Mad Mike Mx5 they put in, in one of the DLCs is obviously a drift car, but its impossibly hard to have any control over a drift, I do like the game, I think you need to be into motor sport to like it though.
    Another point that does annoy me is putting two wheels off on the far corner gets your time is invalidated which i certainly don't like.
    The good points though, the graphics are beautiful and I do think that having everything unlocked from the beginning is a nice touch, you can choose where to start to do whatever you like. I think this game would be better with pedals and a wheel, I only have a G27 so it's not compatible.
    Overall I would suggest the game, but only to people who are really into racing, its not for the casual racing gamer.    … Expand
  21. Kamikazeshocki
    Aug 12, 2017
    5
    There is one thing you will definetly not find within this game: fun.

    The tracks look and are boring, the cars and graphics are ok. I knew beforehand that this a hardcore simulation but the car controls are just torture. Imagine turning off every ABS, traction control etc in another racing game so that the cars are difficult to control. Now Imagine you still can't control them often    There is one thing you will definetly not find within this game: fun.

    The tracks look and are boring, the cars and graphics are ok.

    I knew beforehand that this a hardcore simulation but the car controls are just torture. Imagine turning off every ABS, traction control etc in another racing game so that the cars are difficult to control. Now Imagine you still can't control them often enough with all helping system on. Welcome to Project cars.

    Having no progression in career mode is just wrong and no fun at all.

    I tried playing online and I found not a single race where guys drove automatic. And way too many **** kart races.
    Why is there no option or any people willing to go for a quick ride? Hell you can do that in every racing game... no you wait for eternity to just get wrecked in a manual race with **** cars (karts)

    I know those complaints can be summed down to I can play that game but I never had a problem with any racing games ever... so think there is something wrong here.

    I can not recommend this to anyone except you own a steering wheel and had fun playing Dark Souls with a drum from guitar hero or something like that.

    I seldom buy games and regret it but this one I did for sure.    … Expand
  22. tufekciero
    Mar 12, 2021
    5
    BRONZ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
  23. alexdim00
    Aug 4, 2022
    7
    Decent realistic physics and gameplay but lacks on graphics and menu. Now with ps plus extra it worths a try.
  24. Federicz200
    May 5, 2023
    6
    The career mode is really bad made, so i usually play casual games that get boring very fast. I gave It a 6 becouse the AI IS really realistic, as the driving stile. Also the ui is really boring, so i think that i won't last more than 40 minutes on this game

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 »