Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

A relatively triumphant return for the long-dormant franchise, Solar Crown still has a ways to go before it can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its peers, but for now it’s off to a good start.

KT Racing is presenting its most ambitious project to date, but any and all good ideas fall by the wayside when it comes to technical quality and some decisions in the design of the progression.

The racing itself is good enough, but the not-so-abundant content and the terrible technical state of the game effectively hinder the fun. I really would be able to wait longer to get something better, and at this point I can only wish myself and you that the studio improves the condition of Solar Crown.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown offers some solid fundamentals in terms of driving mechanics and course design, to the point the game might have been worth a qualified recommendation despite its surprisingly-bland recreation of Hong Kong, so-so visuals, and spotty performance, but ultimately, the game’s egregious always-online requirements make that impossible. Persistent server issues and a completely unreliable cloud save system send this racer careening off-track and it’s going to take some serious elbow grease to get this Solar Crown shining like it ought to.

Too often, Solar Crown embodies what’s wrong with the modern racer. Sure, the cars are meticulously modeled and even have working windows. But these minutiae matter little when fundamentals like a fluid framerate and the ability to race offline are absent. Sadly, the latest entry in the Test Drive Unlimited franchise struggles to match the competency of decade-old racers.