Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

There was reason to be happy about the return of Test Drive Unlimited: offering a gigantic map based on the faithful reproduction of Hong Kong Island and always with this immersive aspect specific to the series, Solar Crown had good arguments to seduce. The bottom line is that the title relies on a repetitive and frustrating progression that almost never rewards the player brave enough to invest hours of hard work; worse still, its alarming technical aspect simply prevents us from enjoying the gameplay and artistic direction that are nevertheless successful. Instead, we will have to make do with a mandatory internet connection that degrades the experience to the point of sometimes making it unplayable and indigestible; we will also have to put up with uneven graphics and a broken framerate, bugs galore and an unbalanced AI that pushes to recurring nervous breakdowns. Fortunately, the sensations and effects of speed are good, the number of cars is correct and the environment pleasant, but it is difficult to appreciate them at their true value for all the pitfalls in question.

We can debate for a long time whether the 13-year wait between the last titles was worth it, but I think that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown fulfills its purpose, perhaps without much to spare, perhaps with some flaws in its mechanics, but that, I think, fans of the genre will appreciate. Be patient, though, it may be a bit tedious to start at the beginning and add levels, but once you do that is when it gets interesting. Take a trip to Hong Kong, the game, without being a Forza, offers a lot and has great plans for the future that make betting on it bring its rewards in advance.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is unable to recapture the magic or originality of its predecessors, nor keep up with the current leaders of the genre. It's an open world racing game that lacks content and has too many frustrations to qualify for the starting grid.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown offers us to compete at our own pace in a Hong Kong with somewhat outdated graphics in which there is no lack of factions, dealers and guided tuning. An open world proposal that seems to lack a few months of cooking and that is far from being able to stand up to the greats of the genre.

Agreed, in many ways, Solar Crown doesn't come close to Forza Horizon 5 or The Crew Motorfest, both of which simply do many things better. However, there are years of experience behind those series, while this is KT Racing's first Test Drive. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with Solar Crown where it mattered - namely the races.

Test Drive Solar Crown turns out to be a huge wasted opportunity for the time being, due to the many problems it is plagued with and the lack of features that have characterized the TDU experience in the past. Still, KT Racing got the drivability and game world right, so the hope is that with good post-launch support, the rest will gradually improve.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown's technical issues, both online and in performance terms, do a disservice to a novel, detailed game world.

Despite a robust handling model, some fairly impressive visuals, and a few nice ideas, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown fails to deliver on its open-world racing remit, with a dearth of things to do, broken online servers, and a tacked-on story that does little to draw you in. This one's stalled at the starting line.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is a driving game that might serve if you’re looking for something new. However, server errors, mechanical driving, poorly planned progression, rather poor performance, and technical issues turn this promise into a big lie. Car enthusiasts may enjoy it, as long as they don’t look at other games that are available. And it’s because everyone can find cheaper alternatives that are more faithful to what this game should have been.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is too little, too late. Instead of innovating, it instead takes ideas already popularised and doesn't even pull them off properly. Lacklustre visuals and a flat future aesthetic don't do anything to bolster its chances, not when better contemporaries are available.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown offers up a lot of fun both on the track and in its simulated world. A lot of work was put in to make Hong Kong Island feel like a realistic place with far more exploration than one is used to in a racing game. Some of those elements don't hit perfectly, but the on-track performance is what counts the most and Solar Crown largely succeeds there. Races are fun and even on-foot exploration offers up something that helps Solar Crown stand out. Unfortunately, the online-only component of things complicates far more of the experience than it benefits and causes odd problems to occur that makes it tough to fully recommend Solar Crown.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown launches with problems. But if you can look past the glitches, the bugs, the low-quality cutscenes, slow lifestyle elements and the numerous server issues, you'll find a wonderful driving experience. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown lets you explore a brilliant Hong Kong Island, partaking in some great racing as you go. Only time will tell if further additions to this MMOR are able to build things out some more.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is a really tough game to sum up in its current state. The game's vast open world and asphalt driving physics give the title a solid base to launch from, and we definitely think this series still has something to offer that differs from the likes of Forza Horizon and The Crew. However, Solar Crown's issues run deeper than launch-week server load, and the game needs quite a bit of tweaking to feel properly finished. Nacon and KT Racing are intending for this to be an ongoing live service game, and as long as the teams stick with it, we definitely think this new Test Drive game will be hugely improved months down the line. We can't recommend Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown right now, but if you're into your big open world racers, we definitely think this one is worth keeping an eye on as it gets fixed up and improved - you should be able to get it on discount that way as well. Solar Crown is yet another rocky launch for the franchise after similar issues plagued TDU2 back in the day - but that game did go on to become a bit of a cult hit, so there's hope for this Test Drive Unlimited title yet. It just needs a bit more time and attention for its solar crown to start to shine.

With the first year of updates already planned and shown, there’s sure to be some cool additions for Solar Crown... eventually, but with the iconic Casino not even arriving until Summer 2025, you’ll need to embrace the grind to tide you over between Seasons. An arcade racer with a heavy social focus is what made Test Drive Unlimited popular in the first place, but in the years since its absence with Forza Horizon releases, the bar has been raised, one that Solar Crown isn’t quite at just yet. Solar Crown has the DNA of what made Test Drive Unlimited so revered, but it doesn’t quite have the same heart yet.

If you were looking for the next big open-world racing game juggernaut, you’ll be sorely disappointed by Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. The dinginess of its Hong Kong setting leaves a lot to be desired, the racing events are uninspired even though the showrooms and the close-knit racing can be satisfying. Much of Solar Crown feels like a throwback to racing games at the start of the eighth generation, rather than a current force on current-gen hardware. Thus, Solar Crown doesn’t do much that’s wrong or egregious, it’s just uninspired and dull for the most part, and lacking in charisma or a sense of excitement. Such a blow for Test Drive Unlimited‘s return, but Solar Crown races with the reliability of a Porsche with a punctured set of wheels.