The Crew Motorfest

After a couple of unsuccessful outings, The Crew franchise finally finds itself on solid ground with Motorfest. It has to borrow a lot ideas to get there, and still has plenty of oil leaks to deal with, but at least there's finally some enjoyable arcade racing to be had.

Generous but simple, fun even if not perfect, The Crew Motorfest makes a step in the right direction but needs to take a few more.

The Crew Motorfest definitely brings the heat, but in the end, it’s sitting at a distant second until it learns what exactly it wants out of itself.

The Crew Motorfest very much wants to be the next Forza Horizon 5, but in forcing us to compare the two, the blemishes that hold this Hawaii-set racer back are made even more obvious. The Playlist system gives a sense of variety and scale that is exciting initially, with genuinely interesting romps through automotive history and a wide range of vehicles keeping things interesting. But the uninteresting open world that connects them all and limitations around how you unlock more of them could have you putting on the brakes sooner than you might expect. Even so, The Crew Motorfest is visually lovely and has an incredibly solid racing foundation, so it warrants a pit stop at the very least.

The Crew Motorfest manages to entertain with an incredible range of vehicles, beautiful scenery and a large number of races, but the sense of déjà vu compared to Forza Horizon 5 is constant and it should have dared more to escape from the shadow of Playground Games' title. Too bad, also, for some choices that undermine its essence, such as the inclusion of more simulative elements in a purely arcade context or the impossibility of using our own vehicles in playlist races.

It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. LEGO has Mega Bloks. E.T. has Mac and Me. Now Forza Horizon has The Crew Motorfest. To be fair, Motorfest is a robust racer with a confident sense of style, a quality arcade handling model, and a long list of generally well-planned events right out of the box. However, the shift to a smaller map has seen it lose a part of its old identity, boats and aircraft feel like they’ve been sidelined, and some of its event Playlists work a lot better than others. Ultimately, The Crew Motorfest is a little more Ice Ice Baby and a little less Under Pressure. It’s a catchy enough copy, but it ain’t exactly back with a brand new invention.