It seems making a well rounded game these days is hard, even if the formula you use is already a tried and true one. Project Cars launched a few days ago, and while it’s a hugely impressive technical achievement, it’s been called “soulless” and lacking in incentive to play and replay (at least in the single player modes).
For me what kills it is the lack of car upgrading and customization, which would have boded very well for what developer Slightly Mad Studios has already put in the game. Reviews of the game can’t quite peg it down: it looks great, it simulates driving beautifully while still making it fun, but it’s not the kind of game that will keep you playing for hours on end. Again, as the sticker says, online experiences may drastically change that, depending on whom you play with.
Sadly it seems like a mixed bag, or rather a missed opportunity. While its name may make it sound like a broad title, it’s actually a niche product in the same vein as GRID that caters neither for the true enthusiast nor the casual player who’d have all the assists on; if you didn’t like that game’s style and approach, then this won’t be much better and Asseto Corsa could be more your style.
Granted, the experience is much deeper than it is in GRID, which doesn’t even get pit stops and the ability to plan full-length races with dozens of laps, but that game is actually the closest to Project Cars in concept.
So, you will like Project Cars if you don’t care for customization and upgrading, making your virtual ride as unique as it is fast, and eye candy is at the top of your priorities list, sensation of speed and feeling differentiation between the cars’ handling behavior which is made possible with the advanced physics engine. It’s also not made clear whether it’s a simulation or arcade-oriented title; sounds like both and neither at the same time…
For me, that formula is lacking in several key areas, and as many of the reviews posted below point out, it really lacks soul. It may have been created with fans’ input, but the result is not for everyone. I personally would still have preferred something in the vein of Need for Speed: Shift, but with proper driving physics, instead of this GRID-like game that seems like it will get boring fast, if you drive on your own; Shift on the other hand had a lot more going for it, so far being the closest PC game ever to Forza.