Gran Turismo 7 - Review

 

I was really looking forward to Gran Turismo 7. I liked the series with its pure racing fun on the PlayStation 1 and 2 and spent many hours with them. However, after the games on the PlayStation 2, the series lost me in some way. I can't exactly pinpoint the reasons but I'm ready for the new generation and Gran Turismo 7. 

Gran Turismo 7 was developed for the PlayStation 4 and 5. In addition to improved graphics and faster loading times, the PlayStation 5 version also comes with the DualSense features, which are significant to me. But more on that later. The series has always played and felt much more realistic than other racing games. I can tell you that the pure gameplay and racing experience in Gran Turismo 7 is just perfect.

The campaign mode is a blast. There is a big map with different icons and I think this is very well done. Not everything is available to you at the beginning and you only unlock more and more as the campaign progresses.

Missions:

Here you will be given various tasks under certain conditions. Fun stuff.

Licenses:

This is and always has been a big part of the series. Here you have to complete various tasks under time pressure. This is also needed for campaign progression.

Sport Mode:

Online races with other players (depending on your own performance) and their own rating.

Car Shops:

In addition to used cars, you can of course purchase new and legendary vehicles for credits. There are over 420 vehicles to choose from.

Scapes:

Camera work incoming. With different backgrounds you can create some amazing images for your library. I've spent a lot of time in this “mode”.

World Tracks:

Here you can select the different tracks around the world. Next to the cafe probably the main part of the game

Garage:

Here you can view and select your obtained vehicles.

Presentation Room:

You want to share your photos with the whole world? Then this is your place. Here you can upload your photos but also see others, shared by people around the world. You can really spend a lot of time here.

Tuning Shop:

As the name suggests, you can tune your vehicles here. There is a nice selection of pretty much everything.

GT Car:

Wash vehicles, choose designs and customize your helmets and clothing. 

Muliplayer:

In addition to a lobby, you can also play in 2-player split screen.

Cafe:

At the center is the cafe. It serves as main part for the campaign. You can select various menus and every one comes with a special suprise and task. 

These menus also serve as a tutorial at the same time. After completing one menu you abtain new vehicles, tracks and activities for the world map. In total you will complete 39 menus in the campaign. 

The cafe is very well implemented and incredibly atmospheric. You will also learn the background stories of the vehicles and listen to some chill vibe music. This is very special, different and lovely done. 

But after a "Café" I naturally wanted to do a few more races. And this is where the game really shines. 

Gameplay Is King:

I've never had so much fun with a racing game in terms of the overall driving experience. 

Everything feels tight, well made and just right. The attention to detail and sense of speed is also insanly good. The wonderful sound design also contributes to this. The different cars just sound real and driving through a tunnel is a real experience.

The AI in the campaign behave realistically and is simply wonderfully implemented. 

Some things in the late game are also very difficult. A real highlight are the vehicle models, which are all based on the original down to the smallest detail. 

In my opinion, the level of detail is absurdly high. The damage model is there, but not nearly as detailed. I also think the different tracks are visually stunning, but not that much detailed like the cars.

Polyphony Digital has developed a new dynamic weather system, which is nothing short of outstanding. You start with rain, which then decreases over time and stops completely. Another incredible detail is that only individual parts of the track are wet while in other places it has already dried again. Simply great! The day-night cycle is also implemented very well. 

I can really put myself into this stuff with driving on wet and other different surfaces. I've tried these things myself on various real life practice areas and I can assure you that Gran Turismo 7 is very realistic in terms of driving experience and vehicle behavior. 

For fans of the series, the “licenses” should bring tears of joy or fear to your faces. Here you have to master certain tasks under time pressure to get a driving license. These licenses are great practice for beginners and a real challenge if you want to get the gold trophy. 

The campaign just captivated me. You complete menus, collect credits for new stuff, upgrade your vehicles, buy new vehicles, repaint them, wash them and much, much more. The constant motivation combined with the best racing gameplay I've ever played is just awesome. 

Gran Turismo 7 is an always online game, which I don't particularly like. I just don't see any benefit in it. If you think about the future, at some point it will no longer be possible to play this game. Furthermore, it has the consequence that you can't play the game during maintenance of the server. Players and I have already experienced this firsthand when the servers went down for over a day and playing was impossible. Annoying!

Many people also criticize that you can't earn enough credits and have to spend some real money. Personally, this didn't particularly bother me.

I always felt like I could buy new vehicles and tuning parts at any time and didn't feel compelled to spend real money. Yes, some dream vehicles cost a ridiculous amount of credits, but I think that's pretty much a way to really earn those vehicles.

You also really have to earn the platinum trophy in this game and it's incredibly time-consuming. At the time of testing, this trophy had not yet been obtained by anyone in the world. So here you can lose yourself.

PlayStation 5:

I played the game on a PlayStation 5 and a 55 inch OLED TV. There are two graphics modes to choose from, which do NOT affect the gameplay and only make the difference in menus and replays. You can select a ray tracing mode, which offers a nice value, especially when it comes to reflections on vehicles. However, this mode runs “only” in 30fps. In the second performance mode, everything runs at 60fps. Again for clarification. During actual gameplay, ray tracing is not displayed and it makes no difference which mode you have selected.

Gran Turismo 7 actually runs in the gameplay with a 4K resolution and 60fps. I couldn't find any drops in image quality here and didn't notice any framedrops either. Loading times are pretty much not there. This enriches the gaming experience immensely.

And now we come back to one of my absolute favorite features. The DualSense controller. You notice every notch, every surface and much more. This is pure genius. This controller was developed for this type of games. For me definitely the best integration of a controller in a racing game. Enough said.

Photo mode:

Oh yeah, that photo mode. I've never been able to take such beautiful photos of my favorite vehicles. There are countless settings and I also think it's nice that the photo mode is explained as part of the campaign and that various trophies can also be obtained through it. 

Gran Turismo 7 is the best racing game I've ever played. The fact that this is an always-online game will not appeal to everyone, including me. But the pure driving experience, combined with the amazing DualSense features, should be experienced by every racing game fan out there.

9/10

Code provided by PlayStation