Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown – PS5 Review

For over a decade, the Test Drive series had laid dormant. Now in the corporate hands of Nacon, the open-world car lifestyle simulator has returned. KT Racing have shown an aptitude for solid handling and replicating large environments, but Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, lacks the soul of the originals.

I missed out on those games. As someone who prefers a reliable time behind the wheel, the handling never struck me as something worth persevering with. The true hook of those older games was the lifestyle choices and sheer size of the map. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown does provide a vast replication of Hong Kong Island. Coming in much smaller than the Ibiza and Oahu facsimiles of games past, the map still feels compelling to drive.

What it lacks in accuracy due to licensing or budget and time constraints, it makes up for diversity. There are mountains, urban population centres, rural treks that really showcase how varied the island can be. As a place to drive, it feels lovely. It does lack activity. Traffic density is on the low side and pedestrians appear to be all indoors. There’s no hustle or bustle here which really sells Hong Kong Island short.

There’s a distinct lack of ambience with only the occasional seagulls and cars providing any atmosphere. It just doesn’t feel like a lived in place, despite the landmarks and scenic views that may occasional cross your path. Visual fidelity can be all over the place with genuine moments of beauty undermined by a general lack of polish. The cars fare the best but their models don’t exactly pop. Performance can also wander with traffic and collisions certainly hitting the framerate during races.

It’s not all doom and gloom. Despite the shortcomings, I’ve enjoyed simply driving around the island. KT Racing have a knack for this and I’m impressed with how well it handles. It’s certainly consistent across vehicles but it’s hardly arcade. There’s great changes in elevation and surfaces that require a deft touch and the game clearly encourages you to explore.

Unfortunately, during all this process, the lifestyle elements have become so stripped back. You are not uncovering stores for clothing, properties to expand your available garage space, etc. There was a status associated with owning things and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown leaves that in favour of a more predictable open-world experience.

It loses a lot of what made the series unique and I can see fans being disappointed by it. The main progression becomes about boosting your reputation as a driver and amongst the two available clans. This is where I’d hoped the old sensibilities might raise their head but it doesn’t come to fruition. The Solar Crown is a racing festival that focuses around increasing your reputation. This can be built up winning races, grabbing collectibles and covering every road of the island.

The latter seems to be an effective way of raising that bar. Races and speed traps can deliver you decent money but, AI can be inconsistent. There’s a set difficulty with opposition ranging from novices to experienced racers. They can still be beaten with blocking and wall-riding proving fruitful. There’s an unpredictability to them and they can be drawn to traffic. The races are entertaining but the always-online aspect means restarts are necessary. That might provoke frustration, but I rarely saw racing as the focus. It was much more beneficial for me to roam around and hit speed traps.

When certain reputation thresholds are met, you’re treated to a small video explaining what has been opened up. These are usually tiers of cars, car parts and new events. The layered approach does mean you are limited to vehicles and gear. The car list feeling especially meagre and not particularly varied. There are notably absent manufacturers from across the globe. Japan and America feel hardest hit and it led to me picking one car for each category. It’s another reminder of how undercooked the whole experience can be.

There’s a near-future aesthetic that doesn’t really show itself enough. Key locations have their names projected onto them and every dealership looks like a surgery waiting room. I want more secret society car perverts but it’s just not being handed to me. What’s left is a competent Forza Horizon imitator that doesn’t really commit to a personality.

During pre-release, my biggest problem was getting into the game. As an always-online product, you need servers to be reliable and robust. Stability has certainly improved since then but it can be disheartening to see a race abruptly end due to a connection error.   Other online aspects lack a little togetherness. Lobbies carry a capacity for 8 players. You can meet up for instant challenges but, more often than not, players have been too spread to really interact. The world can feel empty at the best of times and this enhances the loneliness. Races you start may be joined by other players but tends to be populated by AI. You’ve also got time trials that pit you against a multiplayer leaderboard, paying out when you reach certain time thresholds. It’s a shame it doesn’t really feel social.

There is a competency that keeps me from disliking Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together a map of this size. Even if it smaller than previous games, it’s also coming from a relatively smaller budget. There’s a lack of general polish but I still enjoyed flooring it from street to street. The winding off-road trails can be delightful to drift around. If you switch your brain off and embrace being a luxury car driver in Sunday morning traffic, it can still work. Outside of that, it’s missing so much of the charm that carried the series.