To at first glance, Gran Turismo 7 offers much the same experience as the original game back in 1997: idiosyncratically clean aesthetics, a focus on authentic handling, and incredibly shiny cars that would put any car wash to shame. There have been some under-the-hood tweaks, unsurprisingly, and a major alteration that will likely divide fans, but this 25-year-old engine still runs.
One thing that hasn’t changed is Sony-owned developer Polyphony Digital’s synergistic dominance of PlayStation hardware. Gran Turismo has always been brought out to demonstrate the true graphical potential of Sony’s consoles, and Gran Turismo 7 slips easily into its traditional role of the technical showcase on PlayStation 5. While it remains compatible with PlayStation 4, on the machine newer this is an amazingly beautiful game. Each vehicle is crafted with obsessive detail, right down to the exact arrangement of reflective elements in the headlights of an individual car.
The game also provides the best training for the PS5’s DualSense controller haptic trick yet. In a racing simulator, understanding the forces the car is subjected to at any given moment is crucial, and GT7 turns this portable collection of vibration motors and resistive triggers into a remarkably effective communication tool.
The long-awaited car collection campaign mode returns after its absence in Gran Turismo Sport and will grab most of the headlines. But in a move that’s likely to frustrate longtime fans, this time it’s surprisingly different. Rather than the more freeform vehicle-buying exploration of the other titles, your route through the first part of the game is tightly controlled and punctuated with educational mini-lectures on significant or enduring aspects of car culture. Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi evidently views preserving this culture as a solemn responsibility in a changing automotive landscape, something that is clearly reflected in the charming but slightly suffocating manner of these history lessons.
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Less forgivable is that making money can be painfully slow, the occasional giveaway wheels are comically petty, and the most desirable cars are phenomenally expensive and often only fleetingly available as in-game markets change. The result is enormous longevity for those with patience, but even then there is a nagging feeling that the entire economy is built to force players to spend real money to secure their favorites.
Fortunately, the time you spend on the track, whether alone or in cleverly regulated multiplayer, is a treat. The handling model, the core of any racing simulator, remains highly engaging. The most profound additions to the driving experience are two features that aren’t entirely new or particularly glamorous, but are executed superlatively: time of day change and weather conditions, which are nothing less than an atmospheric simulation in all rule. Spotting braking at the end of the Le Mans 24 Hour Circuit’s infamous Mulsanne Straight becomes an entirely different challenge as the sun gradually dips over the horizon, and even from a purely aesthetic perspective, it’s hard not to. feel completely transported as you make your way towards Yokohama. springs through the morning mist, the rays of the rising sun bouncing off the asphalt.
Instead of the old binary system of wet and dry racing, certain circuits can evolve as the session progresses. If it’s wet but not actively raining, a visible drying line can appear as cars displace standing water, but races just as often start wet and get even wetter, offering less grip as the tarmac becomes saturated. completely. Arriving at an event with no idea what conditions you’re going to encounter, but being able to accurately read the road ahead of you, adds to the novelty of the already generous number of cars and tracks available. That said, neither of the two British circuits, Brands Hatch and Goodwood, support wet weather, which begs the question: has Yamauchi ever visited the UK?
It’s reassuring that despite ever-increasing technical refinement, Gran Turismo’s unique and eccentric character remains intact. It’s present in the surprise mission mode, which demonstrates in a practical way that a race between Fiat 500 of 17 horsepower can be as exciting as one between cars with 50 times that power. It manifests itself most obviously in the utterly baffling music gathering mode, which has you reaching the checkpoints of ’80s pop relic Hooked on Classics tensions. Keeping this distinctive spirit alive at the age of 4K and 60 frames per second, Gran Turismo 7 feels fresh and comfortingly familiar.
