Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

One of the leading games in the arcade racer genre is gearing up to make its triumphant return with Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. Balancing the classic gameplay that made the series so popular in the first place with new and exciting mechanics that could only be conceived on the next-gen of consoles, this is a racing game that you won’t want to miss.

Returning from a ten-year hiatus is no easy feat, and developers KT Racing have a tall order ahead of them if they hope to capture new fans in the heavily competitive market of racing games. Let’s take a look at how Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will distance itself from the competition.

Open-World Racing

Seeing the popularity of games like Forza Horizon 5, it comes as no surprise to hear that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will be an open-world racing game. What is certainly surprising is the map they decided to use for their game, and the developers' commitment to authenticity when it comes to designing the game’s racetracks.

In this game, players will race around a 1:1 virtual rendition of Hong Kong, complete with all of the city's landmark locales. In total, the island will measure 30.34 square miles, which is more than enough to satisfy fans looking for more than a few repetitive tracks in their racing games.

This entry in the series seems to also be heavily inspired by Test Drive Unlimited 2’s Casino Online DLC, in that players will be able to gamble their vehicles or status online to climb among the ranks in online multiplayer. It seems like there’s a heavier emphasis on collecting and trading cars this time around, so let’s see what the developers at KT Racing can come up with for the game’s online economy.

Commitment to Realism

Although the Test Drive series never was a hyper-realistic simulator in the same vein as Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo, the developers seem decided to turn Unlimited Solar Crown into a full-blown driving sim this time around.

Using some of the terrain physics and driving mechanics from WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship, we’re bound to see some truly spectacular simulation on display in this game. The variety that the Hong Kong setting offers will also be interesting to see, as long as the developers manage to strike a balance between the urban and the open road areas.

Even though no actual gameplay has been shown so far, we know from the cinematic trailers that the game is going for a hyper-realistic style that accentuates the game’s themes of luxury and high-class cars.

Also worth mentioning is that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will be using WRC’s game engine, so we can expect some truly breathtaking visuals under most conditions. It will be interesting to see how an engine that was mostly built around off-road racing will handle in a crowded city like Hong Kong.

Since the game is a cross-gen title, some of the fancy new features of current-gen consoles might be absent from some releases – especially if we’re talking about the Nintendo Switch version. All in all, it will be interesting to see such an iconic franchise making its long-awaited return at last.

Pros

• Excellent visuals and driving physics
• Tons of licensed cars to drive and collect
• Faithful rendition of Hong Kong to race around

Cons

• The necessary online component might turn down single-player-only gamers