Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is the next open-world racer that seems destined for live service Hell

A truck on a mountainside

There’s a sense that developer KT Racing assembled this next installment of the long-running Test Drive racing series by throwing a handful of darts at a mind map of popular Steam store tags and taping them to a car bonnet. It is open world and live service. It caters to both simulation lovers and arcade racers. It is competitive, but also social. 

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, the developer is keen to insist, isn’t a ‘racing game’ but a ‘driving game’. The idea being that its faithful 1:1 reproduction of Hong Kong Island isn’t merely a 600km box in which to take laps around city streets and practice your handbrake turns on off-road mountain bends, but a space for car enthusiasts to admire the lovingly recreated Bugattis, BMWs and, er, Nissans. Much is made of their accurate looks, engine sounds and handling, and from the moment you’re asked to choose a starter car, you’re encouraged to open their doors, wind down the windows and try their plush leather interior—just to make sure you pick the motor of your dreams.

(Image credit: Nacon)

In practice, Solar Crown is a multiplayer open-world racing game with the usual glut of game modes. Circuits are multi-lap, eight-player races. Time Attack challenges you to set the fastest time against other players. Sprint is essentially a do-over of Circuits but with added checkpoints to stop you cutting corners. And Domination rewards you points based on your position in the race every time you cross a checkpoint. 



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