Since i played three hours of creating a preview of The Motorfest CrewI felt I had experienced most of what he had to offer before.

Ubisoft’s latest offering Ivory Tower is a fully-fledged racing game experience set across the Hawaiian island of O’ahu. It allows players to transform into a plane or a boat and then explore an open world with those, something other open world racers don’t offer. But outside of that, The Crew series seems to have shed other parts of its identity to instead go after a setting, premise, and even game mechanics that feel derived from the genre’s current crown jewel: Forza Horizon 5.

in three hours with The Motorfest Crew, I enjoyed some surprisingly challenging races that were full of style and showcased all of O’ahu’s colorful corners. After a few fleeting moments, I realized I was playing a racing game that owed almost everything to another, better racing game. As such, it is not clear what it is The Motorfest CrewOur Voice Actually is set to be released in October.

Hawaii vacation

in The Motorfest Crew, players participate in the titular festival, which turns the island of Oahu into a virtual racing stadium where players can drive, fly, and sail boats anywhere the game allows. Feats that test players’ speed as they pass through checkpoints are scattered throughout the open world, as are more linear races linked to themed playlists. The Weekly Main Stage also aims to create more thematic experiences each week, such as the European Velocita Main Stage theme in my European car-focused demo.

The playlists I came across during the demo centered around cars, but had some variety. The intense street racing and neon aesthetics of the Made in Japan playlist stand out from the more relaxed exploratory races of the Scenic Tour of Hawaii playlist. Many of the races provided a healthy challenge, though there was the racing streak and new rewind feature to help when you got it wrong. The car’s handling feels as breezy and arcade-like as one would want in an open-world racer, though learning to drift properly will take some time to master.

motorfest It seems to be a bit of a numbers racing game, though Ivory Tower’s years of experience make this work. It looks as cool as a game like this, and some of the more memorable races – like one of the highlights that take place along the beaches of Oahu – provide some exciting virtual tourism for those who can’t get out and actually visit Hawaii. Ivory Tower knows how to make a solid racing game, even if motorfest It doesn’t push the genre forward in any noticeable way.

most of my motorfest It was playtime behind the wheel, which is unfortunate because what really sets it apart from the pack are the other types of vehicles. I love to soar through the air in an airplane or sail across rivers and oceans in a boat. What I enjoyed the most during my playing time was flying over a target in a plane and then switching to a car and trying to land as close to it as possible. That’s why I was disappointed that none of the playlists in this demo focused on planes or boats, as this type of gameplay is completely unique to The Crew.

In the shadow of Forza Horizon

Some may feel that all racing games are the same, but I don’t agree with this type of game. Most series, and even the individual games within them, usually carve out a unique identity for themselves; until 2022 average Network Legends He had a fake documentary frame to help him stand out. previously, the crewThe main hooks were that it allowed players to race all over America and, with the sequel, do so in a variety of vehicles. while motorfest It keeps the vehicle’s versatility, ditching the rest of The Crew’s identity for a festival gimmick that looks derived from Forza horizon Even Ubisoft’s Riders Republic.

I can even ignore that Forza Horizon 5 And motorfest have similar places; This sometimes happens in the racing genre. What is hard to swallow is when motorfest He begins to copy aesthetics and mechanics. motorfestThe racing lines and checkpoint signs look very similar to Forza Horizon 5, as well as a new rewind feature pulled straight from the Xbox franchise. Furthermore, the maps of O’ahu and Mexico look somewhat alike, to the point where they are two tropical locations with a giant volcano on the western side of the map.

Admittedly, this is how O’ahu is structured in real life, so it would be silly to hit the Ivory Tower to faithfully recreate the island of Hawaii. However, the developers chose a tropical environment that closely mirrors the map created for Playground Games Forza Horizon 5. Given those aesthetic and mechanical similarities, as well as this demo’s lack of airplane and boat-focused playlists, I couldn’t help but compare it to Forza Horizon 5 All the time I’ve played – and it’s hard to compete with the best.

This does not mean that The Motorfest Crew It will be of no value to those who want more of a well-built racing game. Those looking for a challenging, yet satisfying open world racer spread across land, air and sea are likely to have a great time with it. It’s just undeniably derivative in a way that’s hard to shake on the first demo. Sure, I can’t fly a plane or drive a boat in it Forza Horizon 5but Crew 2 It also has both of those things in a broader setting and several years of live service content to play through. But with both titles available as part of its subscription game services, Ubisoft will need to make a stronger showing if it wants to convince racing game fans to buy this one at launch.

The Motorfest Crew It launches for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Amazon Luna on September 14th.