Review: Gran Turismo 7 – PS5
A New Generation of the Ultimate Simulation
Intro
Gran Turismo is one of the most recognizable and loved franchises in the gaming industry. With a history spanning 25 years and with tens of millions of dedicated fans all over the world, the real driving simulator from Director Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital remains a staple of quality for the PlayStation brand and an example for everyone else on how to create and nurture the need for speed.
The last game in the series was released in late 2017 for the PS4, but a lot of GT fans were unhappy with the somewhat restrictive nature of GT Sport. With time, the team at Polyphony managed to educate the public about the vision they had for that specific title, and after dozens of updates including free cars, tracks, and other content, the GT Community returned in force and gave GT Sport the chance it deserved.
We are almost 1 year and a half in the lifecycle of the PS5 and with just 2 days remaining until the release of Gran Turismo 7 we’ve prepared a comprehensive article for you all, after spending more than 2 weeks with the latest exclusive racing game that comes to both last and current-gen PlayStations.
Campaign and other Game Modes
Gran Turismo 7 is built upon the expertise gathered by the Polyphony team during their 25 years working closely with experts in the automotive industry. Their passion and love for cars is evident every second that you are in GT 7. From the superb and epic cinematic intro that takes the viewer on a trip down memory lane, from the early car models to the most recent inventions, this video is the first sign that GT is back.
The stated mission of Yamauchi San and Polyphony Digital with Gran Turismo 7 is to convey the allure and culture of cars to younger gamers and franchise enthusiasts alike.
In order to do this, the new Gran Turismo features over 400 cars – everything from compacts to exotic models that will reach top speeds in just a few seconds, and even electric vehicles. Each of these comes with a carefully gathered history and will teach even the least interested player the most important aspects about the manufacturer and about cars in general.
Aside from the more than a satisfying number of vehicles, GT7 comes with more than 90 track variations set all over the world. From real-life circuits to a series of beloved fantasy creations, those venturing in the World Map will have a lot of diversity and options to choose from.
GT7 is what everyone who has experienced the main titles in the series could have wished for. The campaign is back, the driving school, the Scapes where we can take pictures of our cars in the most iconic locations, the Garage, special places where we can customize and tune the laziest engine to a monster with hundreds of horses, to a Cafe where we learn all about car culture, everything has been taken into consideration and polished to the max. The main campaign revolves around the above-mentioned Cafe from where we get objectives disguised as Menu Books, and every time we fill up a Menu Book, progression is made to the next area.
Besides the campaign, the arcade, and the multiplayer game modes, we must mention the extremely fun Music Rally. This is a new mode where someone can just drive to their heart’s content listening to great music and at the same time trying to keep the beat. Alina spent a lot of time in Music Rally and she can’t wait for more tracks to be released.
We have three places where we can buy our dream cars. From the official dealerships for each brand to a second-hand market and even to some rare models that are available only for collectors, any car enthusiast will find something to love and treasure.
There is also an online segment for GT7, plus a local split screen mode – but weren’t able to try out the online functionality because none of our friends had early access to the game and public lobbies were empty or not responding.
Gameplay
Gran Turismo is recognized as the real driving simulator, and with GT7 this statement has never been truer. Each car handles differently, the dynamic weather changes the rules of any race and everything is simulated to perfection.
I remember with nostalgia all the hundreds of hours that I spent playing GT4, GT5 Prologue, GT 5, GT 6, and even some GT Sport, although by then my vision already took a big hit. I used to love Gran Turismo, a series that I was introduced to a long time ago when my dear friend Cosmin let me borrow his PS2.
For this review I was able to test the feeling of the car on the track, to hear the sounds, and to enjoy the music. Alina on the other hand has taken the “wheel” and spent dozens of hours and loved every minute of the experience.
I will talk later about accessibility or the lack thereof, and about how 3D Audio, plus the DualSense are creating a revolutionary experience. The most important thing is that everything that you loved about the old GT games is back and it’s better than ever!
Presentation
GT7 looks and feels better than all its predecessors. The graphics are sharp, the presentation is smooth, the menus look good, although at times they can feel convoluted and a little bit dated. The user interface is colorful and clean. All sections are explained in detail by a number of assistants but sadly there is not even one line of voice acting, instead, we just hear that extremely annoying typing sound…
Sometimes I get very angry with the developers for not considering the level of immersion that could have been achieved if they were only taking into consideration the fact that a human voice adds to the atmosphere.
The two different display modes are present in GT7, with one for performance that allows the game to run at 60 FPS and one that strives for quality, full with 4K and Ray Tracing, but not during actual gameplay. Ray Tracing can be enjoyed during replays, in Scapes and other parts of the game.
3D Audio creates a soundscape around the player, the DualSense allows for each bump, puddle, curve, and incline to be felt thanks to excellent haptics, and the adaptive triggers serve as the front wheels, delivering all necessary signals so that you really think you are driving a real car. Nevertheless, due to the clumsy old-school design, a lot of time is lost navigating the user interface, instead of jumping immediately into the action.
The soundtrack is a regular one, with a strong selection of classic music, soft and hard rock, electronic and techno tracks. The good thing is that the player can choose easily which music they want to listen to for both racing and menus.
Accessibility
Well, this is the most disappointing aspect of Gran Turismo 7! It seems that neither Kazunori Yamauchi nor his talented team from Polyphony are aware that there are disabled gamers in the world that would love to play this game.
We’ve checked carefully for any accessibility options available in GT7 and, sadly, although Polyphony Digital is under the PlayStation Studios umbrella, there is no sign of options that can be considered as offering a more accessible experience for disabled individuals.
There is no sign of menu narration, text to speech, or other assists aside from auto braking and auto steering, if you don’t brake, you’ll still going to hit a wall, and the auto steering will just slightly correct course, but in no case this should be considered auto driving, as in Forza Horizon 5. We have no voice acting even, or an option to make the text on the screen larger, or the possibility to change background contrast for better legibility for low vision gamers. Absolutely nothing, which is a definitive no-no in 2022 when the entire gaming industry is embracing diversity and inclusivity for the gamers with special needs, or at least they are trying to…
Conclusion
Gran Turismo 7 is the game fans were waiting for since GT6 was released almost 10 years ago. 400 beautiful cars, dozens of challenging tracks, dynamic weather that affects all aspects of the game, superb skies at day and at night, the return of the campaign, the fun time available in Music Rally, the helpful instructions received at the Cafe and of course, the online competitions.
A great and satisfying experience all around, if you are not suffering from some vision, cognitive or motor disability.
Sony Interactive Entertainment made a pledge to the disabled community that all of their games will be inclusive, but aside from a few of them, there is still a lot to work on. Sadly, GT7 is still in the early 2000s when it comes to this topic.
But, if you have no outlying conditions you can enjoy this game to the max. It’s great, it’s fun, it’s competitive, it’s the best one yet!
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Review copy provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment via PlayStation Romania.
Victor Dima
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