All the screenshots in this post were taken directly from the game by me, captured on a PS5. This cover was made using canva and Bitmoji.
The Crew Motorfest is a game I stumbled upon purely by chance, and I admit that, at least for the first few minutes (or even hours) of play, it can be a bit disconcerting.
Although I'm a fan of driving video games, especially when it comes to sim-cades like Gran Turismo or F1, I must admit that in many cases my skills with them are suboptimal. However, I'm always willing to enjoy a couple of races in basically any title with decent gameplay, from cartoonish classics like Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing to typical arcade games like Need for Speed or Midnight Club.
Developed and published by Ubisoft, The Crew Motorfest falls into this latter category of racing games, being a full-fledged arcade game that seeks to be a kind of love letter to the world of motorsports, and in the process manages to accumulate a couple of good ideas and some not so good ones.
Motorfest, as its name suggests, is built around a fictional festival held on an island. Here we'll have access to a series of playlists, which are nothing more than a collection of events and challenges grouped into various categories depending on the vehicles we're driving. These include everything from European supercars to American classics, Japanese vehicles, off-road trucks, and even Formula One cars.
Perhaps it's a consequence of my age, or the simple fact that over time I've somewhat lost my ability to absorb video game content, but I can't help but feel overwhelmed by the way this game presents its content, as if desperate to show me the variety of vehicles and scenarios it offers, distrusting its own ability to engage me.
On paper, Motorfest is a brilliant idea, and the huge amount of customization it offers is appreciated from the very first minute, as well as the existence of a large map to explore as we hone our skills. The point is, I'd rather all of this unfold more organically, and at least have time to familiarize myself with the controls before having to get into all those vehicles, which handle considerably differently.
All of this is without mentioning the tediousness of having to stay online all the time even though its multiplayer options are blocked by the requirement of a PlayStation Plus subscription.
Don't get me wrong, overall I've been really enjoying the game, and while it's a bit difficult to get into the swing of things with the wheel I'm playing with (the Logitech G29), it feels satisfying to accomplish the objectives presented, and the atmosphere is quite engaging.
Do I plan to keep playing? Of course I will. It's just that I'm a little annoyed by the eagerness to present its more ambitious ideas when I would have preferred to discover them at my own pace.
Twitter/Instagram/Letterbox: Alxxssss
