TEST Gran Turismo 7: an episode that holds up?

It was in 2013 that players playstation were able to get their hands on the last numbered episode of the franchise, Gran Turismo 6. Although we were able to have fun with Gran Turismo Sports, fans had to wait almost 10 years to get their hands on the seventh installment. This new experience has been detailed and exhibited over the months, making an entire community salivate. And for good reason, the promises are numerous, inevitably, everyone is waiting for the title at the turn. We played with this new production, it’s time to give you our impressions.

Craftsmanship on cars.

We launch the beast and it asks us to make a visual choice between “Favor performance” and “Favor ray tracing”. Naturally, anyone with a decent screen at home wants to test out the game with vivid rendering. Only here, it is necessary to read the small lines, just below, specifying that the ray tracing is “enabled in race replays and in 3D scenes”. Which means ? Well, whatin-game, we have no choice of graphics. So in the end, whether we choose one or the other, the result is the same, controller in hand. So yes, the reflections are natural and tickle the retina during the reruns of our escapades, but we would not have been against the display of this technology during our competitions, even if it meant losing a little frame rate.

Let’s talk little, let’s talk well, Gran Turismo 7 looks really good and runs around 60 fps. The developers have done a masterful job on the cars that are toppling over. Exterior and interior have been carefully modeled to make us feel the materials of each part of the cars. Also, the courses are well done and varied, the textures are crisp, detailed and impressive (especially the road). But what really stood out to us was the weather and the sky. In effect, environment is disrupted due to climate and time of day. Humidity, heat, day or night, landscapes are constantly changing.

However, all is not all beautiful, all rosy… Indeed, imperfections are there and can surprise. As ? Decorative elements that pop up without warning in the foreground and in the background from time to time. We are on a closed circuit, the PS5 can not manage this kind of thing? For once we ask ourselves the question, are we dealing with a slightly improved PS4 version? In view of the productions released so far on this “new gen” platform, no, such a popping should not exist in this type of game!

Also, the spectators in the bleachers and the figures near the road seem to be dead, or maybe they are statuettes? It clearly lacks animation, on a lively side, with a bit of interaction. It’s really a shame, because the magic and immersion fade because of these kinds of details. We feel that the developers put all their effort into the design of the vehicles and the weather, and that the rest was done halfheartedly because it had to be done… Regarding the AI ​​during our races, it clearly lacks common sense. The other participants follow a rail, do not prevent us from overtaking them and bump into each other at times. And it’s annoying because, when we want to make a perfect course, we always have this little stress, looking in the rear view mirror, knowing if a car is going to hit us or not. Hopefully the virtual brain of Gran Tursimo 7 be perfected over time…

Above all, the game leaves us the choice of commands. So if you like accelerating with the keys and turning with the D-Pad, you can. You prefer to use the triggers and the left joystick, it’s doable too. A mixture of the two? At your convenience ! It’s nice to leave the choice to us. In short, as we have just said, Polyphony Digital did a monumental job on the cars on the aesthetic side, but it’s also about the handling. So the gameplay has been taken to the extreme to bring players a driving close to reality. Each vehicle is therefore controlled in a different way, it’s amazing.

The feelings are crazy.

Suspensions, mass transfers, inertia… Be careful not to get too carried away with a big car, otherwise you’ll end up in a wall. Totally delirious! We were talking about climate change, well, it’s not just visual. The weather has a big impact on our car. Depending on road conditions (wet, hot, cold, dry, etc.) and atmospheric temperatures, engine power and tire grip will change. Basically, habits are always turned upside down.

To give you an example, when the rain stops falling, the ground is wet and puddles are formed. Over the passages, the surface begins to dry in specific areas, the gameplay varies depending on where we ride. The developers who have thought of this kind of detail are simply magicianss geniuses! They studied this universe extensively to recreate it in a virtual world… What a pleasure in our hands! Does your heart swing for a particular automobile? The workshop is there to modify it! It is possible to adjust several parts of your baby in order to improve performance at your convenience and thus enjoy a new grip more suited to your desires.

Unsurprisingly, the features of the DualSense are used. Do not be scarred by words, this is one of the best experiences we’ve had with this controller. With each transmission, our pad vibrates in a raw way and we feel the vibrations of the tires on the grips, which intensify more or less depending on the surface. The adaptive triggers, they can become heavy, tremble or even block during aggressive braking. The sensations are crazy, it’s a real treat.

If you have never played a Gran Turismo and you want to learn the basics, don’t panic, you can get your license. The game then teaches you to master a bend, to brake, to control a vehicle to perfection. After which, you can go to a dealership to buy your first love and go for a coffee. Because yes, Gran Turismo 7 revolves around a… Coffee. This is the place that directs the player in this new production. The atmosphere is classy, ​​pleasant, calm and we let ourselves be guided without stirring up our neurons too much.

A welcome educational aspect that transports the player with ease into the automotive world.

Different “menus” (objectives if you prefer) are offered and give the possibility of recovering new cars; from the city car, to the sports car. This is also where we learn a little more about the world of mechanics, a welcome educational aspect that transports the player with ease into the automotive world. In short, we are heading into “World Circuits”, where we have a field day on North American, European and Asian routes. To get to the end of things, it takes about 25 hours.

A garage is there and exposes our purchases. We then collect four-wheeled machines which are often expensive. Of course, we accumulate some money by completing championships. However, the sums won are not very high. Want to resell a car to crack on another? Impossible. Once in your possession, you can either keep it or throw it away.

The title helps us by offering us lottery tickets, where we can get change, but also cars and spare parts, but honestly, that’s not enough. And this is where the blue card, the real one, the one in our wallet, comes into play. By clicking on our balance, we see a small button “Reload on PlayStation Store” which allows you to simply obtain credits ; everything has been thought out to make you succumb. Yes, you can acquire anything you want by playing, but in that case, forget your life.

Also, we liked the mode Music Rally who is there to relax while having fun. Just like a OutRun, we have to cross checkpoints to save time. The objective is to get to the end of a piece of music, without our timer does not reach zero. Speaking of chanting, the soundtrack of Gran Turismo 7 is really excellent. The few notes heard pulse our races. The strong point of the game comes mainly from the sound effects. Engines rumbling, tires squealing, drops of water bouncing off the hood, our esgourdes are awake and say thank you.

Polyphony Digital wants you to share photos with those around you. So the team created scapesa mode where we can stage our vehicles, with environments that are more real than life! The little extra thing is that the developers have literally designed editing software, with a lot of options, in a video game. It’s crazy, try it at least once, you’ll be surprised.

To conclude, Gran Turismo 7 was designed with passion and the work done on this work is titanic. Kazunori Yamauchi and his comrades deliver a superb love letter to car aficionados, this seventh episode is a magnificent collection, playful and entertaining at the same time. The starting signal has just been given, the basics are good, this production is just waiting to grow with new tests and challenges, and to be polished with a few patches.

You can buy Gran Tursimo 7 on PS5 at €64.49 via Amazon.