Review: The Crew Motorfest – intheGame

Ubisoft’s new street racer this year is The Crew Motorfest. A strange mix of Hot Wheels, Need For Speed ​​and Forza Horizon combined with a detailed story.

Ubisoft is bringing its arcade racing game back to the market this year. The Crew Motorfest was a huge hit this year, and is an arcade racer with a serious flair. We of course know the series for its unique in-game mechanic, which is vehicle swapping. For example, you can go from racing in a supercar to doing a backflip in the air in an airplane using the quick selection menu. Of course you can also choose to float on the water with your big boat and make things unsafe out there.

Crew Motorfest takes place on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where we celebrate the existence of all things motorcycle. With theme-specific playlists, you can experience the entire culture from A to Z in this game. From Japanese classics to open-wheel vehicles, from racing boats to World War II planes.

As we can see in the trailer, this game naturally focuses on cars and motorcycles. From the Lamborghini Revuelto to Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 car, almost every type of two- and four-wheeled vehicle is available in this game.

This game launches with over 600 in-game vehicles, most of which are of course ground driven. Don’t be put off by this number because each vehicle received a lot of love. The visuals for all the cars are excellent but what really shines is the sound. Every car, motorcycle, plane or boat looks unique and authentic. You can hear the unique rumble of a Subaru boxer engine to the screams of a V12-engined open-wheel racer.

the way of playing

This game, like the rest of the series, is of course an arcade racing game. This means that you should not expect a simulated experience. However, there is a good balance of weight and responsiveness behind each vehicle. This gives a good sense of where the boundaries are with what you control. An open-wheel car will respond much faster and have greater off-road grip than, say, an off-road SUV, but that doesn’t mean heavier cars are any less fun to drive. Although the cars handle well, they can be quite stubborn at times. Drifting, for example, is very similar to the same controls that we see in the game Need For Speed, for example the car drifts on its own and sometimes it is impossible to control it or pull out of the drift.

As mentioned earlier, the game uses themed playlists. These playlists are, as it were, events you have registered for where you can only drive certain vehicles. For example, you have playlists from countries, but you also have specific car brands, and sometimes models from a specific brand.

In the “Porsche” playlist, you cannot drive a Ferrari, and in most events you are presented with a car that you have to drive. These aren’t bad cars and they all work well, giving you an idea of ​​almost every vehicle in the game.

Since the game usually has a car ready for you, sometimes there is no point in modifying and modifying cars from your garage. In story mode, you’ll almost never drive your car in an event, but only use it to get from point A to point B. However, the game provides good feedback no matter what terrain you’re driving, navigating, or flying on. This gives good variety and each specialty feels different from the last. Since you’re switching back and forth from different themes, which means you’re also driving over different terrain, each theme stays nice and fresh.

A world that evolves with you

The visual aspect must of course be clear as well. Each car is exactly the real thing down to the last detail. Customizing the car could be a bit more creative, as some of the body kits are obviously not street legal. It makes it possible to transform a regular BMW M4 into a GT3 car. This way you can replace almost any car body part and boost the performance to the real part.

This game, while sticking with pimping cars, allows you to see your own work in 3D. For example, you can wander into a car show where you can see your creations. This gallery also serves as a sort of hub where you can walk around as your own character. You’ll also see the cars of your friends and other players, which you can vote for at the end. If you reach the top 10 featured cars, a great reward will come to you.

The island of Oahu sympathizes with you. Each themed playlist ensures the island wears a different outfit. With the Japanese theme, for example, you see a Cyberpunk theme with a lot of neon lights, and if you go off-road with a large vehicle, you will more quickly encounter tents along unpaved parkour. For example, an airplane race also has more large balloons in the air that you have to navigate than a boat race, for example. These themes give the feeling that each race is actually different and not a dress rehearsal.

Unfortunately, the game took a lot of inspiration from the Forza Horizon series. For example, we see the big festival with a lot of colors and music, but also integrated artworks created by real artists and placed in-game on buildings, for example. We also see rings and other funny things in the world from Hot Wheels for example.

biography

The Crew Motorfest is a very fun arcade racing game that gives you an insight into car culture. The game maintains its charm with different themed playlists, from specific cars to the environment that changes to better immerse you in the game. The controls are not a simulation but a solid arcade racing game in which you control your car.

A number of games are clearly inspired by this continuation of the series, for example we see customization from the Need For Speed ​​series and a number of collected items from Forza Horizon and Hot Wheels. Unfortunately, there are a number of elements that appear to be duplicates from other games. As a result, Motorfest loses its authenticity in a number of aspects.