Project CARS 3

“If you're looking for an arcade-sim with buckets of content which combines all the best bits from Gran Turismo, Forza and DriveClub, look no further. If you're a Project Cars 2 fan hoping for an update to their favourite sim, forget it. Key sim elements are now missing and although it's a fine arcade-sim racer, it should have been rebranded rather than gutted for a mainstream audience.”

“Project CARS 3 represents a huge shift in Slightly Mad Studios' attitude towards racing games. I suppose this means the studio lives up to their name! What Project CARS 3 lacks in realism, it now makes up for with accessibility. However, lacking the flair of other established racers in this arcade-sim genre such as The Crew 2 or Need for Speed will make it a tougher sell. Still, there are a couple hundred new events to try, with hundreds of cars to tweak, upgrade, and drive. So, if Project CARS is to continue down this path of more friendly racing, then they are on the right track, but whether their regular fans will be along for the ride is another question entirely.”

“While my disappointing experience with Project Cars 3 is clearly colored by my familiarity and enjoyment of the first two entries in the series, I tried to have a good time and managed to find it every once in a while.”

“Fitting between an arcade racer and a sim, Project CARS 3 tries something new with the series, but doesn't feel like a huge step forward.”

“Project Cars 3 and its transition to more arcadey racing can often be exhilarating, but it occasionally struggles to bring it all together.”

“Project Cars 3 take the series in the right direction when it comes to career mode but sadly slide off the right tone for everything else, a huge copy of PC2 and adds only a few to the franchise”

“Project CARS 3 suffers from a bit of an identity crisis in what it brings to the player, blending racing sim gameplay and arcade racer mechanics.”

“Project Cars 3 is going to annoy some people and I completely understand why. This is a huge deviation from the series that people are aware of, it honestly is like the series has lost its identity. However, this doesn't mean it's a bad game. An undeniably less sim-like experience, this is infinitely more accessible than earlier Project Cars titles and it doesn't completely drop the elements that made the series great, featuring a massive number of cars and tracks with a huge amount of customisation and detail throughout. It isn't without flaws, such as the first third of the campaign, but the pros far outweigh the cons and this is, simply, a very fun game.”

“Project Cars 3, at least on the base console versions, isn’t quite the polished sequel we were hoping for, but despite its foibles – and there are many – it’s entertaining. The racing can be fun, finding that niche of being accessible and competitive.”

“Project CARS 3 is easy to pick up and play but impossible to recommend to Project CARS 2 fans.”

“Project CARS 3 marks a significant departure for the series, abandoning most of its sim heritage in favour of arcade racing. Offering a variety of different cars and tracks, there's plenty of content on offer, making for a fun distraction, but it lacks the excitement we expect from wheel-to-wheel racing. It takes inspiration from all over the place, but it's perhaps most closely aligned with Sony's own DriveClub. It would seem, then, that the PS4 cycle is ending the way it began. We're just not sure we'd pick this over what's come before.”

“Project CARS 3 is not a standard sequel. It takes a lot of content from the two previous games (including the realistic handling of the cars), but it adds some arcade ideas that work and make it look more like GRID.”

“Project CARS 3 says goodbye to the ambition of being a full sim and drives fast to a safe simcade haven, made of an old-style career mode, car porn and linear progression. It works, it's a fun solid experience and in multiplayer even shines, but somehow the new identity struggles a little bit to find a proper balance.”

“With its bold new direction, superbly overhauled handling and some of the best, wheel-to-wheel racing out there, Project CARS 3 is a gamble that has resulted in one of the year's best racers.”

“While some might balk at the fact that Project Cars 3 is designed to be accessible, under the hood is the same bone-grindingly difficult racing sim that the series has always been.”

“Project Cars 3 is a great way to get into sim racing for newcomers thanks to its overtly gamey career mode, but the move into proper 'simcade' territory feels odd and unfulfilling.”

“Slightly Mad's expansive world of motorsport arguably works better as a hard-edged arcade racer than it ever did as a sim.”

“Project CARS 3 is a good meeting point between arcade and simulation. It's not a perfect product: there are some flaws here and there, such as for example a not too impressive audio department. But overall, it knows how to entertain, thanks especially to an impressive amount of content and to its accessibility.”

“Project CARS 3 suffers from a case of mistaken identity. Once you adjust to the new direction, you can get into a fun flow of ticking off objectives, drifting around hairpins and purchasing upgrades. However, while the series' existing platform means you get a great variety of circuits, cars and weather conditions, it also shackles this game from being a great arcade racing experience.”