Project CARS Review: Is It the Most Realistic Racing Game Ever?

If you own either an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 and like racing games, your options up until now have been pretty limited. For PlayStation fans, Gran Turismo 6 is still the best bet, but it’s a game designed for the older generation console. Xbox One owners have had it better, with the excellent Forza Horizon 2 and Forza Motorsports 5.

But there’s a new player in town, and it may just be the best racing game yet.

Project CARS was birthed from a crowd funding campaign in which the developers and the community all chipped in, without using a traditional publisher. Those community members were an integral part of the game’s development and will receive a small percentage of profits deriving from sales within the first three years.

Developed by British firm Slightly Mad Studios, the guys responsible for creating “Need for Speed: Shift” a few years back, Project CARS is said to be for racers by racers — with a twist. The game can be dumbed down in the settings to give it a more accessible feel, so even those inexperienced racing gamers can have fun and win races.

It’s a game many, including myself, have been itching to try for sometime, and over the past few years the release date was continually pushed back. Here in the United States, it eventually went up for sale May 12 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. But even still, it’s not without glitches.

I’ve now spent many hours on the Xbox version using a Thrustmaster TX racing wheel and pedals, and there are problems where it occasionally hangs or the sound inexplicably cuts out. At 720p, the resolution isn’t that of the 1080p available on PS4 or higher still on the PC, and some have complained that the frame rate can dip below 30 frames per second (it remains 60 fps on PS4).

What this means is that the graphics aren’t as sharp on Xbox, but in no way should that deter you. It’s still more beautiful than Forza and the gameplay is — for the most part — utterly astonishing.

During my 21-year spell as a race car driver, I’ve driven many of the machines on offer in Project CARS. Little open wheel Formula Fords at a pokey Oulton Park racetrack in northern England? Sure. How about a Formula One car at Silverstone? I still count my blessings on that one.. A vintage American muscle car? A German DTM touring car? A Formula 3 open wheeler? An Audi R8 GT3?