If the main things you’re looking for in a console racing game are (in order) pretty graphics, decent car control and lots of (fictional) point to point roads to race on, then DriveClub is your kind of title.
Having just come out on the PlayStation 4, the only platform you can have it on, the title has been getting mixed-to-mediocre reviews. As stated in the opening, it looks very nice and its driving physics engine is pretty good too, and yet it does not excel in any area whatsoever.
On top of that, cars can’t be customized or upgraded (the most you can do is custom and usually silly liveries), plus the artificial intelligence is really anything but – the computer controlled opponents are aggressive and will do anything to stick to the racing line.
This looks downright stupid when compared to what’s now considered advanced: Forza’s drivatar system which was recently overhauled and adapted for open world applications in Horizon 2. It makes the system DriveClub uses look and feel like a relic just by watching the reviews/gameplay videos and seeing the row of cars mindlessly following one another…
What DriveClub does well is offer an excellent sensation of speed, often upped by the narrow roads the races are run on, plus the way the cars handle which is reportedly really nice and rewarding. However, be warned that it is by no means a simulator.
There’s clearly room for improvement and more features here, but if you just want to casually play and have a good time without having to wrap your head around anything too complicated, then give it a try – even the menu system emphasizes the game’s simple nature.
Oh yeah, and you can also create clubs which you can level up to unlock the last of the 50 or so cars. Be warned, though, that the game features a roster of exclusively European cars, with the exception of the Hennessey Venom.