Review: Driveclub (After the Big Update)

If there’s one way to make sure your game will have problems when it’s launched, then make it revolve entirely around online features. Driveclub did exactly that, focussing on multiplayer racing, online clubs (hence the name) and challenges which were designed to bring everyone together into one big racing love-in.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work. I mean literally, none of the online features worked. That left a single player mode which, while being excellent in its own right, wasn’t the meat and drink of the intended gaming experience. A lot has been written about why, after two beta testing periods, Driveclub was so broken and took so long to fix after release, but a fix was released just before Christmas (along with some free DLC, which is always nice) and with the addition of dynamic weather the game is pretty much how it should’ve been from day one.

So we thought we’d be different. You don’t need another review bitching about the online features being wonky, so right here is our review of the finished game. The working, fully online, weather-boasting game. And I’ll tell you a little secret: it’s very, very good.

Driveclub (2)

As Sony’s first proper racer on the PS4, Driveclub certainly looks the business. Cars are insanely well modelled both inside and out, tracks are gorgeous and full of life and the frame rate is solid and fluid at all times. In terms of presentation you couldn’t want for much more. The sounds are booming too, and with a decent set of headphones you’ll hear every last subtlety in different engine tones, tyre noises and road surface as you speed towards the finish. Whether you’re using the bumper cam, gorgeous in-car view or lifting the camera behind the car there’s always a good sense of speed, although as you’d expect it’ll feel quicker the closer to the ground your view becomes.

Speaking of cameras, the developers have chosen to include a photo mode in the big update to show off the visuals, a very brave move considering how they were bigging up the graphics on the build up to release. It does the job perfectly though, in fact all of the images used in this review have been taken off the Driveclub Facebook page, which showcases some of the more creative photographic efforts of the Driveclub community. The photo mode is done using the in-game engine, so if you think it’s all done with clever pre-rendering, think again.

Driveclub (4)

Also new in the update is dynamic weather, meaning the original choice of cloudy, clear and nighttime has now also been joined by varying amounts of rain which can change as the race goes on, with road surfaces changing as they would in real life. Combine that with a day/night cycle which can be set up to run at whatever speed you fancy, and you’ve got a vast number of combinations to play with. Heavy rain in the middle of the night, a low sunset with light drizzle to make the windscreen a nightmare, or midday with bright sunshine, it’s totally up to you. Driving changes in these conditions too, you won’t be hurtling round corners in the pouring rain, in fact at certain times you’ll be hard pushed to even see the corners until they’re right on top of you, a huge challenge if ever there was one.

This all comes together online and in the community challenges, where the driving is frantic and aggressive. I’ve only experienced lag once in an online race, with every other occasion working extremely well with varying numbers of players. There’s the expected group of ram-happy players that seem to infiltrate every racing game released, but it seems the initial problems have left only those who enjoy racing, and while nobody will make it easy to overtake, there seems to be a lot of fair racing to be had online.

Driveclub (3)

Another core element of Driveclub is the challenges, which can be targeted at individuals or clubs. As another element which didn’t work at all when the game was released you might not have read much about them, but they’re an incredibly addictive way to compete against other gamers. The idea is for someone to complete a race or timed lap, then set it up as a challenge for others to try. You can send them to just your friends, open it up to anyone or create a club challenge where the fastest time from each club is the only one to count towards the challenge. That final option is the jewel in the crown, with two targets to aim for – not only being the best among your friends to make your time the one which counts, but then also how many others around the world you can come out on top of. You can see the number of attempts taken on each challenge too, perfect for additional bragging rights when a friend’s 20th attempt still hasn’t trumped your third one.

Offline racing is well catered for too, and while the main mode is just a tool to deliver a series of races with little to tie it all together, the racing itself is intense and the aggressive AI won’t make anything easy from start to finish. Other drives will swerve to block you from overtaking, you’ll get nudges and aggression from drivers trying to get past you and they’ll fight between themselves for position, making the occasional mistake while they do battle. The AI and penalty systems have been tweaked in the update as well, a sensible move considering how often you got hammered off the track then penalised for cutting a corner as a result. Those moments have been dramatically reduced now, and it’s uncommon to get annoyed by an unfair penalty now. For an offline mode in a racing game, it’s mightily impressive. It’s just a shame there isn’t more to bond it all – you get regular new cars and liveries, but no concrete reason to pay much attention to most of them.

So while it’s true that Driveclub had one of the worst launches in recent gaming, all credit to the developers for plugging away and fixing the problems. It took a while, a lot of people gave up and traded in, and a lot of reviews on the web are very scathing about the whole ordeal. But now, in its current state, and after a series of updates and free DLC, Driveclub is a racer which every PS4 owning racing fan should be looking into buying. It’s fast, it’s gorgeous and when clubbing together with some friends it’s incredibly addictive.

Good things come to those who wait, and those who have waited have struck gold with Driveclub.

Reviewed on PS4

13 Comments

  1. Except it doesn’t
    It still hasn’t resolved all the online issues, the broken challenges, the horrid physics, the psychotic AI, absurdly small clubs, lack of proper replays and lackluster career.

    • I find that those complaining about the A.I. did not look at many real races with pro pilots, they tend to hold the best possible line to take advantage of the draft from the cars in front of them… and pass when they have a proper occasion… collisions are often caused by the player mis-handling their vehicule (even if the other car comes from behind).

      Online ahs worked really well for a while now, not that it mattered much to me.

      The lack of replays is deplorable… but hardly a game breaker, I would not have noticed it if it was not mentioned in posts like this one, maybe the share feature of the console is considered enough? after all it records the last 15 minutes, more than enough for 90% of the races.

      As for the career mode, I find it interesting, the challenges are varied (I.E. it’s not always win the races to get to the next level or unlock this and that car…) however it helps if you know how to drive.

    • Online, including Challenges has been working flawlessly for more than a month.

      The physics are superb, a deep, rewarding driving model that is reminiscent of Gran Turismo. This combined with the superb track design makes for an outstanding game that’s both rewarding online, and in the single player tour.

  2. Contrasting the launch version of DriveClub to today’s updated version, there is in fact a clear gameplay advantage warranting this well written reviews insight. While there are still a few tweaks needed in the online department, the overall offering at the moment is a visually stunning racing experience with an intense driving edge. No it isn’t perfect, however if Driveclub launched in its current state, review scores would certainly be much higher overall. A great read!

  3. Played this game after all the fixes and to be honest, apart from the great graphics, this game is mediocre. ME-D-O-KER. The physics are indeed horrid. Engine noises are not accurate. Weather effect makes little difference in driving. If you like eye candy and a mediocre racing experience its right for you. Otherwise, they need to start work on Driveclub 2.

  4. The game has a hook point that once reached makes it one of the most addictive games available. The graphics are amazing, sound is as accurate as we’ve heard in a racer and the handling between each car is very distinguishable.

    I would even say that it gives you a better racing experience than anything else due to its unmatched sense of speed. The weaknesseses such as customization of engines/tires are strengths to people who simply want racing. If you want to tune cars I recommend a different game.

  5. I just got a PS4 and was wondering about Drive Club as i need a racer to add to my collection. Like everyone (and their mother) i heard about the launch problems, and its good to see that they are under control now. From the screens it looks a bit like NFS:SHIFT which i loved. I must check it out. There’s probably some great offers around now aswell.

  6. Worst part about this game. The handling on the cars SUCK. You do not see cars in reality life getting loose just bc you turn wheel slightly. Don’t see same cars that are suppose to handle great not turn at all. Rest of game is great. Just comes down to the hamd long of the cars.

  7. I am new users, i have problem with driveclub when i started to play immediately downloading start.i cant play the game.
    Any problem in disc
    Or after download i can play

    Plz any one solve the problem

    Waiting

    • “Waiting”? Wow. Rude.

      I suspect these guys do the reviews, not the support for these games. Do the obvious thing and contact Sony.

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