Project Motor Racing Review – The Automobiles Are Back

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Racing simulation games have had an uncertain few years. As open-world and arcade-style racing games became more popular, realistic simulations lost some focus, even within well-known series. This was especially noticeable with the Project CARS franchise. It started as a very realistic driving simulator and its second game was quite successful. However, after being bought by different companies and facing pressure from the industry, the third game shifted towards a more arcade-like experience, ultimately leading to the franchise being discontinued.

While the Project CARS series appears to be finished, Project Motor Racing aims to take its place. It’s essentially a continuation of Project CARS 2, developed by many of the same people. This new game is a serious racing simulator focused on making each car feel unique, offering extensive customization options that dramatically impact handling, and immersing players in the complete race weekend experience with realistic visuals and audio.

This game is beautiful to look at and listen to, with impressive customization options for cars and races – it’s incredibly satisfying when everything works together. However, its focus on tiny details makes the overall experience feel directionless. For the price, it doesn’t offer much content right away and depends on upcoming updates and player-created modifications. It feels like a smaller version of the games that inspired it.

The Career mode, which is where you usually practice before playing ranked matches online, has been noticeably shortened.

I’m a big racing game fan, and what I really love about Project Motor Racing is that it doesn’t simplify things like car setup. A lot of arcade racers just let you race, but this game really dives deep into letting you tweak everything about your car, even during the race! It’s definitely aimed at people who are really into motorsport and love getting under the hood – it’s a game for hardcore fans like me.

The drivers who fine-tune their cars – everything from the suspension to the tires – to perfectly match the track and weather are the ones consistently competing for the championship. The new Hadron engine brings a realistic feel to the handling, making you truly feel in control, whether you’re winning a race or struggling in practice. While the game is playable with a gamepad – and reasonably manageable, though a bit unpredictable on sharp turns – it really comes alive with a racing wheel, offering incredible feedback and unique handling characteristics for each type of car.

While the game offers a lot of detailed options, it’s not very easy to pick up and play. Although it’s hard to directly compare to Project CARS 2 due to differences in development resources, Project Motor Racing unfortunately lacks helpful tutorials or guidance for players.

A realistic simulation might appeal to experienced racing fans, but this version could be difficult for newcomers. Unlike previous games, it doesn’t offer much guidance. Beyond a short tutorial, there’s little help explaining how different car adjustments affect performance, or how to best set up your car for a specific track and racing style.

As a big fan, I was really disappointed with the Career mode this year. It feels like they drastically cut it back – instead of a proper career, you’re just jumping from race weekend to race weekend with a little bit of money management thrown in. Honestly, with the Career mode being so limited, the lack of options to customize things off the track feels even more noticeable. It’s a shame, because those things really add to the immersion!

At the start of the game, you can pick between “Authentic” and “Classic” modes. The only difference is that Authentic mode lets you restart races and adjust the AI difficulty before starting your career. You’ll also choose a sponsorship model, which affects how you earn money. The options range from a simple “Rolling Billboard” – where you get a fixed payment per race – to the “Champion” model, which only pays out if you win.

When you experience the sights, sounds, and overall feeling of a race, Project Motor Racing is genuinely impressive.

As a racing fan, I really wish there was more to do outside of just… racing! You make all the big choices about your career before you even start, and honestly, after that, it’s mostly just buying cars and paying to race. It’s not bad, but it feels a little thin. Besides the career mode, there’s quick play, online racing, and a few time trials, but the promise of community-created challenges feels like a long way off. Everything, whether it’s ranked online or the career itself, just pushes you towards more races or challenges, and I was hoping for something a little more inventive and engaging in how it all works.

From then on, the focus is on the incredible racing experience, which Straight4 Studios continues to deliver. The game is visually and audibly impressive, whether you’re practicing, racing, or watching – with diverse car classes and realistic tire sounds on dynamic tracks.

The cars are meticulously detailed, capturing both how they handle and how they look. The tracks are also incredibly realistic, closely mirroring their real-world counterparts, and feature dynamic weather and time-of-day effects that make each race feel unique. I was even pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the music during the menus and setup screens, finding myself consistently nodding along to the beat.

Project Motor Racing is incredibly immersive when you experience the visuals, sounds, and sensations of a race, particularly with faster cars and challenging difficulty levels. However, the game can feel overwhelming because it demands a lot from players without offering much instruction.

Outside of custom rule sets, penalties are always active, and you can only change the challenge by adjusting how skilled the computer-controlled drivers are. Since you can’t rewind or sometimes even retry a race, every mistake can end your attempt. Even online, qualifying for leagues is tough – you’ll need to complete eight laps at Lime Rock Park in just over a minute each, which is a really fast time.

Despite a few flaws, Project Motor Racing shows real potential and could be a turning point for realistic racing games.

The game lacks good tutorials or advice on how to improve, which can be frustrating for new players and lead to them giving up before they learn the ropes, even though it can be rewarding once you do. It also demands a lot of time and effort to master the tracks and cars, but doesn’t offer a ton of content to keep you busy.

The game features 18 tracks and 70 cars spread across 13 different classes, which is a bit less content than you’d find in similar racing games like the Project CARS series, though the quality is high. It includes popular tracks like Nurburgring and Daytona, and each car handles noticeably differently. It’s a shame go-karts weren’t included this time around. With its $70 price tag and limited content, this game is clearly aimed at players who enjoy intensely detailed car customization and perfecting their racing technique – almost like a realistic driving simulator.

Despite a few flaws, Project Motor Racing shows real potential and could help revitalize the racing simulation genre. The way each car feels unique with customized settings, the dynamic weather, and nailing a perfect turn are all incredibly satisfying thanks to the game’s new engine. However, the lack of content and tutorials might make it difficult for players who aren’t already dedicated racing sim fans.

This game is a real rollercoaster – you can go from feeling incredibly happy to totally frustrated in an instant. But even with its ups and downs, I’m optimistic that Project Motor Racing could become a successful racing series, just like the ones we’ve seen before, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

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2025-11-28 19:46