Info
Developed By: Ivory Tower.
Published By: Ubisoft.
Platforms Available On: Xbox Series X/S and One, PS5/4,PC and Amazon Luna.
Reviewed on PS5, a code was very kindly supplied for the purpose of this review.
Overview
Welcome to Motorfest, the ultimate gathering for all car lovers.
Join drivers from all around the world and fulfill your greatest action driving fantasies. Come explore Hawaii and discover this exciting and diverse playground behind the wheel of hundreds of legendary vehicles from the past, present, and future.
Overview taken from the official game description on the PlayStation store.
Review
When it comes to gaming I'm a big petrol head and love most forms of motorsports in games, the recent trend in the past few years to make racing games more open world and expansive definitely did catch my imagination. But normally I do get a bit bored after a while doing pretty much the same thing with just a bit of scenery changes to change your focus. I've been a big fan of The Crew series from way back (2014) so having an updated version with even more expanse to it was definitely something I needed to check out.
Right off the bat the similarities are there to be seen between The Crew Motorfest and Forza Horizon, with each game being an open world driving game based within a car scene event and to be honest it did put me off a little when I played the beta a while back, however getting into the main game Motorfest is the far better of the two with so much more on offer. More than 50 licensed manufacturers are available with over 600 cars available at launch whatever you're looking for there is definitely a vehicle for every need.
This is the best part about Motorfest is the choice on offer, whether you like street racing or off roading this is probably the best place for you as the Hawaii islands are your playground, the winding roads to the vast jungles each different terrain challenges you further, get ready for the ride of your life.
The main gameplay is based around different playlists determined by different racing styles here is where you get into the nitty gritty of the game and where you can unlock various rewards. You loan a vehicle that relates to the style of racing you are competing in and you literally drive the backside of it and push it to it's very limits. The handling of the cars has vastly improved from The Crew 2, in my opinion there wasn't much difference in terms of handling and overall feel between the cars in The Crew 2 but in the Motorfest it's vastly different each vehicle has the potential to be upgraded to monster level both visually and under the hood and the differences between the machines are evident and pretty realistic.
A bit like the previous title you get different sections to race in, on road / off road with cars, bikes, ATVs then hit the air with race spec aeroplanes and in the water with racing speedboats. I'll be honest I pretty much kept to land as I'm not very good with planes and boats but that is purely down to me rather than the game. I absolutely loved the drift races and the off road rally raid races as you literally drive on the edge taking your vehicle to the max.
The always online part of the game gives it that social feel to it that each racer on the map is a real time player giving you the opportunity to make on the spot races and build up tense rivalries. The big plus point about the online part is the online events that run putting 32 racers together in one race in all out carnage - they do something similar in Riders Republic to great effect too. This format of race really gets the blood pumping as you jostle with other gamers to get to the finish line, it takes the normal race format and elevates it to the next level.
When it comes to multiplayer in racing games I tend to spend more time working through the single player and kind of ignore the online side of things but with Motorfest being a constantly online title you really can't hide from the online aspect of the game and that gives the game more depth as the populated map definitely works, at times the ghost cars of other players can jump out at you and can be distracting as it can be difficult to determine what is the AI traffic you can crash into or the ghost cars of other players, especially when you're burning through at top speed. The main part of the game is controlled through a hub which is like a main meeting place and showcases all the latest events enabling you to access the events centrally although most events can be access and launched from the pause menu.
Overall Motorfest works and works well, at first sight it looks like a Horizon rip off but the more you play the more you find out it's actually the game that Horizon should be. Although you could drive round the O'ahu island in around 15mins the island still feels vast it has so much crammed into the space your eyes just can't stay still for a second. With all the different disciplines of racing available there is pretty much something for everyone in this smorgasbord of racing.
Graphics and Sound
In terms of graphics I would say that The Crew titles have always been of a high standard but Motorfest has taken this up a level with all the environments looking realistic and still keeping the strength even at high speed. Thanks to full licenses the vehicles are incredibly detailed right down to the smallest detail and there's also the fact you can use the vast amount of visual upgrades to customize your rides. Motorfest is a visual celebration of the racing scene from bright and colourful environments to the life like vehicles to use, you can also customise your avatar to give them the latest smooth look to makes sure you ride in style.
In terms of sound the Motorfest is vastly improved from The Crew 2 with the vehicle sounds sounding alot more authentic, everything looks and feels smooth. The soundtrack of the game is great and runs along with the overall feeling of the game.
Summary
Time now then to put my thoughts into a summary, overall I felt Motorfest was a vast improvement on the previous game and I would go as far as saying it's the best The Crew title so far. There will be comparisons between Motorfest and Forza Horizon but I will put my opinion forward and say that Motorfest is what Horizon should be a full petrol head and adrenaline junkie celebration that is constantly evolving and improving, I don't think you will get bored of this anytime soon.
Verdict-Out of 5 
EXCELLENT
I give The Crew Motorfest an excellent score of 5 , a well rounded driving experience. The different styles of racing keeps the interest in the game and makes the game constantly feel fresh. If you're a bit of an adrenaline junkie or love the rush of the race then you definitely need to get this in your collection.
Get your copy of The Crew Motorfest on PlayStation now click here
Also available on other platforms (see above)
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