Ghost Games, the former developer of Need for Speed, received criticism almost ten years ago for making the 2015 franchise relaunch exclusive to the internet, even for single players. In response, a continuous internet connection was not necessary for its 2019 follow-up Need for Speed Heat. Owners will no longer be able to play The Crew, even alone, after Ubisoft decommissioned the game earlier this year. The change was not warmly accepted.
Ubisoft has stated that The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest will now have offline options this very week. Unlike these changes in direction, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is an online-only racing game that was released in 2024 and does not seem to care too much about being a fun solo game. It is a perplexing beginning that, however, does not get much better despite a good handling model and a lot of work on show in its distinctive open world.
When it came to multiplayer online racing, the first Test Drive Unlimited was a trailblazer. Truly, it was a trailblazer, well ahead of its era. Test Drive Unlimited, which came out in 2006, is still recognized for its innovative online concept, but it also features a dedicated single-player mode that can still be accessed and played offline. All it did was put its multiplayer mode on top of it.
This is not how the always-online Solar Crown is constructed, and it is far worse off as a result. The game consists of a map with events that other players may or may not enter at the same time as you, with AI opponents but no real dedicated single-player option. It has been incredibly rare for another player to join my race during my time with it, before the standard edition release date. However, because there is no way to opt-out, the threat of it constantly exists.
This places Solar Crown in an unusual position. It implies that I am still constrained by all the drawbacks of internet racing, although my experience has almost completely consisted of battling alone versus the AI. This means that even though I would want to start alone and not have to wait for anyone else, I am unable to completely avoid lobby countdowns before beginning a race. It implies that I can not even halt races, which is a ridiculous issue to have when playing alone versus AI. It also shows complete disdain for parents and anyone else who has the gall to ever need to take a break from their work.
As a result, Solar Crown is in an odd position. It suggests that even if my experience has mainly consisted of competing against the AI alone, I am still limited by all the negative aspects of online racing. This means that I cannot avoid lobby countdowns before starting a race, even though I would prefer to start alone and not have to wait for anyone else. It seems that I can not even stop races, which is an absurd problem to have when playing against AI on my own. It also demonstrates utter contempt for parents and anybody else with the audacity to ever require a vacation from their employment.
Turn That Crown Upside Down
Regrettably, the racing itself is not compelling enough to justify these compromises in online living standards. When racing is at its best, it is fine on the most strategically planned race routes in Solar Crown. At its worst, though, it is tiresome and disappointing. The AI opponents are a constant source of annoyance since they detract from the experience by being incompetent in certain situations and incredibly talented in others. While Solar Crown’s AI opponents have a few designated difficulty settings, it does not allow us to choose each opponent’s strength as other racing games do. This implies that as we advance, Solar Crown will automatically increase the difficulty. However, the rise from “Experienced” to “Expert” is incredibly poorly done; as a result, winning against “Experienced” opponents will only make you lose.
I should emphasize that finishing higher on the podium or even winning does not mean you receive credits in Solar Crown events; finishing higher simply earns you a little additional cash on top of the race entry fee. Nonetheless, there is a list of ancillary goals that frequently demand that you finish at the very front of particular tournaments. This can be intimidating when competing against other racers who, on certain courses, will just sprint by you in vehicles that seem to be on par with yours, setting race times that can surpass the fastest human players currently listed on the worldwide leaderboards.
You can not just choose to disable the Expert AI setting, which makes this absurd issue exist. Once more, there is little that we can do about it. It is also not as simple as realizing that you can not sell automobiles, so you end up buying something that seems faster, and selling the car you have found is not competitive in the class you are grinding through. It is back to the grind until you can save up enough money to try again if you have just wasted a ton of credits on something that is not working out.
It is going to be extremely difficult as well; a normal win only gets you twenty to thirty thousand credits, while some of Solar Crown’s hypercars cost over ten million. This game is merely repetitive simple racing instead of driving missions like the previous TDU games. In my opinion, there is a problem with the rate of progression when a game begins to feel like work.
However, there are several elements that I truly enjoy, and the level of detail in the work done on the sound of the cars is quite astounding. Particularly nice sounds are the bark of your exhaust note or the hiss of wet asphalt as you wind down the window in a tunnel or during a downpour. Though I have been complaining about all racing games for ten years, the visual effects for rain in Cabin View are still not as good as those in Driveclub, which is ten years old.
Verdict
Test Drive Unlimited Although it is rife with issues, Solar Crown is by far the most ambitious driving game that creator KT Racing has ever created. An otherwise strong driving model and visually appealing open environment are undermined by forced internet requirements that feel unduly harsh towards lone players, inconsistent and unadjustable AI difficulty levels, a stale car list, and chore-like growth. Solar Crown has made a strong comeback for the old home of the WRC series, but sadly, the studio may have flown a bit too near to the sun.
