Project CARS 3

All in all, Project CARS 3 is a new attempt from Slightly Mad Studios that doesn’t really fit into the rest of the franchise, but delivers a moderately enjoyable experience for racing fans. The game partially succeeds in being a spiritual successor to NFS: Shift, but in general, the new installment of the Project CARS series feels more like a regression than a true step forward.

Ultimately, I feel the greatest mistake that Project CARS 3 makes is being called what it is. Fans of the previous two games probably won’t find what they expect here, while those who disliked them could possibly be put off by the name. This is essentially a paradigm shift for the series, taking it into new territory with mass-market appeal. And for racers like me, who like a game that controls well, has rewarding progression, and who aren’t particularly bothered by the absence of serious sim elements, it’s Slightly Mad Studios’ best and most accessible game yet.

Project CARS 3 is a serious departure from the franchise's roots. It takes a lot of risks, but those willing to make the jump will find a fun and rewarding racing experience

More-user friendly, more fun, but still boasting all of the bark and bite you'd expect from a top tier racing sim.

Project Cars 3 is not Project Cars 1 or 2, that much needs to be made clear right away. People will decry the franchise for losing its identity as a purist racing simulation and honestly, they wouldn't be wrong. If you are coming into Project Cars 3 expecting a tough-as-nails racing simulation, you're going to be disappointed. If you're coming into this expecting a fun, fast and engaging 'simcade' racer, this could be the one for you. For those of you with no expectations, see the latter.

A Fan Favorite Cruises in a New Direction

A fun, casual arcade racer that has a decent chunk of a career mode to keep you busy with some fun aspects, let down by wonky AI and being placed into the wrong series of games making it really hard to recommend to either demographic of casual race fans or sim racers.

I approached Project CARS 3 as an opportunity to shake off the rust of driving games and get behind the wheel once more to test my skills. It had been a long time since I sat in the virtual driver’s seat and careened across the pavement, and Project CARS 3 felt like the perfect opportunity to step away from the arcade racers I so often drift towards and try something with a little more realism. However, as soon as the opening credits began to roll and the name Codemasters popped up on screen, I knew exactly the kind of ride I was in for.

Impossible to recommend to fans of Project CARS 2, Project CARS 3 is a total 180 for the series. It’s easy to pick up and play and the racing here is robust enough for some casual thrills and spills, but ultimately it cribs from so many other racing games that racing gamers probably already own that it’s simply inessential.

Project CARS 3 suffers from a case of mistaken identity. Once you adjust to the new direction, you can get into a fun flow of ticking off objectives, drifting around hairpins and purchasing upgrades. However, while the series' existing platform means you get a great variety of circuits, cars and weather conditions, it also shackles this game from being a great arcade racing experience.

I have been playing a lot of racing games lately and that is fine because, good or bad, I do like taking a new racer for a spin. Project CARS is not a series I have much experience with but when the offer is 120 track layouts and multitudes of vehicles to drive I am hardly going to say no; who would? So here we have Project CARS 3, developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Bandai Namco. Interestingly, despite being acquired by racing veterans Codemasters (who make the Formula 1 games...

A confused identity mixed in with its awkward transition to simcade makes Project CARS 3 one of the least satisfying racing games I've played in years. There may be potential for its more arcade focused design to be developed upon but Slightly Mad Studios is certainly not there yet.