Gran Turismo 7 – 5 Things We Love and 5 Things We Don't

Gran Turismo 7 was one of the most anticipated racing video game releases of the past few years, if not decade.

If we exclude the online-focused Gran Turismo Sport, the last true game from the franchise was Gran Turismo 6, which dates back to a late 2013 release. So fans of the franchise, like myself, have been clamouring for a new iteration of the racing juggernaut that, for the past 25 years, has delighted millions of video game and automotive enthusiasts alike.

On March 4, 2022 we all finally got our wish and Gran Turismo 7 was released for Playstation 4 and 5. Wasting no time, our staff at AutoGuide immediately set to work on the new game to see if it lives up to the franchise’s reputation. In short, yes, it does in spades. We feel fans of the franchise will love the game while new comers will have a bit of a steeper learning curve, but should appreciate its robust gameplay; especially those enamoured by all things automotive.

Of course, like any game, it’s not perfect. There are a few things we’d like to see changed. Things we feel are taking away from the gaming experience. Below, we’ve highlighted the top five things we don’t love about Gran Turismo 7 as well as the top five things we do absolutely love about Polyphony’s latest Gran Turismo entry.

Gran Turismo has always been one of those games that takes weeks, if not months, to complete every possible challenge. Gran Turismo 7 is no exception. Besides the usual races and championships found inside the World Circuits menu, there are the prerequisite license tests – a hallmark of Gran Turismo. New for this franchise are the Music Rallies where players need to drive a certain distance while listening to a song paired to a specific track and car.

And if that’s not enough, there are the Mission Challenges that incorporate all sorts of vehicular fun. Of course, even if someone is to complete all of these tasks with the highest gold ratings, Polyphony has already confirmed more content will be added to these sections in future updates.

We get it, driving a car at the limit can be tricky, but Gran Turismo 7 has taken things a bit far. Rear-wheel drive cars act like a fresh coating of Crisco has been applied to the racing surface. Some of the cars in game we have driven (and badly over driven) on track. Cars like the Nissan 370Z do not possess snap-oversteer, trying to 180 every time when lifting off the throttle mid corner.

This exaggerated driving behaviour is more of an issue with the stock tires many cars come equipped with, and buying a higher level of tires does a lot to quelle this unruly behaviour. Maybe it’s all a ruse to get players to spend their hard-earned credits on those pricey virtual slabs of rubber. But for a game claiming to be the real driving simulator, this needs to be toned down a bit.

Yes, some previous Gran Turismo franchises exceeded 1,000 cars in game. But claiming Gran Turismo 7 is lacking in choice because it only has in the ballpark of 450 cars is disingenuous. The choices span a century of automobilia and feature incredibly detailed exteriors as well as interiors. This isn’t Gran Turismo 4 through 6 where the majority of cars had zero-detail, shadowy monotone ‘interiors‘. And a healthy amount of new cars have been added to the game compared to the previous Gran Turismo Sport.

But for the true car hoarder, like yours truly, the entire make up of the game revolves around trying to collect every vehicle in game. And the amount of prize cars awarded are generous without being overload. Plus, more cars will be added in future updates, keeping the collection quest alive.

Having dynamic time isn’t all that new for the Gran Turismo franchise as it appeared in a few previous titles. But the execution of it on this game is incredible. Drive Trial Mountain as it transitions from day to night and the entire experience transforms. The bright yellow glow of light inside the tunnels, the momentary blinding blackness as you exit it and your eyes need to adjust, the reflections of sunlight off of buildings at dawn; it’s all fantastic.

Equally impressive is the dynamic weather. A weather radar screen is included as part of the driver’s MFD that can be zoomed in and out. On it, players will see storm fronts approaching or departing the track, helping them decide race strategy. And the rain isn’t just an on/off switch. It can do anything from a little drizzle to a full-fledge monsoon leaving hydro-planing puddles all over the racing circuit.

In most racing games, the computer-controlled competition, often referred to as artificial intelligence (AI) drivers, are very robotic. They race around on a singular driving line, and do not deviate from it for any reason. This gets incredibly boring, and can be quite frustrating if the AI drivers ignore your existence on the track.

With Gran Turismo Sport, each AI driver has its own racing style, some of which are dramatically different. Some are conservative, some are aggressive, some are wildly out of control. Bump an AI driver and don’t be surprised if they return the favor at the next corner. In one race, a computer controlled AI driver in a Corvette would overcook every corner. It became a mission to watch out for the dive bomber at every slow speed turn. Maybe this is just a secret ploy to get players ready for online Sport Mode?

As nice as it is to have some uniqueness to the AI drivers, there is one trait they all share, the dreaded rubber band performance. For those newer to racing games, the term rubber band AI refers to computer controlled competitors that don’t actually race at a certain speed depending on vehicle capabilities and programmed skill, but rather react wholly to your performance as a player.

There were races where I was passing by my opponents at an incredible pace and shrank the time deficit to the leader from 24 seconds to 4 seconds within just two laps. But for the final two laps, I suddenly couldn’t catch the leader as they picked up the pace by about 8 seconds a lap. In another race I spun out on lap one of a three lap race and lost by 3 seconds at the end. I re-ran that race with the same opponents in the same car, didn’t spin out or have any issues, and still lost by the same 3 second gap.

The Used Car dealership is another feature that isn’t new to the Gran Turismo franchise. But its execution in GT7 is a bit different. Instead of a revolving stock of vehicles that changes at specific in-game or real world intervals, it appears the new system is more like classified ads containing a set amount of inventory. All players world-wide appear to share the same used car inventory and as cars get bought up by players, vehicles get labelled with a Limited Stock warning when supplies get low before eventually showing as sold out.

What’s unclear is whether a vehicle needs to be sold out before a new item is added, and currently, the pace to refresh used car inventory is painfully slow. But we’re hoping things pick up as more players enter the game.

What would Gran Turismo be without the grind? This isn’t anything new, nor shocking. In fact, fanatics of the series like me appreciate the grind as it keeps goals alive for months on end if one is trying to acquire all of the vehicles and/or gold every challenge. But if you’re a casual gamer who wants to jump right into Gran Turismo 7 and have the best of the game unlocked and/or acquired in a few nights; it’s not going to happen. That 3.2 million credit Ferrari FXX isn’t going to be yours on day one.

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