On paper, the idea behind The Crew Motorfest is a proven winner.
It takes the free-form gameplay loop pioneered byForza Horizonto a brand-new location - and to PlayStation consoles.
It’s you, the open road, and a sprawling map filled with different events.
Just as withThe Crew 2, the map view in itself is impressively handled.
There’s also a rolling time of day, weather states, and online integration.
There’s never a dull moment in driving from A to B.
Now for the not-so-good stuff.
It must be said that the lighting in Motorfest is something of a weakpoint.
Especially at night, or while driving through tunnels, cars take on an almost otherwordly glow.
Added to that, there are a few other shortfalls.
You’ll spot obvious shadow pop-in during plane missions.
You’ll notice flickering water transparencies during boat race segments.
These are nitpicks, but obvious enough to still detract from the game’s overall sense of polish.
Speaking of modes, which is the best way to play the game on the premium machines?
In both modes, the image is reconstructed with AMD’s FSR2.
Otherwise, the differences between the two options are subtle.
Textures, shadows and SSR quality are a match, for a start.
However, there are relatively subtle draw distance differences between the two modes, on road-side geometry and shadows.
Most likely this is a key performance saver for a more GPU-taxing area.
It’s worth stressing that neither premium console misses out with 60fps selected.
Comparing PS5 and Series X directly in their performance modes, we get a practical mirror image.
Every blade of grass and rock is precisely matched on both sides and resolutions are identical too.
It’s an expected concession for Series S, proportionate to its lower GPU spec.
In fairness, image quality on Series S still holds up well at this native resolution.
Moving to the map view exaggerates the issue too, with persistent frame drops.
Next along is Series X, where the turnout at 60fps is slightly better than PS5’s.
The main difference is the drops are less frequent, in racing events especially.
After all is said and done, the 60fps mode is the setting to choose on either console.
In fact, I haven’t spotted a single frame-rate drop on PS5 in all testing so far.
The only trouble spot is on the world map, which surprisingly exhibits uneven frame pacing.
Other than that, PS5 hands in a smooth, evenly paced frame-time readout for actual gameplay.
Bizarrely, Series X doesn’t follow suit in its handling at 30fps.
That makes it a choppy experience at times.
We get tearing, we get uneven frame-pacing, and for Series S users there’s no alternative.
There’s no question this performance option is the best fit for its brand of nitro-fuelled racing.
Sadly, this luxury doesn’t extend to Series S at present.
Not by a long stretch.
It’s a real shame, because there’s genuine quality in The Crew Motorfest’s design.
But in the console space, ideally the PS5 or Series X versions are the ones to pick up.
