Racing games, there’s quite a lot of them out there, right? But then again, there are plenty of shooters, adventure games, and so forth, so why do racing games get a bad rap? Maybe because there’s only so much you can do with a racing title to differ it from another, but there are some defining subgenres that people really do love. Racing Sims has only propelled forward with tremendous momentum and will keep doing so for a while. Assetto Corsa Competizione hopes to top the subgenre with a brand-new coat of polish for next-gen consoles.
What is Assetto Corsa Competizione?
Competizione is the successor to the widely acclaimed and much beloved Assetto Corsa, but this time round aims to be leaner, meaner, and more focused on professional racing, for all types of players. Originally released in 2020, the scope had been radically changed from the previous mod-friendly favourite, where the engine has been swapped for Unreal Engine 4 and the focus being exclusively on GT3 class cars. The response back in 2020 to be fair was not warm.
Critics and players both agreed something was off and the game felt slightly under-refined for launch. However, the developers have been working hard to revamp and make the experience even more engaging, with lots of technical improvements and now including new features such as sprint and endurance cups, plus a whole heap of additional cars.
And their hard work has really outshined here.
Race like a Pro!
Assetto Corsa Competizione's main goal is to bring forth the ultimate racing sim experience for next-gen, with players traveling the world to famous circuits, driving the most powerful cars on the planet, and feeling like an actual pro with enhanced visuals and a smooth, steady 60fps.
Whether you’re playing Competizione on an Xbox Series X or even your first-gen Xbox One, you can rest assured the technical side of things will remain steady. My experience was incredibly promising, with a stable framerate throughout and solid visuals which really show the power of the Unreal Engine, especially when it imitates real life.
I’m not a massive racing fan, but I know that the choice of GT3 is for good reason. With GT3 having been the pillar category of motorsports for over 15 years, with this class being used in a broad variety of events from international championships to national, excelling in shorter race formats and putting to the test in endurance racing.
Competizione does to humanly possible to capture the thrill and raw intensity of driving these cars in perfect simulation. The real-world performance has been interpreted so well to digital format and driving here feels immensely organic.
The driving in Competizione is incredible, with a great sense of realism behind the wheel and the visual presentation/sound design only enhancing the feeling of driving an immense power beast on the track. From the blast of start-up to handling those tricky corners and speeding past the finish line was so exhilarating in Competizione.
There’s a ton to experience in Competizione from its numerous game modes and extensive career mode, you’ll be securing some serious mileage when playing.
Visual perfection?
Assetto Corsa Competizione is a game that strives for visual perfection, and while not having the same mega-budget of a certain Microsoft milestone racing franchise, Competizione utilises the Unreal engine extremely well. The environments are nothing special but do have some brilliant dynamic effects that come with the day/night cycles, which really can look stunning at times. Even the small touches with weather conditions such as rain, add an immense organic layer to the world nicely. But the main showstopper really is the GT3 cars, which look superb, with amazingly detailed exteriors and interiors, with organic-looking textures and surfaces, with pin-point reflections on the cars and even in the working mirrors.
You can clearly see the passion and accuracy when crafting these high poly bodyworks, and Competizione proves that even a smaller studio can grasp that realism which high-class driving sims are known for in their visuals. My only gripes would be some low poly items in the background being a little too clear, even when the race is not in motion. Environmental elements such as grass look a little flat, and background buildings just look too low in. And while I understand you can’t put too much detail on crowds, I’m a little tired of games not putting a little more effort into the generic and flat-looking spectators. I’m not sure if this is due to Competizione really being a last-gen game, but even boosted on a Series X, there are no real enhancements with the previously mentioned issues.
But considering the level of detail in the cars, the nice day/night/weather effects, along with the performance being generally pretty good on Series X, I would say these were small gripes. Competizione was able to run smoothly and load quite quickly which was a massive plus and even on last-gen, the loading times were still speedy enough to not drag on.
Work hard, drive hard!
Competizione demands a lot from you, to monitor your speed, accuracy, and stability when racing on the track. Of course, it’s a professional racing sim, but one that aims to include new potential fans of the subgenre.
There is a Practice mode that plucks you onto an empty track and allows you to drive around to your heart’s content. Giving you full control with as little or most interferes. You can set various conditions, whether it’s day or night, or whether the weather will be clean or harsh. Competizione is fluent with its accessibility and easing you into its world of brutal yet rewarding competitive racing.
It gives you plenty of breathing space yet doesn’t do such a great job at simply telling you the ins and outs of driving. If you were a complete novice to racing sims, then I would say Competizione has some user-friendly issues when it comes to explaining basic maneuvers and tactics. It’s wonderful for its practice mode, which allows you to change the dynamics of a race so efficiently yet learning how to do hard corners is something you need to figure out yourself, along with some other basic functions and features.
But there is a handy assist mode, which should make the learning curve a little less painful to new players. Especially when it comes to the small details such as changing gears, meaning you can practice and focus on your handling corners without having to change gear to do so. Assetto Corsa Competizione does understand it’s a foundation, being a hardcore Pro racing sim, yet wants more people to play, yet lacks some small touches to help introduce them more smoothly.
The main thing with Pro Racing Sims is if you want to do it properly, then you need to invest in the driving kit. I did manage to play this with a “Thrustmaster Ferrari Spider Steering Wheel” and the experience was amazing. Using a basic game controller can feel a little sluggish without tuning them before you begin your career, but generally were fine. But this feels like a time when you should pick up a Steering Wheel controller to really enjoy the relentless and exhilarating driving experience Competizione has to offer. Although if using a Steering Wheel, best to double-check what the preset configuration is as you may have to manually adjust things such as the steering lock, traction control, and brake balance.
Overall?Assetto Corsa Competizione had a rough time for its launch on last-gen hardware, but the developers have clearly shown immense professionalism and commitment when refining and updating Competizione for a new era. This is truly a perfectionist driving sim’s wildest dreams come to life with intense and challenging driving, beautifully crafted cars, a wonderful organic-ness to the game's presentation during the day/night cycles, and quite user-friendly to newcomers. There are still some things that hold it back, especially while welcoming new fans to the genre, and some naff elements in the presentation. But Competizione overcomes these small issues to be a rather spectacular driving sim and indeed, one of the best racing sims you can buy now.
++ Intense and realistic driving
+ Visually beautiful cars and nice day/night/weather effects
+ Lots of great content and extensive career mode
-- Needed to be more user friendly to newcomers
- Some not-so-great visual gaffs
A review key for Xbox One / Series X was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
