Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Review (Xbox Series X)

STAFF REVIEW of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown (Xbox Series X)

Friday, September 6, 2024.
by Adam Dileva

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Box art

Fans have been clamoring for a new entry in the Test Drive Unlimited (TDU) series for quite some time. In fact, it’s been 13 years since the last, and now Test Drive Unlimited makes its long-awaited return with its third installment, titled Solar Crown. The original Test Drive Unlimited released in 2006, with its follow-up in 2011, so we’re well overdue for this third entry that has quite a cult-like following.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown (simply referred to as Solar Crown here on) aims to keep the DNA of the original series intact while also modernizing it for this new era of gaming. With new developers under the hood, Kylotonn is best known for their WRC and Isle of Man series of racing games, and having a racing game developer taking care of such a popular series is quite the task to live up to expectations.

Keeping its tradition of being a massively online racing game, Solar Crown gives you a massive playground to drive and compete in with plenty to do as you wish. Massive might be an understatement, as its set in Hong Kong on an island recreated at near 1:1 scale with plenty of secrets to find along the way. Purchase cars, customize your character, race against opponents, join a clan and more, there’s no shortage of events to keep you busy.

It should be noted that Solar Crown is a live service game, meaning you’ll need to be connected online to participate, even if playing on your own. This also means that the game is going to be ongoing updates and content over the long term, which publisher Nacon has already laid out the first year’s worth of content coming. I’ve actually delayed posting this review to see how the early access launch has done, as playing before the general public had access was quite different and solitary. I’ll delve into the details shortly, but calling the launch “rough” would be putting it mildly.

You’re met by the owner/runner of the Solar Crown, a prestigious event where only the best drivers get to compete. After a brief tutorial and outing with a sleek Lamborghini to prove you have what it takes to take part, you’re then flown off to Hong Kong Island where the rest of the game takes place. Here you’ll take part in a number of racing events, meet Clan leaders and members, all while trying to impress your peers and become a driver that’s a serious threat with the reputation to back it up.

You’ll begin by creating your character, customizing how they appear, clothing and accessories. There’s not really all that many options for hair and such, but just enough sliders to tweak facial features to be unique. As you play more, you’ll unlock new clothing and accessories, able to come back and customize your driver whenever you like. You then choose your starting car between a Ford Mustang GT, Nissan 370Z, or Alpine A110 Legende.

Hong Kong Island is a unique backdrop, and since it’s been recreated at a 1:1 scale, there’s plenty of roads to explore and secrets to uncover. With over a dozen different districts, each area is unique, as you’ll be red lining along highways, drifting along bended roads, trying to keep on track in the mountain trails, speeding down narrow single lane roads and more, all while solo or among friends. With plenty of hidden collectables to find, there’s always a reason to go off the regular path, and with a dynamic weather and day-night cycle, the conditions could change at any minute. Gas Stations, Dealerships, Meetup points and Workshops will also act as fast travel points to get from one side of the island to the other if you want.

As you drive around the island or check your map, you’ll come across racing events all over which vary in type. Some have class or power restrictions, others have specific models allowed only, so if you’re unable to partake in a specific event, you probably don’t have an applicable car to enter with. You’ll mostly compete in Circuit races (eight players on predefined routes in the city), Time Attack (solo race but must beat the specified time), Sprint (cross the finish line without missing any checkpoints), and Domination races (pointes are added each time you pass a checkpoint, with score tallied at the end).

It appears there’s some dynamic difficulty adaptation depending on how well or poor you play, as there’s no difficulty option in the menus. The first handful of races I was dominating, and as I won more, I could see the CPU difficulty start to increase, eventually having (Expert) beside their names. As I stopped placing first, they seemed to tone down in difficulty, eventually going back up to be serious rivals once I started winning again. The issue is that the CPU is dumb and simply stick to their race lines and don’t adjust for what you’re doing, so don’t expect clean races if you’re battling in the first portion of a race.

Due to the always online requirement given this is a MOOR (massively open online racer), you better hope you don’t get interrupted during gameplay, as there’s no pausing the game. Mid race and badly need to use the washroom or answer the door? Consider that race lost. Annoyingly, there’s also no way to quickly restart a race either. You need to instead completely quit out of the race, go back to the open world, start the event up again, let the lobby try and find people, then you can retry the race. You can start races right away from the lobby and it will fill it with CPU drivers if you don’t want to wait for players, but many times I wish I could simply restart a race due to a bad start or corner early on.

Finding the right car for each type of environment and race is paramount. Taking a street racer onto dirt roads is not going end well, and each car handles so differently it’ll take some time to become accustomed to how each drives and performs. You’ll also need to be conscious of not simply slamming on the brakes, as you’ll lock up and skid most likely out of bounds without hope of recovering to win the race. Even in the mid-tier vehicles, there’s a real sense of speed. The world doesn’t blur all around you like in other games, but you’re so focused on what’s coming ahead as you know there’s likely a turn coming up soon you’re going to need to brake hard for. I found each car was a little different of when I needed to brake and how hard, but you’ll get the hang of it after a handful of races in each.

If you want to simply drive and explore the island you can, and even if you’ve not unlocked the races for the next district on the island yet, you can still drive anywhere. There’s still plenty to do on Hong Kong Island outside of regular races, as you can test yourself in Speed Traps, aiming to gain three stars by passing through each with extremely excessive speeds. There’s quite a few of these all over, so try and see how fast you can go through each.

If you want something a bit more relaxing, you can also find car wrecks all around the island, though you’ll need to find a dozen or so of each type to unlock an exclusive car for your garage. Your GPS will start beeping and alert you the closer you get to one, but they are sometimes hidden quite well. There are also hundreds of collectables to find, netting you bonus credits, reputation, clan reputation and more.

As you drive around you’ll notice you’ll also be rewarded for doing certain maneuvers like drifting, speeding, close calls, and driving the wrong way (the island is in Hong Kong, so remember that they use the left side of the road). You can cash in credits after a certain amount of these feats, but if you hit a wall or object, it goes back down to zero. So, if you’re confident in your skills you can keep letting the amount and multiplier climb for bigger rewards, but lose it all if you don’t cash in before you hit an object. It’s an interesting risk versus reward mechanic for simply driving around while not in races.

As you pass by other players, you can instantly challenge them to a race by flashing your headlights with the D-Pad. Doing so will place you in a race with the winner taking the prize money that was bet on by the players. You’ll also meet other players within certain buildings such as the Solar Hotel, car dealerships, Workshops, and Clan Headquarters, a staple of the Test Drive Unlimited experience.

The Solar Crown spares no expense, so regardless of which car you’re behind the wheel of, you’ll have access to the latest AI that will help you navigate GPS and even use augmented reality to show you driving lines and racing paths. Races won’t have side streets blocked off, instead having holographic barriers instead to guide you on the right path, though the mini-map will also be handy to see an upcoming turn. You’ll also have a handful of different radio stations to listen to if you wish, from Rock, Classical, Club and more. Things can change quite quickly too with dynamic weather effects, so you might get caught out in a rainstorm with the wrong tires on.

A racing game is only as good as its cars though, and while Solar Crown doesn’t have the most robust lineup on offer compared to other games, they do have a healthy amount of over 100 vehicles from a number of different manufacturers. As expected, it’ll be quite some time until you have the needed experience, levels, reputation and cash to sit in the Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, Bugatti’s and McLarens, starting out with much more modest vehicles instead. It is odd to have a racing game set in Hong Kong, yet barely any Asian manufacturers, as there’s no Toyota, Mitsubishi, and other staples. Every car has been recreated in detail for their outwards and inside views, as well as their unique engine sounds. You can also toggle the headlights, wipers, and even drop the top if it’s a convertible.

There’s technically car damage, but it’s quite minor and doesn’t affect gameplay at all or even look that severe. Crashing into small bushes and barriers will slow you down briefly, as it should, but can easily cost you a race, especially against the harder opponents. Each vehicle has its strengths and weaknesses and performs a certain way. Just as I was quite used to my first car, the Nissan 370Z, I got my next car and it felt drastically different, even more so when you get a vehicle meant for dirt tracks. I found myself attached to certain vehicles, as I was using them quite often to win races until I needed to purchase something else due to race requirements.

This is where the different classes of cars come in. These ‘ranks’ are only purchasable after you’ve reached a certain level and of course, if you have the cash saved. Of course the high-end luxury vehicles are going to cost millions and require a higher rep level, but your first few will be reasonable and won’t require too much grinding to acquire the credits.

You’ll need to keep in mind that you can also upgrade your cars performance as well, which has a cost. Certain parts will unlock at specific levels, then you can purchase them and include them on your rides. These purchases are per vehicle though, so you’ll have to purchase upgrades on each vehicle you want the upgrades on. Workshops around the island is how you’ll do this, and it’s simply done in some menus. I was hoping that there would be some mod kits and visual upgrades as well, but there’s only paint color, interior color, wheels and tint, sadly no spoilers and other parts to visually upgrade your whip.

Progression is quite slow, as you’ll need to grind for the credits to not only purchase the next vehicle you want, but you’ll absolutely need the unlocked upgrades as well, so it can get pricey quite quickly. This results in a lot of races being replayed early on since you don’t have many choices in a first few districts. Sure you’re earning rep and money each time, but it feels as though progression is just a tad too slow in the first few hours.

Another big component of Solar Crown are the Clans. These are two families that are fighting for supremacy: The Sharps and The Streets. These Clans compete with one another, but to join you’ll need to beat one of their own in a one-on-one race. Choosing a Clan opens up more racing opportunities, a headquarters to hang out at, special clothing and more. You’ll be able to rise in the ranks as you earn influence for your chosen Clan by winning specific races.

How do you know what Clan to join though? Both differ in how they express their luxury. The Sharps are more traditional in the sense of driving high-end luxury cars, wear expensive clothing and seem more like your typical rich crowd. The Streets are the opposite, not wanting to blend into the crowd and do what they can to stand out. They utilize an underground nightclub as their headquarters filled with dance music and neon lights, whereas The Sharps HQ is more sophisticated and resembles a fancy bar where you’d order some martinis.

There are special races once you’ve joined a Clan where both clans go head-to-head. These races are the most exciting, as it’s not just your regular circuit race, because traffic is also included, adding a whole other layer of challenges. The number of times I’ve been close to winning a race only to have a head on crash with some traffic, or vice versa where I was able to pass an opponent because they got T-boned. You’ll get bonus influence for each driver you beat of the other Clan faction as well, so it can make for some exciting races.

Solar Crown funny enough shines brightest when it’s in the middle of the night and raining. Here you’ll see the slick wet roads and the neon lights from nearby buildings as you speed by. You’re able to choose between Performance and Graphics mode depending on if you want higher resolution versus framerate. Given the fast-paced racing, I opted for Performance mode for the smoothest racing. The cars naturally look as they should and authentic to their real counterparts, as does the interiors of each. Character models and animations won’t impress though. What’s odd is the complete lack of any foot traffic when outdoors, even mid-day. This makes the island feel hollow at times when you finally notice. Given that humans don’t look all that great, I guess this could be a positive. The real star is the island, as the varied districts make for unique racing backdrops, as does the night-day cycle with the weather changes.

As for the audio, each vehicle sounds unique from one another. Driving my Audi TT sounded different from my Mercedes, and my Ford F-150 sounded nothing like the others. Engine revs sound powerful, you can hear cars coming behind and beside you with some good headphones on, and the loud ‘BANG’ from exhaust backfires always make me grin. The voice acting from the cast of characters you meet are passable, though not great. The radio stations though are what you’ll spend much of your time listening to as you explore the island and was varied enough that it didn’t become stale.

While a required persistent online connection usually wouldn’t bother me, this is clearly going to cause issues for some. Perfect example; as early access launched, my friend who pre-ordered long ago just happened to have their internet go down for quite some time. This meant he was unable to play early due to the forced online component. Also, what does this mean down the line when the community wanes and it’s no longer as popular?

The early access launch has been terrible at the best of times. I’ve had races start only to lose connection mid race, instantly sending me back to the map with no rewards. Another friend was in a persistent crash loop for hours once he was even able to log in. I’m sure these will get sorted, but it puts quite a sour taste in your mouth and was quite frustrating. For a game that has a heavy social aspect to it, I can’t see myself hanging out at my Streets club HQ to chat with other players. I’m sure some friendships will be forged, but I’ll most likely be muting all the players that have open mics or have things to say about my mother when they lose a race.

With the first year of updates already planned and shown, there’s sure to be some cool additions for Solar Crown... eventually, but with the iconic Casino not even arriving until Summer 2025, you’ll need to embrace the grind to tide you over between Seasons. An arcade racer with a heavy social focus is what made Test Drive Unlimited popular in the first place, but in the years since its absence with Forza Horizon releases, the bar has been raised, one that Solar Crown isn’t quite at just yet. Solar Crown has the DNA of what made Test Drive Unlimited so revered, but it doesn’t quite have the same heart yet.

**Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series X**

Overall: 7.5 / 10
Gameplay: 7.5 / 10
Visuals: 8.0 / 10
Sound: 7.0 / 10

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STAFF REVIEW of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown (Xbox Series X)

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