One of the most praised sim racing games, Assetto Corsa Competizione, is now on just about every major gaming platform available. After its PC debut back in 2019, Kunos Simulazioni’s racing simulator was ported to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One just one year later. It was just a matter of time before the studio would bring its game to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Adding more FPS (frames per second) and better graphics to the console version of Assetto Corsa Competizione was the best decision made by the team at Kunos. The game really shines on PlayStation 5, even if it’s not yet on par with its PC sibling.
But if you’ve never played Assetto Corsa Competizione before and considering the game now that’s it’s available on the latest generation of console, I have a couple of tips to share. First off, this is one of the most realistic racing sims out there, so if you’re not comfortable with managing every component inside your car and driving it like in real life, then you might not find Assetto Corsa Competizione an enjoyable experience.
Assetto Corsa Competizione is by no means welcoming to newcomers. Even while racing in Practice Mode, you’re required to drive flawlessly to achieve 100% completion. Once you learn how cars drive in Assetto Corsa Competizione, your next stop should be Career Mode, just to get the feel of the game.
To help players customize their driving experience, the folks at Kunos included a bunch of settings that enable or disable various features that typically contribute to the level of realism. I suggest playing a little bit with these because they make a huge impact on gameplay.
Photo: 505 Games
Since Kunos focused on making Assetto Corsa Competizione as close to real-life driving as possible, if you’re used with more arcade-y driving styles, the game might feel frustrating hard. The game requires players to be extremely accurate when taking corners and the best possible routes on the track because that’s the only way to overtake the competition.
With the addition of weather and night racing, you must choose your car’s setup carefully, otherwise you’ll just end up crashing into a wall. These things matter a lot in Assetto Corsa Competizione, so if you’re not familiar with the innards and outwards of a car, you’ll just get frustrated after every race.
Unfortunately, the game does little to teach new players the ropes, so you’re completely on your own figuring out how to customize your gameplay experience. One other thing that I would have loved to see added in the game is some sort of story mode or something similar that would motivate players to continue to play the game.
Assetto Corsa Competizione feels more like a sandbox racing experience where you can set your own goals to achieve and have a lot of freedom in customizing your own playstyle. Apart from the Career Mode, the game also includes a Championship mode that allows you to choose from multiple seasons, as well as a bunch of multiplayer-specific options, including special online events.
As far as the cars go, Assetto Corsa Competizione has around two dozen licensed cars available to drive from 14 well-known manufacturers. If you’ve bought the DLC, you’ll get access to four more tracks, too, in addition to the 11 GT3 championship tracks.
Photo: 505 Games
Conclusion
Assetto Corsa Competizione is a full-fledged racing simulator that doesn’t make any compromises when it comes to driving. New players might find it frustrating at first, but if you can put up with the lack of any kind of tutorials, you’ll find the driving experience is as close to real-life as possible.
That being said, I can’t help pointing out that the game lacks the typical “carrot on a stick” formula that many racing games have embraced. It assumes by default that the reward you’re getting from flawlessly performing in a race is the driving experience itself. You’re not going to receive any pats on the back for winning in this game, but you can tell your friends that you’ve beaten the Dark Souls of racing games.
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