Photo: Digital Foundry
Driveclub is one of the most tragic stories in the history of gaming. It went through hell and even got removed from the PlayStation Store, but fans will keep loving this game no matter what, myself included. God knows how the developer managed to pull off those fantastic graphics back in 2014, because it still looks better than every other racing game of its category that came after, GT 7 included. Recently, some tech geniuses made Driveclub work on PS5 at 60 fps, but it's not exactly what you'd call an "orthodox" method.
In short, someone exploited, hacked, or jailbroke the PlayStation 5, whatever the precise technical term might be these days, and made Driveclub run through backward compatibility.
The kicker is that they modified the frame cap, and now the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second constantly, and it looks glorious. The resolution is the same as it's ever been, at 1080p. Given that for all intents and purposes Driveclub doesn't exist anymore, you take what victory you can.
Will this ever be playable for the average Joe consumer? Most probably it's got the same chances as snowball in Hell. First of all, back in 2020, Sony removed the game from the PlayStation Store, so aside from a used physical copy, you can't even buy it with all the money in the world. Well, that's unless you actually buy Sony and then put it back on PSN.
Driveclub was created by industry veterans Evolution Studios, a PlayStation 1st-party studio. Under Sony, they developed Motorstorm, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, and Motorstorm: Apocalypse, a fantastic series that brought great critical and consumer praise.
Alas, after one of the worst possible coincidences in gaming history, Motorstorm: Apocalypse and the Fukushima, Japan nuclear disaster of 2011, the Motorstorm series was never seen again.
After the end of Motorstorm, Driveclub came along with a brand new look that stole your eyes in a heartbeat. It promised everything a racing game should be: on the cutting edge of visual technology while offering an online experience meant to be enjoyed with other players.
While it did deliver on the graphics and gameplay aspects in full and then some, the part everyone most expected was nowhere to be found at launch. The multiplayer was a complete blunder. The servers weren't working, you got kicked out of the lobbies and races, and unless you were only into the single-player aspect, Driveclub simply couldn't cut it.
Luckily, except for Call of Duty, I never play online almost anything, so to people like me, this didn't matter. The graphics, sound, and gameplay were so out of this world that the broken multiplayer mode didn't bother me one bit. But to be entirely fair, Evolution Studios also promised a unique dynamic weather system that also didn't arrive at launch but came exactly one month later.
All this being said, industry reviewers had a field day ripping on Driveclub, much like they did with Days Gone, which added to the poor sales for this AAA racer. On March 22, 2016, Sony announced the closure of Evolution Studios.
Some of the team got jobs at the Codemasters studio and made Onrush. It was a spiritual successor to Motorstorm in many ways, but while the formula was great for the 2006 era, 2018 wasn't so welcoming. Onrush wasn't a success and the studio was later merged with Criterion Games, which made NFS Unbound.
So, even if Sony wanted to make another Motorstorm or Driveclub, short of a remake that most likely won't happen, the sun has set long ago on these amazing titles.
The kicker is that they modified the frame cap, and now the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second constantly, and it looks glorious. The resolution is the same as it's ever been, at 1080p. Given that for all intents and purposes Driveclub doesn't exist anymore, you take what victory you can.
Will this ever be playable for the average Joe consumer? Most probably it's got the same chances as snowball in Hell. First of all, back in 2020, Sony removed the game from the PlayStation Store, so aside from a used physical copy, you can't even buy it with all the money in the world. Well, that's unless you actually buy Sony and then put it back on PSN.
Driveclub was created by industry veterans Evolution Studios, a PlayStation 1st-party studio. Under Sony, they developed Motorstorm, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, and Motorstorm: Apocalypse, a fantastic series that brought great critical and consumer praise.
Alas, after one of the worst possible coincidences in gaming history, Motorstorm: Apocalypse and the Fukushima, Japan nuclear disaster of 2011, the Motorstorm series was never seen again.
After the end of Motorstorm, Driveclub came along with a brand new look that stole your eyes in a heartbeat. It promised everything a racing game should be: on the cutting edge of visual technology while offering an online experience meant to be enjoyed with other players.
While it did deliver on the graphics and gameplay aspects in full and then some, the part everyone most expected was nowhere to be found at launch. The multiplayer was a complete blunder. The servers weren't working, you got kicked out of the lobbies and races, and unless you were only into the single-player aspect, Driveclub simply couldn't cut it.
Luckily, except for Call of Duty, I never play online almost anything, so to people like me, this didn't matter. The graphics, sound, and gameplay were so out of this world that the broken multiplayer mode didn't bother me one bit. But to be entirely fair, Evolution Studios also promised a unique dynamic weather system that also didn't arrive at launch but came exactly one month later.
All this being said, industry reviewers had a field day ripping on Driveclub, much like they did with Days Gone, which added to the poor sales for this AAA racer. On March 22, 2016, Sony announced the closure of Evolution Studios.
Some of the team got jobs at the Codemasters studio and made Onrush. It was a spiritual successor to Motorstorm in many ways, but while the formula was great for the 2006 era, 2018 wasn't so welcoming. Onrush wasn't a success and the studio was later merged with Criterion Games, which made NFS Unbound.
So, even if Sony wanted to make another Motorstorm or Driveclub, short of a remake that most likely won't happen, the sun has set long ago on these amazing titles.
Google News