Gran Turismo 7 review: Putting the pedal to the metal on PlayStation 5

Though I am new to the GT series, it was elementary for me to get into Gran Turismo 7 on the PlayStation 5. I’m not big on driving games, but I seriously found myself playing this in just about every bit of downtime I had.

When I wasn’t streaming or working, I was plowing through races, trying to unlock more and more cars. It wound up becoming incredibly enjoyable, and I get the excitement and thrill of blazing down the track at high speeds.

The developers said they aimed to make this the best Gran Turismo ever, and I think Gran Turismo 7 may have just delivered on that.

Driving in Gran Turismo 7 is very true-to-life

I started in Gran Turismo 7 doing awful. I played across a pair of difficulties, the Easy and Normal. Easy is for new players and overwhelmed by the speed the game goes at. NPCs will drive a bit slower to let the player used to the game.

Normal is a decent mode to get cracking. Hard will have the opponents driving faster than usual to give the game just a bit more spice. I tried Hard mode previously, but it is not for me. I can see the appeal, but those races did not go well.

It took some time, but I slowly got better in Gran Turismo 7, and it showed in every race (Image via Polyphony Digital)

As far as the actual driving goes? Incredible is the best word to sum it up. I could feel myself getting better, driving smarter, performing better race after race. That was such a fantastic feeling.

Players are given plenty of options regarding how much control they have over the car. New players may want assistance options like Driving Line Assistance and Automatic Gear Shifting.

Players can adjust facets of their car with new parts, and can also adjust how much help the game gives them (Image via Polyphony Digital)

However, they don’t have to use these, and it’s entirely up to the player how much or how little control they have. The actual driving was incredible, and I loved how it felt to speed down the tracks.

Gran Turismo 7 is easy to pick up, even for new drivers

Thankfully, it’s straightforward to get into the Gran Turismo games in this latest release. It starts easy enough by having the Music Trial introduce the player to simply racing in the style of a classic arcade racing game.

Players have to meet certain checkpoints to increase their timer, and the farther they get, they can unlock more music tracks. It’s a great way to introduce players to the game. But the primary mode of the game is World Mode, a map with a variety of hubs to get work done. In particular, the cafe gets the player into the various modes and areas.

The Cafe is where players unlock the various quests they complete in World Mode. Typically, it involves unlocking 3 of a car, completing a specific track, or perhaps unlocking one of the licenses.

It also serves as a tutorial that introduces facets of the game beyond simply racing. Each cafe menu is its mission and will have a reward waiting at the end. Sometimes it’s a new couple of tracks, or it could be a Roulette Ticket.

I loved it, as it gave me a direction in the game. I knew precisely what races I needed to be tackling, what cars I was after, and where I was going in Gran Turismo 7. One of the early missions was “earn the B-1 License”.

Need to unlock more cars? The cafe will gently guide you in the right direction (Image via Polyphony Digital)

This will likely feel familiar to many players, but it will serve as a way to also teach newcomers the ropes.

Every car and track is gorgeous in Gran Turismo 7

This might be the prettiest game in my entire PlayStation 5 collection. Every car is immaculate, and every track is perfect, down to the last detail. You can see every raindrop hit the windshield while driving, and fog makes things all but impossible to see around.

Players can also position their cars among some of the most gorgeous landscapes in the world. The car pretty much always looks like it belongs in the shot. The visuals and music for Gran Turismo 7 are spot on and such a treat to see.

Several ways to get cars, but it’s not cheap

This leads to one of the few problems I have with Gran Turismo 7 - cars are, predictably, costly. Not all of them are, but the highest, most top-tier vehicles in the game can cost millions of credits.

There are three places to get cars in the game. First, players get access to the Used Car Lot to buy a nice variety of cars from a wide berth of nations and designers. Later, after several more cafe missions, Brand Central is unlocked.

The player's newer cars are sorted by country of origin and manufacturer. These range wildly in price and can get up to millions of credits. Want a Tesla? You can get it here. A corvette? Not impossible.

The Legend Shop has some incredible cars, if you've got the credits to pick them up (Image via Polyphony Digital)

Finally, there's also the Legend Cars. These are often of limited stock, and the creme de la creme of cars in Gran Turismo 7. There will be hundreds of cars, so don't worry about variety or style. These are all gorgeous, powerful vehicles, but the price is high again. Why are expensive cars a problem?

Is Gran Turismo 7 pay-to-win?

I'm torn on how I feel about this. I broach the question because many of the best cars are prohibitively expensive, and players can spend real money to buy credits. Now, owning these cars does not make the player better, but it gives them a much faster car in several situations.

Yes, you can spend real money to get cars and parts, but it's not a requirement to enjoy the game (Image via Polyphony Digital)

There are plenty of ways to grind credits in the game, but players who want to get them faster can, of course, spend real money. It also allows that player to buy parts more quickly for those cars. Cars require their parts to be purchased, which can get costly. But is that pay-to-win?

No, but I would say it’s pay-to-go-faster or pay-for-convenience. I do not think it’s pay-to-win at all, but it’s so satisfying to buy one of those costly, gorgeous cars. More important than that, though, where can players race?

Where to play the game itself in Gran Turismo 7

There are races for all kinds of players, thankfully. The World Circuit is the standard, player-vs-AI race, and more of these are unlocked as cafe menus are completed. There are also championship races to complete in these.

Succeeding here can unlock cars and also piles of credits. Cars only unlock in the top-three, and only a player has completed a race that offers one the first time. There are also far more challenging races among the World Circuit, with particular requirements and bigger payouts.

Each track has its own car requirements as well, so it’s important to have a nice collection of decent cars. Thankfully, it is not hard to get a fleet of vehicles.

Sport is where the daily competitive races take place. Players have limited time to take part in these, and their scores will be tracked. This was fine for me, but I was less excited about it on a personal level. I see the appeal, and it could lead the way for Gran Turismo 7’s esports scene, so time will tell.

As you can see, I did not win, but I still had a lot of fun racing against other journalists (Image via Polyphony Digital)

It also uses a ranking system and penalizes players for hitting walls/players/going over the grass/off the track. It’s very intense, authentic, and profound.

The more casual online races can be held at Multiplayer. Players can use 2-Player Split-Screen or create/join a Lobby. There are tons of options to set here to make the race of your dreams. Even if that player wants to have 12-player, 200-lap races?

That's entirely possible. I raced in a few online multiplayer races, and they felt great. The internet connection was solid, and I saw no real issues. It will take some time to unlock the game's online component, so that may be a turn-off to some players. It will unlock, as everything else does, through the Cafe.

There's also the Meeting Place, where players can set up online track meets and can be joined casually. These are rooms with no regulations and only free runs on the track. It's just a way to show off your car and customization among the other fans of the game.

There are just so many different ways to play Gran Turismo 7.

In Conclusion

While I didn’t start as a fan of Gran Turismo 7, I certainly ended my time as one. I felt a real sense of accomplishment as I slowly got better at the game, learning from missions and licensing challenges.

The actual racing felt great, and I loved how much control I had over replacing parts and the real control of the vehicle itself. While I’m not crazy about all aspects of the game (buying credits in particular), the actual gameplay shines, and the game itself is beautiful. Every car and area is lovingly crafted in a true-to-life fashion.

It’s easy to see that the developers love cars, or at the very least, put in some intense research to make everything feel real. This very well could be the best Gran Turismo game of all time. While I might be new to the series, I very quickly found myself getting lost in the world of racing.