The Gran Turismo saga is synonymous with love for motorsports. Polyphony Digital’s sets smell of gasoline and burnt tires, but they also feel smooth and clean, like a museum vehicle. Gran Turismo 7 wants to return to being a unique space for car lovers and, to do so, it returns to the roots that made it great. We have already seen it and there are reasons to dream at more than 300 kilometers per hour.
After a decaffeinated second half of 2021, PlayStation has a ahead 2022 really powerful. After the release of God of War on PC and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection on PlayStation 5, the following main courses will not be long: Horizon: Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7 are just around the corner, both for PS4 and PS5. When this article comes to light, you will have already seen the State of Play focused on the new Gran Turismo, an event that I have been able to see in advance, as well as other information that, without a doubt, leaves me with eager for more. I know that it has been repeated a lot that Gran Turismo 7 is reminiscent of Gran Turismo 4 and that it has elements of the most successful installments of the saga. The truth is that I fear that we will talk about this with more force in the coming weeks, because it is clear that the new numbered installment wants go back to the roots that have made the saga great: collecting, speed and a excessive love by cars.
Grand Touring Sport broke several commandments of the saga, which had always been more focused on the experience of a player (although GT6 already had its space for the more “professional” online, Sport was something very different) and on an obsession in the world of motorsports that bordered on fetishism. Vehicles from yesterday and today recreated in great detail, a huge amount of information on each of the cars, tuning and different photography modes that made us enjoy the scene from a unique perspective. All this is what has done great to Grand Tourism.
The truth is that GT Sport left the feeling in many players, beyond its success, that this magic was fading, although it provided another perspective that was also valid and kept remnants of the essence of the franchise. Which PolyphonyDigital what he wanted to do with that delivery is more than clear, and Alejandro Pascual reflected it in the analysis a few years ago, but lifelong fans needed a numbered Gran Turismo to once again enjoy cars with that almost sick passion that the Japanese studio gives off in its creations. And honestly, Gran Turismo 7 seems like the ideal answer to that need.
A life between cars
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The philosophy behind Gran Turismo 7 summed it up perfectly Kazunori Yamauchi at the event I was able to attend: he wants the game to be “a life simulator around the cars” so that we can enjoy the car culture, something fundamental for the Japanese. Yamauchi seems to remember with great nostalgia the past times in which vehicle enthusiasts lived this world with greater viscerality, and he is not without a reason. He and the studio want GT7 to be a space to enjoy the game again. simple act of driving.
Even so, times change and motorsports are lived in different ways today, which is why Polyphony has also recognized that it wants to reach a wide audience with Gran Turismo 7. The truth is that the saga has always concentrated players of all kindsboth casual and lovers of simulators (although GT is not, no matter how much they have been saying it for 25 years), and part of its success also lies there.
Gran Turismo 7 is presented as a huge experience, with lifelong options that will delight those who, like me, have grown up with the saga, but will also satisfy those who are just looking for a driving game to hang out. An ideal example is the game mode “Music Rally”, a curious addition in which the objective is to listen to music while driving. Of course, I can think of no better way than to look back, especially at Gran Turismo 4, one of the most beloved deliveries by all and that many remember fondly, but at the same time analyze the current reality to offer certain novelties.
In the title we will have all the game modes that have made the saga great (yes, there will also be online and the typical split-screen race), but the interesting thing is in the campaign. In GT7 returns the world mapin which we will move from one place to another to carry out various activities, such as getting our famous driving licences, buying cars, modifying our vehicles, running races or even having a coffee.
We will not do it literally, but one of the novelties is the Gran Turismo Cafe, a place in which we will be offered a kind of menu for collectors, which will propose us to fulfill a series of missions. These challenges will be essential to “pass” the game, since by completing all the menus, we will be able to see the “end” (I put the quotation marks again because, does a Gran Turismo have an end?).
The funny thing is that this cafeteria is in the center of the map because Polyphony wants it to be a temple for players, a place to understand the game – the studio says it’s complex and will take time to understand, although I hope they mean it’s very broad and has many options – and a space to learn more about cars, since that even the designers of some vehicles will spend to tell us curiosities of the bolides.
Gran Turismo 7 wants to return to the roots that have made the saga greatThe game will again feature many vehicle customization options for decorate them to our liking, with expanded possibilities with respect to GT Sport, another part in which the study has insisted greatly. Gran Turismo 7 will also be a center of creation, a place to share passion with other players through, for example, creating skins for cars.
Polyphony puts the spotlight on that idea of regain the passion for the cars, for Gran Turismo to be much more than a racing video game again, and I think it’s the right decision. GT has always been a refuge for those of us who are stunned by the lines of a Ford GT40 or fantasize about the possibility of getting into a Bugatti Veyron. Although, of course, after that we want to step on the accelerator.
New physics and dynamic climatology
Gran Turismo 7’s physics and simulation system promises to be the best of the saga, but it is impossible to comment without trying it. It is true that, for example, the suspension travel looks quite believable in the images we see, but I do not know to what extent the handling will have improved.
At first glance it is very similar to GT Sport, and there is nothing wrong with it either. I think it’s absurd, at this point, to ask the saga for something else: it’s halfway between arcade and simulation, and that’s fine. GT Sport was a step forward on a lot of things, and I hope GT7 is too. polish some flaws of the previous installment. Of course, the Japanese say that the lap times we do in the game will be very similar to those made in the real world with the same combination of car and circuit. In GT Sport this did not happen even remotely; if it happens in 7, i will celebrate.
Among the changes in the simulation, the weather also stands out. Now the weather will be fully dynamic, and it may be sunny or start to rain, for example. inclement weather will affect the track: temperature change depending on the incidence of the sun, less grip with rain (the track will dry differently depending on the passing of the cars, as it should be) and other casuistry. I liked what I’ve seen but, again, you need to try it with the wheel in hand.
Another aspect to highlight, also a consequence of the changes in the physics, is that the section on settings: Now, changing any parameter of your vehicle will have an impact that, for the first time in the saga, will be calculated by simulation (until now it was done with a mathematical equation). These changes, added to the fact that the tuning looks better than ever, with visual and performance modifications, can result in a very fun section for those who want to push the limits of each car.
Gran Turismo 7 looks and sounds better than ever, but…
The weather will be totally dynamicAlthough it also comes out on PlayStation 4, Gran Turismo 7 will be the first game in the series to be released on PlayStation 5. Naturally, Polyphony has focused its efforts on telling us what benefits we will experience when playing on the next generation console: performance modes3D audio, use of DualSense (haptic vibration and adaptive triggers), infarct graphics and immense details in the cars.
Yes, Gran Turismo 7 looks amazing at 4K. If the State of Play has been broadcast at 1080p, do not hesitate to watch our video or the official ones that appear in the next few minutes, because the difference is abysmal. Also, the game will have two graphics modes, although as was already known, this has its nuances. There will be a mode that will prioritize FPS (60 FPS in the race on PS5, promised by the studio, and I believe it, because the saga has always had an enviable solidity) and another that will use the famous ray tracing.
I say that it has nuances because, in reality, the ray tracing mode can only be used in the repetitions, in the photo mode and in the showroom. In race mode will always be used no ray tracing. It is something that we already knew, but it never hurts to remember it, because I have been able to observe notable differences. The game looks great in races (although it hasn’t completely impressed me, I have to admit), but it looks even better with ray tracing. I have observed such differences that, on the one hand, I am grateful that this option exists to enjoy that quality at certain times, but on the other hand I deeply regret that it cannot be used with the car running. Even so, we will be able to see the differences better when we have it on our PS5.
Polyphony Digital is focusing on the elements that have made the franchise legendaryThe sound has also been created anew, with a 3D audio and a spatial sound really achieved. The sound bounces off each surface, resulting in a completely realistic sound depending on where it is reflected. It sounds very good, and I recommend listening to it with headphones to appreciate the effect, but I have a very big problem and I will have it until it changes: the sound of cars it leaves much to be desired. It is an eternal problem of the saga, not to mention the terrible noise that the wheels make when skidding. I’m sorry, but those vehicles have unique sounds and Polyphony can’t reproduce them; I’m not worth generic noises that have little or nothing to do with reality. For me, a negative point and that is not solved.
Gran Turismo 7 has a looks great and Polyphony Digital is focusing on the elements that have made the franchise legendary in the world of motorsports. The cards are on the table and the hand seems good: all that remains is to try it and confirm the great sensations of the new video game.