Recent reviews by luijix

I am having a blast with this game.
All weapons are super fun, and I previously disliked playing a lot of them (I usually main Chargeblade btw, in Wilds i started with that and Dual Blades). I even like the CB changes, opposed to other CB mains: I think spamming SAED was not the most compelling gameplay loop and I think balancing axe mode with the occasional SAED when the moment is right is way more fun.
Obviously performance is a weak point, but its not enough to not have fun.
I also like the new Decoration System, a.k.a. the split between weapon and armor skills.
People are complaining because they can't stack their favourite skill anymore, but I think doing that used to be way too easy. Now you actually have to select armor and weapon based on their skill and fill the gaps with decorations, instead of brainlessly picking the highest value items and then just stacking Decorations.
This really feels like a case of people complaining cause their easy way got taken away, but I think this encourages using different weapons and armor more than before.

I'm overall really impressed as an early access release, cars feel really good on the limit, on curbs, in the rain. The GT cars feel really similar to Competezione, so they made a good transition and the lower tier cars all feel like they been brought to that level.
Performance is also pretty good, only the rain tanks it, but thats to be expected.
Just one minor complaint, when you're at a standstill off track, it feels like theres some weird limit even with all assists turned off? So its kinda hard to get back on the track cause it won't give you any throttle.
But I'm really happy and excited, especially for multiplayer, this is a really solid foundation with very few issues.

Wheelbase: Fanatec DD Pro 8
Wheel: GT DD Pro / Formula 2.5X

I was already deep in NG+ on PS5 and i bought a PS5 just for this game.
Same great game, but now runs even better!
Also even runs on Steam deck with 60fps with the right settings somehow, great port, both in terms of optimization and PC settings!

I really like it so far!
One small issue i have though:
The effect that the engine sound is louder when on throttle is kinda cool, but when youre off throttle for a corner or something you cant hear engine sound at all and it makes it hard to tell if you need to downshift. I increased engine sound and now i hear it but then its ofc too loud on throttle, would be cool to have an option to turn this effect off or modulate the strength.
Other than that, hoping for wheel support at some point!

This game released on my birthday and it has given me the gift of democracy

I like the game. Its good.
I personally have a super beefy PC (4080, 12700K)...but the game runs terribly as most people probably know by now. The funniest part it that lowest settings seem to run identically to Epic with Raytracing.
Something is weird here. Because of my Hardware and Gsync I can play the game ok, but it is not an acceptable state.
And since the Steam review really asks "would I recommend this to other players", the answer to most people is sadly "no". Unless you have cutting edge hardware, this will probably not run. And it has issues on console as well, this isnt just a PC port thing.
I really hope that soon I can change this review to positive, because it already feels like theres a great game underneath those problems and im having fun, but i cant in good conscious recommend it right now.

Hands down the best implementation of Raytracing visually. Super demanding, but its kinda the "Can it run Crysis" of RTX.
The fact that this is technically like a mod and just running on top of the original game is astonishing.
Cant wait for modders to get their hands on these tools.

This is quite sad for me.
I like the driving, i like the navigation as a game mechanic.
I like the look. I like that they keep adding more wheel support.
This feels like what Forza Horizon's offroad aspires to be but isnt.
But this unfortunately has the common Unreal compilation stutter.
Constantly. My average fps are in the 200s, but it hitches all the time, no matter what is happening.
Thats sadly a refund for me. I hope this will get fixed and I can revisit the game.

Campaign not as good as Witch Queen, but Lightfall brings some of the best changes to the game so far.

I'm using the Fanatec GT DD Pro. It's not officially supported in their list but works fine.

I'm not expecting NFS to be a simulation, I didn't expect that from the last entries either.
But this one actually feels good with a wheel. In the last two games, wheels were somewhat supported, but mechanically they did not perform well, it felt like a handicap. It doesnt in this game. Drifting is not a minigame like it was in Heat where a key combination initiates the drift, you might think that because the game tells you to tap the brake in the tutorial, but in reality i can initiate drifts without braking and even without throttle if i throw the car in a corner and maintaining the drift is also much better, since the FFB actually properly rotates the wheel, just like with real drifting, after initiating i can let go of the wheel and let it guide me into my steering angle. So this is great! Just one negative...

There are 0 options for wheels.
This is half a problem, since to me this game even default feels way better with a wheel than Heat did after 2 hours of fiddling with settings, but key binds are an issue.
Especially the handbrake, which of course you mostly wanna use while cornering, is impossible to use, since hitting a button on the wheel, the thing that is constantly turning, is impossible. My standalone handbrake did not work. Nitro has a similar issue, but since you usually use it on straights, its not as bad as the handbrake.
I would like to be able to rebind something like my sequential shifter or even the clutch pedal (in this game i think even with a wheel automatic transmission is the way to go) to the handbrake, alas, this is not possible.
And of course its the same on controller.
I think both controller and wheel should be fully rebindable, for wheel its almost a necessity, for controller I bet some people would be happy to have the option.

There are more in depth reviews on the rest of the game, but i like it so far, the art style the cars, the graphics, even the characters are not annoying and take a back seat to the gameplay so far.
But to me the deal breaker for these games was always the handling on my wheel and this time im actually happy with it, albeit some compromises still exist.