The Crew: Motorfest promises Forza Horizon fun on a far better map | FOS Future Lab | GRR
Ivory Tower has finally revealed the sequel to its 2018 open world racer, The Crew 2. Meet The Crew: Motorfest, intended to be as much a love letter to the developer’s past franchises, as it is a third entry in this one. Why? Because it takes The Crew back to where it all began, to Hawaii, to Oahu, the Island made famous among car lovers and gamers thanks to 2007’s Test Drive: Unlimited.
Of course, Ivory Tower was founded following the disillusion of parties responsible for the first two TDU games, by people who worked on those games. It took some of the guiding principles – a large, compelling map, detailed car specification options and more – and reinvented them for The Crew. Now in Motorfest, the third entry in the franchise, they’ve come full circle.
The short trailer and ‘Motorfest’ headline seem unashamedly Forza Horizon-esque, though in Oahu, Motorfest ought to bring Horizon fun to a map vastly superior to any seen in a Horizon entry. While the game initially began development as an update and DLC for The Crew 2, they realised early on what they had cooking was looking more like a new game.
In spite of that relation to its predecessor, Motorfest is said to run on a newer game engine, the Snowdrop engine. Fear not, TC2 also ran on a development of a shooter engine, specifically the one that underpinned previous Far Cry games. This should make for more refined physics, to go with a more crisp graphical presentation in a game sporting Horizon-level on- and off-road fun but on a better map. Crew-essential boats, planes and other disciplines will also return, along with, in the words of the devs, “hundreds of cars”.
Speaking of the cars, leaks have revealed some of the machinery we’ll be seeing on the car list, including the Toyota Supra (both the A80 and A90), Lotus Evija and Lamborghini Essenza SCV12. The trailer also shows the Lamborghini Sian Roadster and Ford Bronco and we also expect carryover cars from The Crew 2, especially the recent DLC cars like the McLaren 765LT, Lamborghini Countach and Koenigsegg CCR.
The Crew: Motorfest is due to release this year, with the Insider Programme giving a select few Beta testing access. A crop of 2,000 PC players are already getting to grips with the current build, while console gamers will get in on the action later in the year. And yes, it is also due to release on both current and last-generation consoles.
That’s curious, given Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown dropped last-gen in order to focus on development for the latest machines. What Ivory Tower have nailed compared to Nakon, is not making us wait so long. We’ll be playing this within 12 months of its announcement. Contrast to TDU: SC which will have been announced over three years ago, by the time it comes out. Speaking of release dates, have we any? None, only that it’s coming in 2023. That could mean Summer, or right in TDU’s expected (though we won’t hold our breath) winter 2023 release window. Either way, fans of open world driving games are about to be spoilt for choice.