Gran Turismo 7 review: Pomp and circumstance

digitaltrends.com:

I’ve never played a game as confident in itself as Gran Turismo 7. As soon as I booted up Polyphony Digital and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s latest PlayStation exclusive, the words “The Real Driving Simulator” graced the screen.

I was then directed to race to the beat of classical music from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra before watching a lengthy opening movie showing how the automobile is intertwined with history over the last century. From there, I discovered a game with extremely detailed car models, intricate simulations, and a bevy of information on the history of most major car manufacturers and the vehicles they produced.

Thankfully, this pompous attitude is earned because Gran Turismo 7 is a refined, beautiful driving simulator. While it isn’t the best choice for casual racing fun and the menus can be frustrating, Gran Turismo 7 is a gorgeous game that respects automobile culture so much that it wants to spread the good word to anyone who picks this game up. If you weren’t already a fan of cars, Gran Turismo 7 is trying its hardest to make you one, and it’s doing so with a confident smirk on its face.

Gran Turismo 7 leans into its racing simulator roots much more than Microsoft’s racing game offerings. Like previous games in the series, the latest installment is all about buying and tuning cars for the best performance in races. Every car is rendered in stunning detail on and off the track, taking full advantage of the PS5.

Overall, the game is a tremendous PS5 showcase, with smooth performance and ray tracing modes that highlight the beauty of cars under certain lighting. The audio design is also quite crisp and sounds excellent in Sony’s Pulse 3D headset. The DualSense controller’s haptic feedback will