Nic_Flamel

A “zero” score may be too harsh, but I cannot in good faith score this game differently, because: • As it's well known, the usual “offline” modes, now require permanent internet connection to be playable (except for a few that exclude most important modes, so the game is only an “expanded demo” when playing offline). But requiring permanent internet connection is not the main issue, rather, not informing of that fact either in the disc case or in the game page in the PS store. If Sony doesn't care to mention such an essential thing to their potential buyers, why should I care to score this game more fairly? • The game design looks closer to an average “free-to-play”, than to a AAA game. When you start playing, you can notice a lot of small flaws, and average quality, in the overall game design. Not a big deal, but annoying nevertheless (at the beginning at least; later, you learn to ignore/endure it). One example is the local multiplayer: with a terrible split screen, and poor game experience for the 2nd player, it might be the worst ever in the saga. Overall, not what anyone would expect from a AAA game. • Fewer cars than in previous versions. It's up to discussion if the present amount, and car selection, are good enough or not. But it's a fact that the amount and variety are much lower than in previous versions (even after considering all new cars added with free updates since the launch of the game). • Microtransactions. I don't care about them, and you can progress through the game without them. That's not the problem. The issue for me is that if Sony is getting additional revenue from their users (on top of an already expensive price for the base game), at least they should give us a premium product. And GT7 is far from it. • Deficit of the “Gran Turismo's soul”: Gran Turismo 5 (or GT4, depending on who you ask) was the last “true” Gran Turismo game. In GT6, despite that it was a good game, you could already notice a poorer “Gran Turismo experience”. Now in GT7, that soul or essence is still there, but you can see how the saga is going, very fast, on a path to lose it, and become a whole different thing. Maybe it's not a bad thing to change, but at least stop calling the game “Gran Turismo” (so the old fans can stop expecting to get the “Gran Turismo experience” in the latest game editions). To be fair, I can mention the good things of the game: • Racing is as good, or likely better, than in any previous version of the game. It's still not the perfect simulator, but it's good and fun, even when playing just with the dual sense. This applies to both the single player, and online multiplayer modes. • In a regular PS5, the graphics are very good (possibly in the PS5 PRO are even better?). I still think some graphic effects are a bit better in Forza, but is a small, insignificant difference for me. • The VR mode is amazing. The image quality isn't as good as in a 4K tv, but the immersion effects are great (as long as you don't suffer motion sickness, that is). Finally, a thing that's “neutral”: • The developers release relatively frequent (free) updates that add new cars, events, fix/improve game mechanics, or adjust the performance for certain existing cars. Notice 2 things: 1) That if frequent updates are required to make the game as good as expected, it's because it was launched with a lot of poor optimizations in several areas; and 2) That it is harder to assess the quality of the game when the play experience changes often. Furthermore, some updates introduced arguably unnecessary changes, or that made some things a bit worse. Sorry for the long text. I hope this review can help someone interested in this game to make a more informed decision before buying it.

The game is very rudimentary in many aspects, but it still is kind of fun, especially for SAO fans. Many things have been improved compared to previous games, yet, we cannot ignore its several flaws, to name a few: -Excessive futile conversations: as other SAO games, there are a lot of conversations/interactions (both story and non-story related). But unlike other SAO games, this time most are boring and full of clichés or very cheap fan-service (at least many are optional). -The (main) story is very simple, so it's the development of the many characters (except, maybe, Kureha), and the ending is disappointing (and you need the DLC's to see the “real ending”). -“Kirito mode”: this optional mode lets you play as Kirito. It partially follows the story of the "phantom bullet" arc from the anime (with slight modifications to adapt it to the main story of the videogame; btw, I don't know how they relate to the manga), but it's extremely short, moreover, during this mode you barely play at all! It includes, however, a lot of exclusive, optional conversations between Kirito and his friends (yet again, most aren't very interesting) to make up a bit the short duration of the story. -Recycled combat/scenarios: despite the game-mechanics are much better, the scenarios and enemies remain very similar to previous games (i.e., simple, repetitive and leaving a feel of emptiness). If you're not a SAO fan, stay away of this game. But even if you do, consider to do the same. Perhaps in that way, next time the developers finally will try harder to make a good SAO game.