Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

Honestly, this game has been on my wishlist ever since I heard a new TDU was coming. Having played both TDU 1 and 2, I had high hopes for this game so I got kind of disapointed when I saw all the negative reviews. Recently, the game when on sale for 9,99€ so finally decided to just go for it. At first, it was frustrating to learn that this game doesn't support multi USB input, which is kind of strange because this game supports H-Shifters which is usually a seperate device all together so you'd assume multi USB input is implemented. As my H-Shifter is recognized as a controller input, it means that the gears are overlapped with other functions. If I shift in 3rd gear, the handbrake also comes on, if I shift into 4th gear, I get send back to the road. It took me 2 hours of frustration and annoyance to find this out and I learned that unbinding all controller keys does the trick. Hooray, I can use paddle shifters and H-shifters combined. ... Until I close the game, because the next time I start the game, the controller scheme I've set up is reset, meaning the bindings are overlapping again. So every time I start the game, I have to manually unbind the keys that overlap my H-shifter in order to make it work properly. Quite annoying. But once I figured that out and actually managed to play the game, well... It's actually a lot of fun. Using a wheel and paddles, the driving physics and handling of the cars feel surprisingly good. I honestly think they're the best I've ever encountered in an open world race game, Every car feels unique and handles differently, Force feedback could use some work but its far from being the worst. It took a bit of fiddling with the force feedback settings but driving is a pleasure whether I'm going fast or just cruising along. Game runs well on my potato PC. Had to set everything to medium but I get consistent 60 FPS with no stutters. Haven't experienced any crashes at the time of writing this review. My custom made stalks are recognized in the game and I have fully functional indicator, cruise control and wiper stalks, which adds to some level of immersion, especially in taxi missions. Sound design is great for most cars. Is it all perfect? Well, no. The game is unoptimized and I do get dips in FPS in area's with lots of neon. Lights are so incredibly bright sometimes, especially when the sun is going down that you're being blinded and can't see where you're going. I was excited to see the LaFerarri, Lamborghini Diablo and the De Tomaso P72 only to discover that they're behind a paywall. A large chunk of cosmetics like clothes and the like are microtransactions and battlepass, which I despise. Having skins locked behind a paywall is one thing and something I can live with but don't take a large chunk of cars and clothing that are already in the game and lock it behind a paywall when the standard offering is meager as it is. That is just scummy behaviour. But despite that, I really enjoy the game for what it is. I already knew the reviews were quite negative so I basically had zero expectations of the game and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was working quite well for me. And while I understand the negative reviews that people leave on this game, i have not had the same bad experience as they have. The only thing I'm really annoyed at are the controller rebinds I have to do every time I start the game and the microtransations. Yeah, its underwhelming that there are no houses (yet) to buy, the casino is barebones and there are cars locked behind a paywall. But I'm having fun with the things I do have, namely a good (arcade-y) driving handling with a wheel, nice car sounds and plenty of roads to explore. I'd say that's a pretty good deal for 9,99€.