Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

sympa

I bought this game at an 80% discount and, at the time of writing this in August 2026, my first impressions after an hour or so are not bad at all. I think people approaching it from either the NFS games or the serious sim-racing scene may have difficulty adjusting their expectations, and that is not necessarily the game’s fault. I took my first test drive simply because I noticed the button on the controller, then received an achievement that barely 50% of players have unlocked. That perhaps tells me as much about the players as it does about the game! I have played both arcade racers and simulations for around 30 years, although generally more on the sim side, and I can appreciate a game for what it is. These days I barely drive in racing games at all, but with this being so heavily discounted, I thought I would finally give it a try. Using a gamepad, I instantly felt that the car behaved far more to my liking than I ever expected — and that is an understatement. I think that helped me connect with the game immediately. I played the original TDU and drove more than 13,000 miles in the Koenigsegg CCX with all assists disabled, using a Logitech G25. Anyone who played it will know how difficult that car was to tame. By comparison, I thought TDU2 was utter *****. The rattling force feedback was unbearable, and at the time I was probably comparing it too heavily with the first game. That was nearly 20 years ago, though. Coming into Solar Crown with a fresh perspective, as a more casual controller player, it has exceeded my expectations so far. It is also far more enjoyable to drive than NFS, in my opinion — provided you can forget about the nitrous. There is something intuitive about the handling that makes you feel comfortable with the car far sooner than expected. After only an hour, it already feels as though I have been playing it much longer.