Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown revives the Test Drive Unlimited brand after more than ten years of silence, a series known for its open world and its emphasis on the social side of racing rather than pure competition. The game places the player on the open island of Hong Kong Island, where they move freely between asphalt roads, mountain switchbacks and dense urban development, collect and buy luxury cars from sports specials to premium SUVs, and gradually build a reputation in one of two rival factions, Sharp and Street, which compete against each other for the prestigious Solar Crown title.

On PlayStation 5, the game builds on a sprawling, densely populated open world with a smooth transition between free driving, races, car dealerships and social activities without loading screens between individual activities. Emphasis is placed on collecting and deeply customizing the car roster, which includes dozens of licensed brands including luxury and exotic manufacturers, and on multiplayer sharing of the open world with other players, who can encounter each other directly during free driving similarly to the legendary earlier entries in the series from the previous decade.

The brand's return was awaited with great hopes among fans of the original games, but the launch was accompanied by performance issues, server stability problems and missing content, which noticeably affected the game's initial reception among critics and players. Even so, Solar Crown remains an interesting attempt to revive the concept of an open world focused on luxury cars and social racing, and for fans of the original entries it represents the closest available alternative on PlayStation 5 to the spirit of the classic Test Drive Unlimited, albeit with the need to tolerate initial technical shortcomings. The developers gradually released fix updates and new content, so the state of the game improved over time, even though it carried the reputation of a troubled comeback for a long while after launch.

Why play it: For fans of the original Test Drive Unlimited, it's the closest available alternative on PS5, though you need to reckon with technical shortcomings, even as the game's state gradually improved.