Last night, we got our first teaser trailer for the upcoming title The Crew Motorfest. The next instalment in Ubisoft’s open world racing title is set to change everything about the franchise, including its location.
Image Credit: Ubisoft
Believe it or not, it’s now been four years since the last The Crew game. The sandbox racer famous for throwing players into a full representation of the United States of America is certainly a Marmite game. Many love it for what it does, others can’t see past its many flaws.
Now, however, the series is set for total revolution in its next instalment, The Crew Motorfest. In fact, just last night, Ubisoft released a pair of teaser and announcement videos setting off the hype train. Much was divulged throughout the two videos, so here’s all you need to know about The Crew Motorfest.
A new Location for the Franchise
The Crew, both in its first and second iteration, is known for its impressive representation of the United States of America. If you want to explore the Floridian swamps, you can. If you’d rather traverse the Grand Canyon, you can do that too. The open world sandbox racer’s best selling point is its vast map.
As we have now learnt, The Crew Motorfest will drop the idea of a large environment, instead opting to recreate the Hawaiian island of O’ahu. Coming in at just over 1,500km² in real life, this is sure to be a massive departure from the previous game’s expansive and diverse setting.
The worlds in both The Crew 1 and 2 suffered from severe lack of detail. Cities and main in-game areas would seemed rushed as buildings all looked identical. Meanwhile, out in the countryside, vast areas had little to no interesting elements attracting the player’s attention. Moreover, the lack of attention to detail led to many bugs throughout the map.
Fans may be disappointed by the shrinking of the game’s map. It is, though, a good sign that the team can focus on optimising its world, rather than making it too big for its own good. It will be interesting to see however how much diversity they can fit into this relatively small island.
The Crew Motorfest Returning to a Car-only Format?
In The Crew 2, Ubisoft Ivory Tower added planes and boats to the originally car-focused franchise. From what was shown in the teaser trailer released last night, it seems the team may be making a U-turn on the idea.
Throughout the trailer, we see countless gorgeous vehicles. The Lamborghini Urus and Sian make their appearance known, the Shelby Cobra bellows throughout and the Ford Bronco fires through an off-road path. Those paying attention will notice that none of these vehicles, nor any others featuring in the trailer, can fly or float. Could The Crew Motorfest be a car-only title? Only time will tell.
Festival Ethos set to Rival Forza Horizon
The Crew 1 was an underground, gritty racing game where the protagonist had to illegally street race to get revenge for past injustice. In the second game, street racing was replaced with organised events. While cars were free to roam the open road without police trouble.
Now in the third iteration of the game, Ubisoft has found a way of avoiding any mention of illegality altogether. The Crew Motorfest takes place around a festival akin to the Horizon Festival racers have come to love. As yet, we don’t know how this will tie in with the racing element across O’ahu. But, one can assume a ranking system similar to Horizon 1 will feature in one way or another.
If that is indeed the case, this new game may end up giving Forza Horizon 5 a run for its money. In fact, the Horizon games have lost their way for many since the second title. Losing the wristband ranking system of the first game is still a sore subject to many, something Ubisoft could capitalise on.
When can I get The Crew Motorfest?
According to the teaser trailer, The Crew Motorfest will release in 2023. As yet, we don’t know when exactly that will be. Die-hard fans of the franchise looking for an early taste may be in luck however. Ubisoft also announced the so-called Insider Program.
Essentially a closed Beta, this allows fans to experience the game early all while reporting issues and giving their opinion. PC gamers will be the first to gain access through the program. Console users will also be eligible later on in 2023.
An open world sandbox racer based in a detailed representation of a tropical location releasing in 2023. Sound familiar? It seems this next game and the upcoming Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will be knocking heads later on this year.
Are you excited for The Crew Motorfest? Or will you go for Test Drive Unlimited instead? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
