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Developing an open-world racing game has long been one of the most challenging tasks for game developers. While some titles like Need For Speed: Most Wanted and Burnout Paradise have achieved significant success, their influence has led to a wave of imitators, often sacrificing innovation for a tired formula. The Crew, despite its ambitious premise, unfortunately falls into this trap. Promising a revolutionary and expansive experience, it instead delivers frustration, disappointment, and a sense of missed potential.

Dated Graphics Hinder Immersion

While the sheer size of The Crew‘s open world is initially impressive, closer inspection reveals a significant lack of detail. Despite being marketed as a next-gen racing game, the level of detail in both the cars and environments pales in comparison to contemporaries like Forza Horizon 2 and even Gran Turismo 6.

alt: Close up of damage on a car in The Crew, showing blocky and unrealistic deformation

This lack of detail is particularly noticeable when examining car damage. Behind the shiny exteriors, the car models reveal simplistic, blocky designs masked by dark colors. Instances like exhaust pipes seemingly painted onto the rear bumper instead of being separate components highlight the lack of polish. Even minor to moderate damage exhibits limited and repetitive deformation patterns, falling short of even Grand Theft Auto V on older consoles.

alt: The Crew gameplay screenshot showing a car driving through a bland and repetitive urban environment.

The game’s environments, while vast and diverse, also suffer from this lack of detail. While it’s understandable that a world of this scale requires some compromises, the repetition and simplistic design are evident even in major cities and landmarks. Back alleys and less-traveled areas reveal numerous instances of copied and pasted assets and outdated textures. This issue is further amplified in the less-populated rural areas.

Unbalanced AI and a Flawed Progression System

Following a pattern seen in other Ubisoft titles, The Crew‘s AI presents a significant challenge, albeit not in a rewarding way. The AI opponents often exhibit unrealistic speed and handling, easily outpacing players even with significant car level advantages. This creates a frustrating experience where player progression feels meaningless in single-player events.

alt: Screenshot of The Crew showing a car driving through a desert environment, highlighting the vastness of the game world

Furthermore, the AI demonstrates erratic behavior, seemingly manipulating physics and teleporting to maintain a “challenging” race. This artificial difficulty undermines the sense of accomplishment and makes races feel contrived.

The game’s progression system also suffers from several flaws. Earning upgrades by achieving platinum, gold, silver, or bronze medals in races disregards driving skill and focuses solely on completion time. This ignores factors like traffic density and time of day, which can significantly impact race times. The game also doesn’t prioritize finishing position, rendering competitive racing against other players less meaningful.

alt: A screenshot from The Crew showcasing a car driving through a mountainous region, demonstrating the variety of terrains

The significant difference in performance between upgrade levels further exacerbates this issue, forcing players to grind repetitive races to remain competitive. This grind is further undermined by the option to purchase upgrades with real money, creating a pay-to-win scenario reminiscent of free-to-play titles.

A Superficial Story and Uninspired Customization

The Crew‘s story borrows heavily from titles like Need For Speed: Most Wanted and Need For Speed: Undercover, offering a predictable narrative about undercover agents infiltrating a racing gang. The plot is uninspired and the characters lack depth, presented through clunky cutscenes and lifeless 3D models. This half-hearted attempt at storytelling detracts from the overall experience.

The car customization system, despite its initial promise, is also disappointingly shallow. Upgrades are applied with minimal player input, based solely on part levels, eliminating any meaningful strategic choices. This contrasts sharply with games like the Dirt series, which offer more granular control over car tuning and setup.

alt: The Crew gameplay showcasing a car race in a city environment at night

Persistent Connectivity Issues Plague the Experience

Perhaps the most significant issue plaguing The Crew is its online-only requirement and unstable network performance. Disconnections, even for a second, result in being kicked back to the main menu, forcing players to restart races. Finding other players for online races is a lengthy process, often followed by lag, disappearing vehicles, and other frustrating network issues.

Conclusion

The Crew, despite its ambitious scope and open-world design, ultimately falls short due to a combination of dated graphics, unbalanced AI, a flawed progression system, a superficial story, and persistent connectivity issues. While the vast map offers a sense of scale, the lack of polish and frustrating gameplay mechanics prevent it from reaching its full potential.