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The Crew 2, released in 2018, aimed to redefine the racing genre for the PS4 and Xbox One era. Following the underwhelming performance of its predecessor, The Crew (2015), developer Ivory Tower, known for Driver San Francisco, had a lot to prove. With Forza Horizon dominating the racing scene and Need For Speed struggling, The Crew 2 had a window to make its mark. Did it succeed?

A World of Possibilities

alt: A screenshot from The Crew 2 showcasing a street racing event with multiple cars speeding down a city street.

The Crew 2’s biggest strength is its sheer scale. Building on the original game’s vast open-world map of the United States, The Crew 2 adds air and water racing, significantly expanding the gameplay. Four main disciplines—Street Race, Offroad, Freestyle, and Pro Racing—each offer several sub-categories, ensuring hours of content. Street Race focuses on traditional urban racing, Offroad encompasses dirt bikes and off-road vehicles, Freestyle features stunt-based challenges with planes, boats, and monster trucks, and Pro Racing provides a more structured motorsport experience with both cars and powerboats.

Progression is tied to gaining followers, unlocking new activities and exploring every corner of the map. Some races even span vast distances, with cross-country sprints in supercars taking upwards of 30 minutes to complete, showcasing the impressive scope of the game world. The Crew 2 also boasts a huge roster of vehicles, from everyday cars to supercars, and from stunt planes to speedboats, catering to diverse driving and piloting preferences.

alt: The player character in The Crew 2 is shown performing a stunt jump over a ramp in a monster truck.

Quantity Over Quality

alt: A screenshot of The Crew 2 depicts the player piloting a plane high above the sprawling game world, highlighting the vast but somewhat sparsely detailed environment.

While the expanded scope is ambitious, it comes at a cost. Like Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, The Crew 2’s expansive map sacrifices detail and depth. Despite graphical improvements over its predecessor, the environments often feel bland and unpolished, especially during leisurely exploration. Buildings lack intricate details, textures appear flat, and the overall visual fidelity falls short of expectations.

The physics engine also suffers. Vehicle collisions lack impact, feeling more like toy cars bumping into each other. Damage modeling is superficial and repetitive, with the same few scratch patterns applied to every vehicle. Environmental objects like fences and lampposts break in unconvincing, pre-determined segments, reminiscent of older titles.

alt: A player in The Crew 2 drifts a sports car around a corner, demonstrating the game's handling.

The sheer number of racing disciplines also dilutes the overall experience. While the variety is impressive, many events feel repetitive and formulaic. The driving models lack distinct characteristics, with differences primarily boiling down to top speed rather than nuanced handling. It’s difficult to reconcile the similar driving feel of a Lamborghini Veneno or Ferrari LaFerrari with a track-focused Pagani Zonda R. The upgrade system further exemplifies this issue. Randomly dropped upgrades, categorized by color-coded rarity, offer simple stat boosts with little strategic depth.

Narrative Shortcomings

alt: The Crew 2 gameplay featuring a selection of vehicles, demonstrating the diverse range available to the player.

The Crew 2 ditches the previous game’s underwhelming crime narrative for a reality TV show premise. While simplifying the story was a welcome change, the execution is equally flawed. Each discipline features an overbearing mentor character who delivers lengthy, unskippable pre-race speeches. These monologues are filled with generic racing platitudes and add little value, often disrupting the flow of gameplay.

Conclusion

The Crew 2’s vast open world and diverse vehicle roster are impressive, but ultimately undermined by a lack of depth in its gameplay, visuals, and narrative. Ivory Tower’s ambition clearly outpaced its execution, resulting in a game that feels spread too thin. The developers should learn from competitors like Forza Horizon and prioritize quality over quantity in future installments.

System Requirements (Minimum)

• OS: Windows 7 SP1, 8.1, 10
• CPU: Intel Core i5-2400s @ 2.5 GHz or AMD FX-6100 @ 3.3 GHz
• RAM: 8 GB
• VGA: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or AMD HD 7870
• HDD: 25 GB

System Requirements (Tested)

• OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
• CPU: Intel i7-4790
• RAM: 16GB
• VGA : GIGABYTE RTX 2070 Windforce 8GB
• HDD: Western Blue 1 TB 7200 rpm