The Crew Motorfest Reviews
An open-world Hawaii and a generously spirited racer, chafed by always-online irritations and a lack of originality.
Forza mimicry aside, the improved handling and visuals, along with Grand Race mode, are a revelation.
The Crew Motorfest is a robust racer with a confident sense of style, but its smaller map lacks life, its multiplayer isn't really worth the wait, and its omnipresent microtransaction opportunities are still tedious.
An open world racer that gets better the more you play it, revealing a wealth of high-quality racing in a beautiful, technically spectacular Hawaii. While it lacks originality, it is better than Forza Horizon 5 in several ways.
The Crew Motorfest is easily the best entry in the series to date and serves as a new launching point for the franchise.
Ubisoft have copied Playground Games' homework and have made just enough changes, with a few spelling mistakes on the way, to make this a fun, rewarding experience.
The Crew Motorfest provides plenty of fun arcade racing, though it does very little to break new ground for the genre. There's plenty to get your teeth into, but there are some annoying design decisions and a few technical issues that take the shine off it. Still, I can see it finding plenty of fans, particularly on PS5 where the only competition from a 'Horizon' game involves robotic dinosaurs.
A pub band cover version of Forza Horizon 5, that despite a few unique ideas doesn't come close to the fun and variety of its inspiration.
The Crew Motorfest is an acceptable reproduction of the Forza Horizon concept. If you focus on the thematic playlists and roam the colorful open world listening to the radio, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of the game. There’s enough content here to last you well over 20 hours between events and exploration. However, apart from the ability to change vehicle types on the fly, the game is unfortunately short on original ideas. The limited multiplayer, lack of compelling side activities, and restricted crossplay also hold The Crew Motorfest back from passing the finish line ahead of the curve.
With its abundance of playable content and a very attractive setting such as the island of Oʻahu, The Crew Motorfest attempts to chase the success of Forza Horizon 5 by proposing the same structure proposed by the racing game developed by Playground Games. The result is all in all positive, although Ivory Tower's gaming experience fails to stand out for originality or being qualitatively flawless.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Even with questionable aspects such as premium currency, The Crew Motorfest exudes style and flashes of quality, with a solid proposal that can connect with lovers of the most eclectic speed (as soon as you are in the mud as with single-seaters). Too bad that aspects such as poor multiplayer, or always online, disfigure the final result.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Crew: Motorfest is just that, a celebration of (almost) all things that have a motor. There are a ton of cars from dozens of manufactures, even a DeLorean which I am currently saving for. I am not a race guy, but I had a lot of fun with Motorfest, especially once I unlocked the vehicle switching. Being able to go from a car into a plane at the press of a button is dope, while I wish the developers had tuned the controls for all the vehicles instead of just focusing on the cars; I never had a real issue controlling the planes, boats or off-road vehicles. But if you are looking to catch some beautiful Hawaiian sun, drive some of the most beautiful cars you’ve ever seen, then The Crew Motorfest might be for you.
The sights and sounds displayed throughout The Crew Motorfest aren’t its only selling point. Motorfest is fun. Period. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel and certainly won’t scratch the sim-racing itch you may find yourself with. But, for what it’s trying to achieve, Motorfest mostly nails it. I desperately miss the ability to race across the entirety of the United States. And with a more focused setting, I hoped the narrative might receive more attention than it did. That said, Motorfest may be what you’re looking for if Forza Horizon 5 has overstayed its welcome.
Summing up, The Crew Motorfest makes variety its strong point and its postcard views a perfect setting to experience everything it has to offer. An open world a bit 'stripped of significant secondary activities, which however excels for atmosphere and works as a link between the playlists, the real strength of the production. Of course, not all driving systems have succeeded in the same way, but the possibility of changing elements and gameplay so suddenly allows you to always keep curiosity and the desire to race high, simply because apart from GTA, a completely different genre and mood, there are no other series that offer such a great variety of engines. Quantity, thus, also stops certain qualitative holes. What remains is the feeling of vacation, persistent and precious.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Crew Motorfest is the best in the series to date. While some may miss the enormous US map of old, O'ahu makes for a much more inviting setting with its tropical vibes and varied environments. The handling has never been better either, somehow feeling good no matter what you're driving. A wealth of things to see and do is made manageable thanks to the addictive Playlists, although some presentation decisions can make the game feel a little scattershot sometimes. Even with a couple of potholes, though, Motorfest is an entertaining drive and, knowing Ubisoft's track record with live service, will only get better over time.
An open world racing game that doesn't leave players wandering around lost, The Crew Motorfest has landed on a slightly derivative but much more propulsive structure with it's new playlists. With a ton of interesting events, a fun setting, and a wide swath of vehicles to earn, there is a wealth of content here, and most of it feels curated and fun.
Overall, The Crew Motorfest is a fun game. If they could fix those issues I discussed with a patch, I would enjoy the game more.
The Crew Motorfest exudes passion for engines and everything around them. Not only mechanisms, sticky oil and metal, but also emotions, history, engineering and drivers.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Crew Motorfest is a true evolution. The game improves the basics of the previous games while drastically improving their weak points: graphics and sound finally worthy of current standards despite some small bumps. The gameplay and arcade physics of the totally reworked and pleasant vehicles both at the controller and at the wheel, an original system of playlists and generous and varied general content.
Review in French | Read full review
The Crew Motorfest is a fun open-world racing game and the best part of the series.
Review in German | Read full review