For a car or racing enthusiast, Project Cars 3 has a lot to offer. The depth of customizing, upgrading, and tuning up cars is impressive. The track-time experience is a lot of fun and generally feels realistic. When you pause it to enter “Photo Mode,” there’s also a variety of customization options to capture the drama of a race. The only question I have is how/if they will reoptimize for the next gen consoles. If you’re big on racing games, while it doesn’t really offer much that’s new to the equation, Project Cars 3 is a buy. See you on the track.

Slightly Mad Studios returns to the fray with its simulator par excellence, Project CARS 3 arrives loaded with news, becoming a title adapted for all audiences under a gameplay mixed between simulation and arcade that may not satisfy the most purists. The title is entertaining in general lines and we are facing a good continuation of the saga although somewhat decaffeinated in the most purist simulation.

While some might balk at the fact that Project Cars 3 is designed to be accessible, under the hood is the same bone-grindingly difficult racing sim that the series has always been. There’s just more variety of modes and an easier on ramp for people to get into them. This newest title is a welcome mat for the new fans and the die hards alike. There’s always another fresh race to enjoy and a new challenge to overcome. While it isn’t perfect, Project Cars 3 is a solid entry to the series and the racing genre as a whole.

Project Cars 3 might not be the sequel you expected from the series, but its shift to a more arcade style of racing is one that makes the series approachable for the first time. It's not a clean cut from its roots, and Project Cars 3 retains just enough of its simulation options to provide enough of a challenge with all of its assists turned off. The transition isn't seamless, with some confounding racing objectives and uneven AI that takes the sting out of some events. But if you're looking for another way to get out on a virtual track, Project Cars 3 is an exhilarating new alternative.

The new cars feel individual and there's plenty of incentive to replay challenges to get the career level increased and the career achievements completed. It's just a shame then, that there's a key part that so negatively impacts the whole experience of Project CARS 3, and that is the grind. It regularly makes things so much worse and it seems like such a quick thing to fix - just increase the money paid out. Make it retrospective for those who have already invested so much time and this will instantly address the biggest issue.

Project CARS 3 suffers from a bit of an identity crisis in what it brings to the player, blending racing sim gameplay and arcade racer mechanics. Its message isn’t entirely clear without some trial and error, and while the narrator, drive-assist, and AI modifiers help ease into gameplay, there isn’t quite enough to know what everything means for the un-initiated. Driving feels wonderful and I expected nothing less given the history of Slightly Mad Studios and Codemasters, but this feels more like a racing sim for casual play over an engrossing and addictive time behind the wheel. It has a lot going for it, but its identity seems lost and with it, my drive to sink time into it.

How can one not to be disappointed at first with the usurpation of a name which had installed a new license aimed at a certain realism and insufficient core qualities to stay on track? PC3 can only find buyers with a discount in order to satisfy a certain curiosity. For everyone else, it stays on the side of the road and watches the others go by.