I've said it for years, Don't trust the French.

While I love open world driving and had a ball with TDU2, this game is just not something I can recommend right now.
I like the Hong Kong setting and the map is great, driving in free roam is nice when you get the chance to fully customise your car but thats really all there is now.
Racing is not good. Multiplayer is non existent ever since launch. And AI is just either rubbish or running the fastest lap times on the leaderboards.
While im not against a bit of grind, there needs to be a good payoff. Wow another sticker that I would never put on a car to show off to well no one as there are no other players in my server.
No crossplay and regional restrictions mean the already small player base is fractured to nothing. In the first few weeks playing I saw maybe 2-3 max players at a time when there was anyone at all.
Content that should keep players engaged just is not all that interesting. Solar Pass is underwhelming. Want some more stickers? Live events let you run 3 races over and over again till you hit enough points to win a shirt or maybe another sticker... Woohoo!
Well I might stickeround or I might just drop this and come back in 6 months to see if anything changes.

After over 12 years of wait, it pains me to say that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown falls short of expectations. The game feels underdeveloped and lacking in essential features that define a true TDU experience. The fun little things like buying properties and engaging in non-racing activities (like casino and other driving missions) is completely missing, leaving us with a generic open-world racing game that lacks variety.

A significant issue is the mandatory 'Always online' requirement, which gave many players headaches during the launch period due to server issues, preventing them from starting or finishing races. While these server issues seem to have been resolved, the current low player count (less than 500 players at recent peak) means this problem may not resurface until the game gains more popularity and sees a higher number of concurrent players. This is compounded by the absence of cross-region play and cross-play with consoles, resulting in sparse online competition and highlighting the inadequacies of the AI. The AI opponents are either inexplicably overpowered, exhibiting traits like infinite grip and immunity to traffic, or they fall far behind, creating an inconsistent and frustrating experience.

Additionally, the inability to pause during AI-only races further detracts from the gameplay. The game's grindy nature, where cars are expensive and rewards feel unworthy of the effort, only adds to the disappointment. Most rewards, especially those from the Solar Pass, are stickers, vinyls, or clothing items that nobody will likely use, failing to add meaningful value.

As it stands, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is an okay racing game but fails to live up to the TDU legacy. Nacon needs more time to address these issues, but the recent 'Launch Dev Diary & Next Steps' video does not inspire much confidence in their vision for the TDU experience. It’s a disappointing release for me as I was hoping for more.

I can not in good faith recommend this game.

IT is everything wrong with modern gaming: The Always Online, the implications of a paid season pass despite having to pay upwards of £60 for a barely functional product.

For the same money, you could go play an arguably more functional game and have more fun.

Yet I still keep playing, praying for an update that's at the bare minimum acceptable.
But that isn't going to happen for a long while.

This game is very Test Drive: LIMITED.

it's ok, but not that ok

dear devs who wont read this,

i don't usually review games but...

This isn't anything new tbh. I had HIGH hopes for this game waiting for it to come out. I got early access it was and unplayable so i gave it the benefit of the doubt till it actually came out. its still ♥♥♥♥. i have a pre good pc and yet there are so many lag spikes to the point where i just can barely drive without constantly crashing. I dunno how you expect me to race in a racing game like this. Also at least for me i want to explore the entire map and just drive but i cant due to the fact that every time i go to a new area it freezes and i have to wait for it to load that small ass part of the map then it does it again after driving for like 10-30 seconds.Not very fun or immersive. I Haven't had these problems with any other game online or offline on the highest settings so I KNOW its your game not me or my pc. Fr idc about anything else just fix that and id change my review and actually be able to recommend it (with warnings, maybe, depends).

(yes ik this review doesn't mean ♥♥♥♥ in the thousands of others but still)

From a player who just wants a playable game.

this is a shell of what the real TDU was

I am not recommending this game yet, there needs to be A LOT of updates.
Making money is a grind, prices of cars are outrageous, not enough tasks to make extra money and from what i just found out, when you get to hyper cars, it starts deducting money for every task you do instead of adding it.
Maybe in with the next BIG update they will fix all the complaints,but the game is not ready yet, unfortunately.

This game lacks the basics of any racing/non-racing game, for instance, there's no reset for your profile !!!, You cannot create more than 1 profile and you cannot reset your profile/progress.
And guess what, if you car is not All wheel car then you'll get dusted by the others.
AI is so !#@!%#&^, even with best car you'll struggle.
Beside some other major/minor bugs, the bottom line is I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS GAME.
Luckily, CarX Street has been just released, totally better than TDU solar crown.

Not a TDU game. Essentially an ok generic open world racer with too many bugs, bad AI, always online and a dated selection of vehicles.