It’s also of note that Driveclub’s game designer Paul Rustchynsky is also credited as game designer in Project Cars 3. This kind of objective-focused career can be traced back to Driveclub, a title developed by Evolution Studios – which has since been acquired by Codemasters, just like Slightly Mad Studios. And in each of these, you have a number of objectives to complete such as overtaking a certain number of cars within a time limit, completing a clean lap, or drafting an opponent for a certain amount of time. Here, you have a totally different approach where you have packs of events arranged by car category. That’s all out of the window in Project Cars 3. This means following a calendar of events, deciding on which categories you’d like to participate and improve upon, take part in testing sessions, etc.
In the first games, the aim was to become a top racing driver by progressing in different racing disciplines, from karts to GT cars all the way to LeMans prototypes like a real world professional. This can be seen by changes in career mode. Project Cars 3 really aims to appeal to a more casual player instead of fans of more hardcore simulations. Ok, Slightly Mad Studios was recently bought by Codemasters (a company specialized in more accessible, arcade-feeling racing titles) but this newfound focus really took everyone – especially the “purists” – by surprise. After many years striving to be a serious contender in the crowded racing simulator genre, Project Cars 3 takes a complete 180º spin and runs away from the original premise of the franchise. And yes, I can understand where all this “hatred” comes from. When I first got the review code for Project Cars 3, some very famous YouTubers were already badmouthing the game right from the start: “This is a travesty”, “What have they done to the franchise?”,”Slightly Mad is now Completely Mad!”.