If you ask fans of driving simulation games about the most realistic titles in this genre, many will undoubtedly say that Assetto Corsa Competizione is one of the most authentic racing experiences you can have on a track. However, the ambitions of KUNOS Simulazioni Srl studio don’t end there. Assetto Corsa Evo has arrived to compete with the biggest names in gaming, like Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo . Join us as we review the early access version of this game.
When you purchase Assetto Corsa Evo and start the game, you’ll be greeted by the image shown below. This image essentially highlights which of the developers’ promises regarding a unique and new experience in the game will be fulfilled at different stages of development. During my time with the game, I noticed that, so far, Assetto Corsa Evo allows you to access 20 different cars from well-known brands like Honda, Porsche, Ferrari, and Chevrolet. Additionally, five different tracks located in various parts of the world, including Japan and the United States, are available to players.
Even running the game on an RTX 4080 graphics card resulted in frame drops, and if you choose rainy weather conditions for a race, these frame drops become severe. The developers are actively working to fix these issues by releasing updates and patches. Despite these challenges, the game shows noticeable improvements in graphics compared to its predecessor, offering a much more realistic visual experience. The car designs look fantastic in third-person view, and when you switch the camera to the driver’s cockpit, the level of detail reaches its peak. The interior textures, precise arrangement of dashboard components, and lighting effects are all beautifully crafted. This beauty becomes even more apparent when raindrops hit the windshield and the windshield wipers perform flawlessly.
But setting all these aspects aside, one question remains: how does the game perform as a racing experience? As you’d expect from Assetto Corsa , the result is an exceptional simulation of racing with some relative but impactful changes compared to the previous version. Each car has completely unique handling, and the interaction between the tires and the asphalt, as well as the grip levels, are highly noticeable. Your driving directly impacts fuel consumption and tire wear, which is easily visible through the user interface.
The game’s difficulty settings also significantly affect this realistic physics system. If you’re not very familiar with driving simulators, the game won’t be too harsh on timely braking or vehicle handling. However, one current issue is the game’s strange artificial intelligence (AI). Sometimes, your opponents drive exceptionally well, giving you the feeling of being in a real race.
At first glance, the overall menu layout and user interface appear less cluttered and simpler than before. However, many features are still unavailable, and it remains to be seen what changes will be made to the menu in future updates. For now, the playable modes in this early access stage are limited to Quick Race and Practice . Since the online servers for Evo aren’t active yet, your access is restricted to these modes only. You could say the game currently acts as a small testing ground for fans of the series to evaluate the driving experience.
Everything seemed fine until I entered the practice mode to test the handling and driving of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) on the Suzuka circuit. That’s when the game’s problems became painfully obvious! To put it bluntly, Evo is currently a technical disaster. Unless you have a powerful and expensive system, it’s nearly impossible to run the game smoothly, even on low graphical settings.
At other times, the AI behaves completely illogically and erratically, attempting to crash into you and push you off the track. While this might seem amusing at first, during a serious and professional race, such behavior from AI opponents is far from desirable. Overall, in terms of gameplay, Assetto Corsa Evo delivers what we expected, but technical issues and unbalanced AI prevent full enjoyment of the experience.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning the game’s incredible sound design, which closely mirrors real-life examples. Depending on your camera angle and position relative to the car, the audio dynamically and naturally adjusts. The engine sounds, gear shifts, and even the friction of tires against the asphalt are meticulously and pleasingly designed. If you listen to the engine roar from inside the cockpit of your favorite car, you’ll likely find this aspect particularly enjoyable.
It’s still unclear what changes will be made to the game in the future. We know that once the game connects to servers, we’ll see significant improvements. One major addition will be a Free Roam mode, allowing players to freely explore the game’s environment, which will be added in future updates and become one of the game’s main features. However, in its current state, I wouldn’t recommend purchasing this version of EVO . It’s better to wait for the final, stable release of the game.
