Game is generally alright.

Cool features, a pleasing map to drive around, nice driving physics (imo) and incredible options when it comes to car customization.
Some nice but prehaps unbalanced design, like having to maintain your car's fuel, tires and NOS bottles, which are super cool details that add a ton to immersion, but their cost really put a dent in your wallet.
The rate at which you earn XP is weird, it's kind of like the old TDU, where you earn XP just by driving and doing risky moves, while races give almost no experience. Could use a big buff because it feels slow.
The imprementation of a premium currency that you earn little for seemingly no reason even though this game is supposed to have no in-game microtransations.
But the worst is the AI voiceacting... Just why? I guess it must not be easy to hire VAs as an indie studio based in Russia, but surely there are capable people on the internet (or god forbid even YouTubers) to provide the voice work? The AI voices just make the game look lazy from the second you boot it up and give a horrendous first impression, it's so bad I had to turn them off entirely.

One of the best aspects of the game is definitely map design, Sunset City, although not as big in scope to other racing games, is a beautiful and vibrant city with varied environments. It's outskirts are nicely detailed and fun to drive around as well, there are hidden spots to find if you're the adventurous type, or stick to the wide roads where most of the action is so you can weave through dense traffic.

The driving physics are subjective and opinions will vary, but I think they have managed to make something that flows well, having your car grip and going into drifts feels smooth (i hate nfs's brake-to-drift rah!!). It's deliberate and you have to control your steering and throttle. The only downside is that driving feels a bit slow unless you manually tweak your field of view.

This review is more of a first impression after 4 hours which is not a lot, so I will have to update it later once I get to mid/endgame to see what the progression is like. But so far the positives somewhat outweigh the negatives.

Game is generally alright. Cool features, a pleasing map to drive around, nice driving physics (imo) and incredible options when it comes to car customization. Some nice but prehaps unbalanced design, like having to maintain your car's fuel, tires and NOS bottles, which are super cool details that add a ton to immersion, but their cost really put a dent in your wallet. The rate at which you earn XP is weird, it's kind of like the old TDU, where you earn XP just by driving and doing risky moves, while races give almost no experience. Could use a big buff because it feels slow. The imprementation of a premium currency that you earn little for seemingly no reason even though this game is supposed to have no in-game microtransations. But the worst is the AI voiceacting... Just why? I guess it must not be easy to hire VAs as an indie studio based in Russia, but surely there are capable people on the internet (or god forbid even YouTubers) to provide the voice work? The AI voices just make the game look lazy from the second you boot it up and give a horrendous first impression, it's so bad I had to turn them off entirely. One of the best aspects of the game is definitely map design, Sunset City, although not as big in scope to other racing games, is a beautiful and vibrant city with varied environments. It's outskirts are nicely detailed and fun to drive around as well, there are hidden spots to find if you're the adventurous type, or stick to the wide roads where most of the action is so you can weave through dense traffic. The driving physics are subjective and opinions will vary, but I think they have managed to make something that flows well, having your car grip and going into drifts feels smooth (i hate nfs's brake-to-drift rah!!). It's deliberate and you have to control your steering and throttle. The only downside is that driving feels a bit slow unless you manually tweak your field of view. This review is more of a first impression after 4 hours which is not a lot, so I will have to update it later once I get to mid/endgame to see what the progression is like. But so far the positives somewhat outweigh the negatives.