Assetto Corsa on PS4: First Impressions Preview

In the world of driving simulators, a lot of attention has been focused on Assetto Corsa recently. The highly-regarded PC sim is finally coming out on consoles in the next 2 weeks and thanks to Los Santos Sheriff on Youtube, we have some honest impressions about how the game is shaping up on PS4.

Los Santos Sheriff kicks off by saying that the graphics in the console version are serviceable, citing that they look good enough, but in comparison to PC it’s night and day. This was to be expected given the PS4’s lower performance compared to a high-end PC. LSS elaborates by stating that the texture work is good and it’s the environment and lighting effects that struggle the most on the hardware; reflections and trees being particularly unimpressive.

From a user interface perspective, LSS indicates that the brand-new menus put in place for this release are much better than the old system that has been used on PC. The main factor for preferring this new system is the speed of the menus, comparing that with the PC version which LSS deemed “slow” in comparison. The HUD shown during races also has a different interface to that of the PC in previous versions, adopting a simplistic style.

Assetto Corsa Ferrari SF15-T Red Pack
The SF-15T will prove a terrifying, exhilarating drive for console players very soon

In terms of gameplay, dominating the headlines at GTPlanet this week has been talk of gamepad support. In the video, LSS gives a glowing recommendation stating that gamepad support has vastly improved and the game is definitely playable with the Dualshock 4, but he still feels top times will be dominated by those with a wheel. No mention is made of any physics downgrades, so it seems Kunos have stuck to their word and kept the game the way it was originally made to be played.

Worryingly, toward the end of the video, LSS makes mention that the build he played of Assetto on PS4 was pretty buggy — with the title crashing “at least” 5 or 6 times, with full crashes sending the game back to the PS4 menu. There’s still a few weeks until release and perhaps Kunos have a Day 1 patch, as many developers do these days.

It’s refreshing to see some honest thoughts on the console version of Assetto Corsa on the run-up to it’s big debut and it seems that the game is shaping up well. For the most part, it seems that the factors which make the PC version so loved (minus mods) have transferred well to console, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it in a few weeks times.

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Comments (24)

  1. retro77king

    To be honest the drop in graphics everybody is going on about didn’t bother me it was just the fact you can’t steer or brake properly and there aren’t enough options for the player to adjust everything to how they want to drive, hopefully the patch will sort it and i will play it again but until its sorted i’m staying on gt6.

  2. JKgo

    …Just noticed the dude in the vid is using a GT-labelled wheel. Lol.

    Isn’t there a AS themed wheel in the market? I thought there wasalready.

  3. SavageEvil

    Not sure why folks are iffy about drop in visual quality, if you’re on a console the only thing you should be comparing it to is another console of similar power levels. From the video it looks a little unpolished but considering the size of the team involved it’s still a very good effort. Once they fine tune their engine updates should cleans things up a bit more, folks need to understand that game development is a tough business and could leave developers jobless relatively easily. These guys have really put money into their presentation and I will buy this game on principle alone, they deserve the sales and with money made they can really build out an even more top notch sequel later on down the line.

    1. Johnnypenso

      To add to what you said, pretty sure I saw somewhere that their budget for this game was $2 million. The budget for GT5, 6 years ago was $80 million. I don’t imagine the budget for GTSport, especially now that PD has 200 staff, is much less than that. Anyone expecting $2 million to do what $80 million did isn’t being realistic with their expectations. They really nailed some things but you just can’t have the same level of polish with 2.5% of the budget.

  4. Aussie_HSV

    Looking forward to trying this game.

    While a drop (reportedly) in graphics sounds disappointing, still keen to see what the game has to offer in other areas.

  5. skazz

    It won’t look as good as Driveclub simply because it is optimized for 60fps not 30fps. That alone makes hitting Driveclub quality visuals impossible.

  6. jm79

    Not long now, can’t wait!
    Still a bit confused at to what cars the PS4 version comes with, but hey, its probably because I’m not paying attention :)

  7. Andyc709292

    Good to see a reasonable review. I’ll still be buying it as I need a good sim to compliment the great fun of Driveclub. And a slowing of the hype train won’t hurt – the recent derail of NoMansSky hype was so predictable and is comedy to watch (for those that don’t know, turns out that it’s not a universe wide online multiplayer, which when you think about it isn’t really suprising).

  8. Ryan81

    Nothing wrong with the graphics. They will do me nicely. Really looking forward to AC in less than 2 weeks :-)

  9. kalakanto

    Blue screen is most annoying as it was on PCars too and ruins races totally. Hopefully Kunos have skills to clear those bugs even no much confidence left for any developers after what have seen on PS4. It’s not easy to produce bugfree game i know it for sure but especially on our genre it’s so gamebreaker when these games not working right. Still hope for the best!

    1. gigio79

      WHY MAYBE!!! DO NOT BUY!!! Or do something better, buy a pc. All the world knows pc is better and bla bla bla…..

    2. ExoticMachines

      I probably should not judge this game too early because the graphics might look as good as DriveClub on the PS4. Can not judge the graphics quality by looking at a low quality YouTube video. The DriveClub game got the best graphics I have ever seen on a console. Better than Forza 6 and Gran Turismo 6. I will buy Assetto Corsa and see it for myself and compare with other racing games.

    3. Imari

      It won’t look as good as Driveclub or GTS. It’s a game from a tiny team, their graphics system has known limitations.

      Personally, I think it looks fine on my serviceable but not great PC. If you want the latest and greatest in graphics, it’s not the game for you. If you want something that looks good enough and drives really well, maybe take a look. It’s a good little game.

    4. Samus

      “low quality” and “bad” are pretty hyperbolic, the graphics are still pretty nice, just not on the level of a big budget first party title.

    5. GrumpyGrumps

      I will happily sacrifice a bit of graphical fidelity for an increase in driving feel and experience. In this regard, when I play PCars on PS4 (with a gamepad no less), and then try GT6, it’s almost a joke, as in ‘How did I ever play something that feels this bad?’ Obviously before my PS4 I had little choice, but now no, no going back, ever. This is my opinion, but I fully expect AC to be on par with or better than PCars.

    6. Johnnypenso

      Having played both all 3 games you mentioned GrumpyGrumps, I can safely say you won’t be disappointed with how AC drives and feels.

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