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Given the current climate in the videogames industry, any live service game reaching a full year of post-launch support is genuinely something to commend. If you can go beyond that, then hats off to you. That’s exactly what Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is about to do. About to enter its fourth season, which is its last major update of a tricky Year 1, it’s just confirmed a second year of support is on the way, and it contains highly requested content that makes its return from its beloved predecessors. Plus, the community will be able to vote from a list of four potential new game modes in order to divide which one will end up in Solar Crown.
While I had high hopes that TDU Solar Crown would recapture the magic of past games in the series and challenge the likes of Forza Horizon 5 and The Crew Motorfest, things haven’t shaken out that way. Plagued by tech issues at launch, it struggled to find much traction, and player counts (on Steam, at least) have been pretty dire. However, developer KT Racing has been pumping it full of improvements and seasonal content ever since, and TDU Solar Crown Season 4 will soon arrive with a long-awaited casino feature in tow. There’ll also be new cars, the Stock Races playlist, and some big UI changes. While KT has spoken about some of the ambitious features and content it wants to add in the past, I really feared that Season 4 would be the end of the road – but the studio is going to stick at it. Four more seasons have been announced for Year 2.
Will this be enough to get TDU Solar Crown on our list of the best racing games? I’m not so sure about that. However, as someone that enjoys open-world racers and sunk a lot of hours into the original TDU, these Year 2 plans actually sound pretty awesome.
Landing this October, Season 5 brings back a classic overworld activity: Taxi Missions. Despite sitting behind the wheel of some extremely fast and exotic cars, the intricacy and discipline of a Taxi Mission is strangely addictive. Tasking you with ferrying passengers from point A to point B, the focus isn’t on getting them there quickly – it’s about adhering to the rules of the road, offering a smooth ride, and ensuring you do as little damage to your car as possible. Each passenger also has different tolerances for various aspects, so one may let you get away with running a few red lights if it means getting them to their destination more quickly.
Season 5 also introduces clothing stores that you can visit to deck out your character, rebalances the game’s economy, and delivers a big engine upgrade too for better visuals and performance.
Season 6 doesn’t yet have a headline feature – because you’re going to decide it. KT has offered up four new modes and activity types that the community can vote on, and the winner will get added to the game. All are influenced, either completely or partially, by fan-favorite modes in Test Drive Unlimited 2. Photography mode is all about taking snaps of your cars in certain locations and while meeting certain criteria. Adrenaline is about being a daredevil, maxing out an adrenaline meter with fast driving, drifting, and near misses. Detective sees you tail suspects and drive around looking for clues to solve a mystery. And finally, Delivery is a co-op courier activity that can trigger in the overworld.
Season 7 is the least exciting, personally. Big overhauls are coming to the game loop and the seasonal Solar Passes, and a new location (the Official Racing Center) will arrive as a hub where you can launch ranked and unranked races.
Season 8, however, could really lure me back to Solar Crown. Player houses will be arriving when this season drops next year. As well as filling up your garage with desirable cars, spending your cash on fancy apartments or gorgeous beach houses was just as fun. When player houses hit Solar Crown, you’ll not only be able to purchase properties, but you’ll be able to customize the interiors too, with full control over furnishings. Nice.
It seems like Year 2 (in conjunction with the casino that’s arriving this week in Season 4) is finally leaning into the ‘lifestyle’ aspect of past TDU games that made them so unique and beloved. While it did deliver a sprawling open world and some decent racing gameplay, Solar Crown has so far failed to recreate that feeling of living an actual life within the game. With player houses, clothing stores, the casino, and more, it should hopefully achieve that goal. Plus, some really fun activities and modes are coming too, providing some new ways to play and a welcome nostalgia hit for all those TDU and TDU2 fans out there.
For more, check out some of the best multiplayer games on PC right now. If you’re a real lover of games like TDU Solar Crown, also be sure to take a look at the best racing wheels on the market right now for ultimate immersion.
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