CarX Street Brings Open-World Fun and In-Depth Customization to Enthusiasts | Our Rating: 8/10
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With the recent release of CarX Street on Xbox and Playstation, console gamers have a new option when it comes to open-world racing games. The new offering presents a new competitor to the likes of Forza Horizon 5 and harks back to the heyday of series like Midnight Club and Need for Speed, but modernized and with an added focus on enthusiast features.
The CarX series is a mix of mobile and console releases across several titles, including the CarX Drift Racing series. Street originally released on mobile back in 2022, followed by a PC release in 2023, so it’s had plenty of time to stew and mature ahead of its long-awaited console release. With the mobile gaming market eclipsing its PC and console counterparts, developers prioritizing it is probably going to continue to become more common. Personally, I can’t stand playing anything more complicated than Balatro on my phone, but I can see the appeal for people more willing to play on smaller screens. The point being, I haven’t tried the mobile version. If it’s pretty similar to the console version, then it’s probably a ton of fun.
I’m a little over 20 hours into the game on my Xbox Series X. Graphics-wise, it holds up pretty well. It’s no Red Dead Redemption 2, but it can look really nice in the right spots. Some of the prettiest views come when you get out of the city and up into the mountains. Being set in the fictional Sunset City instead of a real-life locale means that they can get away with having a Japanese-styled mountain road just outside of what feels like a Californian coastal city. NPC traffic adds a touch of life to what is otherwise a pretty lifeless setting. It’s something most open-world racing games suffer from, but it feels like the world could use just a little more flavor, even if it comes in the form of some simply-animated people milling around behind some unbreakable barriers.
Where the game really starts to shine is in its car customization and tuning. Much like the guns in Call of Duty and other shooters looking to avoid dealing with the licensing of real-life weaponry, CarX’s cars are badgeless, very slightly altered renditions of real cars. The differences are barely noticeable, but I imagine that gives the developers plenty of creative license to give players what we really want: a ton of customization options. The model names are fictional, too, (for example, HSX for Honda NSX, M30 for BMW E30, CHR for Dodge Charger) but they work so well that I almost wish all cars were limited to a three-letter naming system. Aero, tire and tuning companies are subject to parody names as well.
Visual customization options are handled at the game’s styling shops, and the system is very in-depth. From larger changes like widebody kits and wings to details as minute as e-brake handles and spring and damper colors, you can change just about anything you want. The livery design system is much like what you get in Forza, but with a little bit more flexibility. One really nice feature missing from Forza that CarX adds is the ability to add stickers on windows. The way that paint colors are handled is a little finicky, and I’d personally like a reworked system that moves away from a slider system to something like a gradient block. There are plenty of shapes and symbols with which to build liveries, and the community has produced some really impressive stuff with them.
Gameplay-wise, it’s definitely a touch more arcade-y than your Forzas and Gran Turismos, and obviously provides a much less hardcore experience than something like Assetto or Beam.NG. Still, it feels more realistic than something like Need for Speed. Drifting feels rewarding, and it’s not as simple as tapping the handbrake and then flooring it like it is in so many games. There’s some adjustable auto-steering settings that help you tailor the experience to your level and preferences. The tuning system is quite in-depth and allows for a ton of adjustments, including things like steering angle that are often absent from more “traditional” driving games.
As you progress through the game, you’ll be taking on a variety of car clubs, each with a set series of races that build up to you taking on the club’s leader. They all have backstories and each club has a defined “style,” both aesthetically and in the cars that they drive. A set car level limit for each one means that you’ll need to field a variety of builds to complete them all. The races can get a little repetitive, but you’re free to bounce around between races as long as you have cars that satisfy the level requirements. There are also simple car and car part delivery missions dotted around the map that have you racing against the clock in the open world, with no pre-set course. Like other open-world racing games, you’re awarded points for different actions as you drive around, building a multiplier as you continue without wrecking. You earn both experience toward your overall level and money based on the points you earn.
Multiplayer lobbies have a player cap of 16 and allow the host to add simple tags for what they want their lobby to center around (e.g. #drifting, #racing, #freeroam). It’s super easy to hop in and out of lobbies, and you have the option of password-protecting them if you want to limit it to your friends. There are a few hot spots that drift lobbies tend to congregate around, with some of the most fun being found when you find a group of drivers in similarly-built cars to hit the touge passes with. More grip-focused players can throw down in multiplayer races, including racing for pink slips. Some point combo contributors, like the tandem bar, are multiplayer-specific, but make building your multiplier much faster.
Overall, CarX Street is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It’s got tons of enthusiast-focused features and a roster of rides chock-full of the kinds of things that get car nerds all warm and fuzzy feeling. It can get very grindy, especially as you unlock more of the high-end models, and it lacks some of the polish of Triple-A games, but it’s also not as expensive as they usually are. If you’re looking for an open-world racing experience with deep customization and an arcade-y experience with some sim-like features blended in, it’s definitely worth giving it a try. It may lack some of the content and longevity of higher-budget titles, but at 20 hours in it feels like there’s plenty of game left to see.