Introduction

Project CARS 3 arrives like a show-off cousin at a family reunion: same family name, different haircut, and wearing sunglasses indoors. Slightly Mad Studios took the streets and tracks they'd been lovingly simulating and decided to make the next chapter more approachable - and louder about it. If you were expecting the strict, unforgiving realism of Project CARS and its sequel, what you get here is a friendlier, arcade-leaning racer with extra customization, a rebuilt career mode, and a surprisingly chill attitude toward tyre wear and fuel. The PS4 edition drops you into over 140 circuits around the globe, lets you race at any hour of day or night with weather and seasonal variety, and hands you a garage full of shiny metal toys including the Koenigsegg Jesko and Bugatti Chiron. This pivot was never subtle. Studio head Ian Bell hinted that the game could have worn the cheeky name "Project CARS Sideways," and the final product regularly pulls at its seatbelt to remind you it prefers drifting into friendliness rather than lecturing about tyre temperatures. The internet and longtime fans reacted with a mix of delight, confusion, and righteous betrayal - and the critics? Mixed. Some reviews praised accessibility and fun; others missed the simulation depth. For the PS4 player who wants pick-up-and-play thrills with a smidge of sim DNA, Project CARS 3 offers a weirdly satisfying middle ground. For purists who sleep in a suit made of Michelin rubber, it's the equivalent of being handed a milkshake when you ordered an espresso.

Gameplay

Project CARS 3 is more playground than driving school. The core loop encourages collecting cars, upgrading them, and zipping through short, bite-sized events in a revamped career. Where the previous games were lovingly nitpicky about every tiny variable that could influence lap time, this one aims for "democratic, welcoming, supportive" racing - in other words, more people can enjoy it without needing a PhD in suspension geometry. The game packs more than 140 global circuits along with a solid roster of new cars - think Audi TT RS, Lotus Evija, Koenigsegg Jesko and the Bugatti Chiron - and throws in 24-hour cycles, weather, and seasons to keep things visually spicy. Customization is heavier than in earlier entries: you can truly make a machine your own, which scratches the collect-a-thon itch nicely. Career mode has been rebuilt into a series of shorter challenges and varied events instead of the long, involved endurance-style progression some fans loved. That design choice is great if you like immediate gratification, less great if your idea of fun is micro-managing fuel strategies between dusk and dawn. One of the most controversial design calls was to remove tyre wear and fuel depletion entirely. That means no pit stops and no long-game resource management. If you grew up with sims where pit strategy was half the tension, this feels like playing a court drama with the commercial breaks removed: faster, simpler, and a little emptier. The AI behavior was reportedly improved, but reviews noted it can be uneven - sometimes competent, sometimes gloriously rubber-band-y. Multiplayer got a polish too, with a refined mode that's more approachable for casual races, although hardcore wheel jockeys might find the competition lacking in personality. The underlying engine is the same one that powered the series before Codemasters acquired Slightly Mad, so the physics and handling still have pedigree, just tuned to be less punitive. VR support exists on PC, but PS4 players don't get that immersive option. If you're coming from Need for Speed: Shift or the grid-style Codemasters racers, Project CARS 3 will feel comfortably familiar - that leather-glove handshake between sim and arcade approaches. The game's reward loop of buy, upgrade, race, repeat is satisfying for collectors and completionists, and the short event format means it's great for sessions of any length. That said, the trade-offs are loud. Fans of the older Project CARS titles have grumbled about the loss of sim hallmarks, and sales numbers suggest some of the audience made a fast exit. The PS4 version pulled respectable but underwhelming sales, and critics were split: some praised approachability and variety, others called it shallow or inconsistent. If you value fun and accessibility over the complete fidelity of a driving simulator, Project CARS 3 will likely charm you. If you want an uncompromising sim experience, you might be better off digging out Project CARS 2 and a stiff drink.

Graphics

If Project CARS 3 were a fashion critic, it would say "I prefer to look good without trying too hard." The visuals on PS4 are competent and sometimes beautiful: dynamic lighting across a 24-hour cycle, wet asphalt reflections when the weather turns moody, and satisfying car models for the headline supercars. The inclusion of new circuits like Jerez and Tuscany adds variety and scenery that's pleasant to drive through, even if some textures and environmental details occasionally betray the constraints of last-gen hardware. The artists clearly loved the cars, and it shows. The marquee vehicles - the Corvette C8, Mercedes-AMG GT R, Honda NSX and others featured on the cover art - gleam and feel weighty in the cockpit view. Particle effects, tire smoke and weather transitions do a good job of selling the moment, though if you stare closely at some roadside assets or pop into very high-speed camera angles you'll spot the odd low-res texture or buffering pop-in. Performance on PS4 is mostly stable, but it's not a technological showcase; the game focuses on delivering consistent frame pacing over glossy framerate fireworks. Because the same engine as the predecessors powers the game, there's an inherited sense of realism to car models and track geometry. However, the tuning of visuals and effects skews toward accessibility - readable UI, clear indicators, and visual feedback that helps you drive without needing a toolkit of telemetry. It's the difference between a garage that's a high-end studio and one that's a friendly, well-loved hangout: attractive, useful, and not intimidating. The absence of PS4 Pro-specific deep enhancements leaves some room for improvement, but overall Project CARS 3 looks like a respectable racer that prefers clear vistas and atmosphere over pushing hardware to the screaming edge.

Conclusion

Project CARS 3 is the gaming equivalent of swapping your strict calculus teacher for a charismatic tutor who tells jokes while still giving you a passing grade. It's friendlier than its predecessors, and that friendliness is its greatest strength and biggest weakness. If you want an approachable racing game with a ton of cars to collect, varied circuits, weather effects, and a rebuilt career that rewards short bursts of play, it'll fit like a comfy driving glove. If you're a purist who mourns tyre wear, fuel strategy and long-form simulation depth, it'll feel like someone replaced your espresso with a frappuccino and called it progress. The PS4 version is solid, polished enough, and has genuine moments of fun - especially when you're in the groove and your upgraded car hooks perfectly through a wet corner at night. Critics were divided and sales didn't exactly set the world on fire, and the series ultimately didn't continue beyond this title, but that doesn't erase the fact that Project CARS 3 is a well-made, if different, racing game. I'm giving it a 7/10: not a betrayal, just a detour. Play it if you want a less intimidating, more customizable drive that's happy to hand you the keys and let you mess about. Don't play it if you need your racing to come with a side of uncompromising realism and a complimentary technical manual.

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