When you search racing simulation, Assetto Corsa definitely is listed as one of the first results that shows up. On Windows and also in gamer circles, it has been known as one of the best racing simulation titles. With such reputation to uphold, 505 Games’ foray into next-generation consoles is admirable. Is this a title that stays true to racing simulation? Yes. Is it fun to play on a console with controllers? Hell no.
If you’ve read this far, you’d probably like to say “Whoah, hold your horses. This is a simulation, it’s supposed to be real.” I concur, no other games are comparable to Assetto Corsa on Xbox One. Forza Motorsport strives to be a representation of real world racing, but in the eyes of true believers, it lacks the authenticity of real racing simulation. In this review I intent to get to the bottom of this: what it means to be a racing simulation.
When launching the game, the loading screen reminds you that it’s a simulation already. At the main menu, it’s very cleanly separated into three different category of racings that you can do. Special events are preset events that already have cars and tracks selected for you, such as time attack, drifting, etc. Then there is free practice, where you can pick any car and any track for your joy ride. Finally there is career mode, in which you complete series and collect wins to move on to the next events.
As always, I have OCD to complete every career event first as fast as possible. So I dived right into career mode. The first event was racing against other Fiat 500s in a closed circuit. The first thing I noticed was that this little FWD hatch has tremendous body roll when turning. I was literally sideswiping all over the track. I went back to Forza Motorsport 6 and picked a stock Fiat 500 to test it out. There was barely any tilting when cornering, where in Assetto Corsa the cockpit was leaning left and right so bad that it made me feel dizzy at times. Is this simulation? Forza was being friendly to gamers and minimizes body roll so we’d have an easier time? I doubtfully believe so.
Another issue is shifting. I played with a controller, and thus I selected manual shifting without clutch. At first I didn’t notice anything, but during rapid downshift I found out that it can’t downshift more than 1 gear at a time. I had to wait for the transmission to be put into the next lower gear before I can downshift again. This is very annoying considering the fact that most situations you do want to be able to downshift for example from 6 to 3 instantly, like you would do in a stick shift vehicle. Another weird part of the shifting experience is that every time you shift, it first goes to neutral and then shifts to the desired gear. This is bizarre, who actually does that in real life?
I’m a casual racer so I absolutely enjoy racing lines because I don’t feel like mastering a track like it was the back of my hand. Assetto Corsa does offer racing lines but it’s not speed sensitive. That renders it useless for braking. There is no rewind so happy crashing. If you manage to brake well, turning with controller is a nightmare in Assetto Corsa. I was very perplexed by the fact that it had stability control, traction control all turned to 100%, and I was still spinning in corners. After some observation, I found out that the steering of Assetto Corsa is not relative to situation. A full left turn means the driver actually turns the steering wheel to the max left. Of course the car would spin like a headless chicken in that way. My thumb still has the finesse of a Neanderthal, and I find it pretty difficult to do tiny steering with the left thumbstick. I figured that if you were to play Assetto Corsa with a racing steering wheel, it shouldn’t be a problem.
The above mentioned issues I experienced are just part of the “real simulation package”. Now I’m going to discuss the technical and contextual part of the game. The graphics of the game are acceptable, but definitely not stunning. Everything feels static, and unrealistic. Car models are less detailed that Forza Motorsport 6. To give it a fair trial, I did a race on Nurburgring and then immediately compared with the rendering of Nurburgring on Forza Motorsport 6. There isn’t any comparison, the graphics are inferior. When you look at the content, the car collection in Assetto Corsa is so small that you can’t help question: is this game for real? I didn’t count but I estimated that it only has at most 20% of the amount of cars available in Forza franchise.
I wouldn’t consider Assetto Corsa a game. I bet with a racing wheel it can be used to learn how to properly drive a sports car and those skills would probably apply in real life. The developers made it so realistic that it takes the fun out of the experience. Many gamers out there don’t use racing wheels, they use controllers. They’re limiting it to a niche audience because of that because anyone else would find the game incredibly frustrating.
Summary
In conclusion, I personally can’t think of a reason to play this game when there is already Forza Motorsport 6, which is superior in every aspect you can think of. But, due to the fact that Turn 10 Studios only churns out a racing title every two years, and if you really feel like trying something new but worse, you can give Assetto Corsa a chance, maybe it’ll suit you. It lacks the fun factor other games offer.
Xian was a regular ICXM contributor between 2015–2017, publishing 162 articles across game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative.