The veils surrounding Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown were somewhat lifted at last in the TDU Connect live stream event last week: A first look at actual gameplay of the game set on Hong Kong Island sparked discussion about the upcoming title - but the sometimes hectic nature of the stream means you may have missed a few interesting elements. OverTake's Marvin Miller highlights five of them.
Image credit: OverTake
An enormous map to play with, exclusive cars and a gang rivalry between the Streets and the Sharps - the Hong Kong Island setting looks rather promising for the newest instalment in the Test Drive Unlimited series. While a release date (supposedly in early 2024, and then there is the developers' strike at Kylotonn) is still up in the air after being pushed back, the live gameplay that was shown allowed some conclusions to be drawn, although it had to be kept in mind that it is an early version of the game.
Judging driving physics just by looking at gameplay footage is tough, but there are hints at what they are going to be like - and they might not be purely arcade-based, as Marvin argues. Whether or not damage is going to be simply cosmetical or actually going to affect how the cars handle remains to be seen, though.
Whether or not damage affects the driving in TDU Solar Crown is not clear yet, but it can be repaired at gas stations. Image credit: KT Racing/Nacon
Get Ready to Explore
An interesting feature from TDU 2 looks set for a return in the meantime: Players who love to explore should be pleased to see it back on board for TDU Solar Crown, which likely goes hand in hand with how street racing works this time around.We are not going to spoil what Marvin's observations are - you can see for yourself in the video. There are positives and negatives to be found, and it will be interesting to see how TDU Solar Crown evolves once the Beta program launches. It is going to be private at first, starting on July 24th.
