During the Nacon Connect presentation, further details and the first in-game images have appeared for the upcoming open-world racing game Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown.
Developed by Kylotonn, known for the official WRC games, it will be set in Hong Kong with a licenced car roster and some form of vehicle gambling system.
Today’s (7th July) new trailer doesn’t go as far as a full gameplay reveal, with the final game due next year, but if you peer closely you can see the in-engine footage and we have been supplied environment images.
Teamwork makes the dream-work
A big focus for Test Drive Unlimited Solar crown is teamwork, and more specifically, rival clans working as one to take each other down.
This will be divided into two groups: Share and Street. The clans are said to showcase their affinity via the means of their cars, and it’s up to you which side you pick.
As previously discussed, the Street clan is into nightclubs, while Sharp is more luxurious. Each clan has their own HQ, and any player can access either HQ no matter who they align with. However, each HQ has a VIP area that only aligned members can access.
This element of the game will sit alongside the PvP Solar Crown competition, which is a large tournament held across the Hong Kong environment.
New cars showcased
So far, a handful of licenced vehicles have been revealed for the game, such as the Range Rover Sport and Aston Martin DB11 in the initial reveal trailer last year.
However, five more cars have now been confirmed:
- McLaren 720S Coupe
- Porsche 911 R
- Dodge Viper SRT Coupe
- Ford F-150
- Jaguar F-Type SVR Coupe
Blink and you’ll miss it, but the recent trailer also showcases gameplay, as the McLaren and Porsche drive in a straight line down a night-time street. It’s not much, but it counts.
Varied environment
It’s well documented that the game will be set within Hong Kong, with a 1-to-1 scale replication too. Thanks to the new in-engine images of the location, we can spot different times of day, tall skyscrapers and dingy back alleys of a city centre and the open road of the neighbouring countryside.
It all adds up to what looks to be a varied map, with several distinct areas. In Forza Horizon 5 parlance, these would be labelled ‘biomes’.
The more scenic views remind us somewhat of a WRC stage, like Croatia for example. This perhaps should be a surprise, with the WRC games and Test Drive sharing game engine technology under the skin.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown follows 2011’s Test Drive Unlimited 2 and will be released in 2023 for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A closed beta is due at some point before release and we hope to have more information throughout this year.
