7 Thoughts On Assetto Corsa EVO’s Early Access

As we’re writing this, it’s already been five days since Assetto Corsa EVO launched into Early Access. Time flies.

Since then, we’ve been putting hours into Kunos Simulazioni’s latest title as it looks to challenge Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, and we’ve got a few thoughts.

It looks fantastic

With AC Evo running on a new engine, and now with about a decade of playing modded versions of Assetto Corsa under our belt, we had some concerns the game might just look a bit… naff out of the blocks.

Delightfully, that’s not the case. There’s work to be done on optimising its performance but, with a beefy enough PC, it looks brilliant. Car models are fantastically done, tracks are pretty realistic-looking and the day/night cycle is wonderfully executed. If there’s anything we’d like to see improved though, it’s the somewhat unconvincing rain effects

Attention to detail on cars is impressive

With AC Evo taking on a more Gran Turismo-like focus this time around, we’re not surprised to see a bigger focus on getting car details right – but some of the little trinkets have gone beyond our expectations.

Cars with selectable drive modes have them all present, and they actually make a difference. Take the Lotus Emira for example - which you can toggle between Tour, Sport and Track - with graphics matching those of the real-life car.

Another great example is the Hyundai i30 N, which even brings to life the active exhaust with its pop and bangs in N mode.

Customisation is a mixed bag

As we were writing this, customisation had just been added to the game so our chances of playing with it properly have been limited – but we’ve had enough tinkering to have some thoughts.

We are delighted to see OEM wheel options, interior choices and even options packages are available to tinker with. However, as of this point in early access, there are no aftermarket customisation choices. Hopefully, that’ll change in the future.

Handling is (mostly) a step forward

One thing that’s easy to forget with the original Assetto Corsa, given its modability, is that road cars out of the box just weren’t very good to drive.

That’s changed here. Now, they behave a lot like their real-life counterparts – weight transfers feel more realistic, the steering has a better feel to it, and the most noticeable improvement is under braking.

If there’s anything to criticise though, it’s that the game is maybe too forgiving of mistakes. It feels a little too easy to correct slides and manage grip in the wet.

AI needs work…

With a bigger focus on single-player for AC Evo, we had hoped for a somewhat decent AI to race against. That’s quite simply not the case.

Although they won’t T1 Verstappen you all the time, they often drive as if you don’t exist. It’s not uncommon to get bumped into under braking, a car you’re passing to suddenly swerve into the side of you or get pit manoeuvred when you least expect it.

…as do engine sounds

For all the attention to detail of getting car models right, some of the engine sounds need improvements. They’re not all bad – take the 911 GT3 Cup as an example of getting it right – but many road cars struggle to recreate their real-life counterparts.

Always online is a curse

For transparency, we’ve been playing AC Evo with a review code given to us by Kunos since launch day. We had planned to cover the game on day one, but with the servers down, there emerged yet another case study of why always-online gaming is bad.

First, you could only drive six of the supposed 20 available. Those are now all available to drive, but only in quick race or practice mode.

It turns out that many of the promised features, like the Academy mode or the ability to buy cars, require you to have a connection to the AC Evo servers. As of the time of writing, those are still down, so we haven’t been able to access most of the game. In truth, it's a bit of a shallow experience right now - even considering its Early Access status.

Hopefully, the negative light that’s once again shone on a new game release’s always-online requirements convince Kunos and other developers to reconsider the practice. Time will tell.