Gran Turismo 7
Developer Polyphony Digital
Publisher SIE
Format PS4, PS5 (tested)
Release Out now
Has it really been 25 years? Back in 1997, PlayStation’s flagship racing sim felt groundbreaking, sophisticated, even cool: that intro cinematic, with its then cutting-edge graphics, featuring high-end cars screaming around snaking bends set to The Chemical Brothers’ remix of Everything Must Go, is seared into the collective imagination of a generation. Yet Polyphony Digital’s series has not aged especially gracefully, failing to scale the heights of the PS2 years since, with Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport overtaking it in the HD era. What a pleasant surprise, then, to find that Gran Turismo has rediscovered its mojo. This isn’t just a nostalgic anniversary jamboree, but an approachable introduction to the series, and a full-throated celebration of cars and car culture.
Kazunori Yamauchi and team have achieved this partly by looking back to s of old, refocusing on – while recalibrating – the series’ foundations. Anyone who spent time with the earlier games
