The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Driveclub is a racing game in which players compete in races around the world in several different game modes. A major focus of the game is the club aspect. Players may join a club or create their own and will compete against other clubs to ultimately see whose club is the best. Clubs consist of up to six players.
Players complete challenges together representing their club and earn fame and XP. The player earns fame by driving well and completing challenges. Fame determines the player's level as well as the club level. As the player levels up, they automatically unlock items, such as new vehicles, accolades, or colour schemes.
Development
On 18 October 2013, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that Driveclub would be delayed until early 2014. In a statement posted on the PlayStation Blog, the company wrote that, "SCE Worldwide Studios and the team at Evolution Studios have made the difficult decision to delay the release of Driveclub and Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition until early 2014." Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida stated: "Driveclub will be a truly innovative, socially connected racing game, but the team requires more time in order to deliver on their vision – and I'm fully confident the game will surpass your expectations."
On 10 March 2014, PlayStation Software Product Development Head Scott Rohde mentioned that the title has met further delays with the following statement: "What I will say is that it all comes back to that fundamental principle, and that’s that we want to build great games, and we really don't want to release a game before it's ready." Rohde or any other Sony representative could not at the time give a more specific release date but hinted that it might take a while referring to that the game has "gone back to the drawing board".
Reception
Driveclub received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game gained a final overall score of 71 on the website.
Justin Towell from GamesRadar gave the game an 8/10, praising its challenge system, accessible handling and beginner-friendly gameplay, saying "it's a big deal for a modern racing game to have enough faith in its core handling to eschew driving assists." He criticized the weak damage and characterized crashes as unsatisfying. He also discouraged playing unconnected, adding "Never have I seen such a dull, lifeless and formulaic single-player mode transformed so spectacularly by online connectivity." Dale North from Destructoid gave the game a 7.5/10, praising its responsive, satisfying control and impressive sounds, as well as highly detailed environments, while criticizing the lack of replay value, overly aggressive AI drivers in single-player, and visual bugs in the in-car views. He summarized the game as having "enough to offer over other new and upcoming racing alternatives out there."
