

With exciting names like Novice Series 3 and GT Advanced Series, you can imagine what you’re in for: laps of the shorter tracks in Fiat 500s, moving onto BMWs etc. This pales in comparison to the career mode, if this collection of loosely grouped races merits the title. This isn’t the overly aggressive AI of Project CARS or F1 2016, this is just plain stupidity, and it means racing against them is more of a chore than anything else. Glued to the racing line, they are almost completely oblivious to you, leaving you no space when overtaking, and dumbly ramming you from behind should you get in their way.

If you’re into hardcore sims, it doesn’t get any better. As a pure sim, the options for tyre pressures, gear ratios, and dampers are manifold, allowing you to tweak everything in your pursuit of the fastest lap time – although each track has a specific setup pre-loaded for you if tinkering under the hood isn’t your thing. The way your car leans into corners, under-steering wide, the grip coming back you as you exit the corner, easing on the throttle to stick on the limit of the racing line, is as realistic as any I have seen. Lap after lap, pushing yourself and your machine to the edge, every imperfection in the tarmac relayed to you by the excellent physics system you can lose yourself in the joy of it.Īnd what a magnificent physics system it is. Nothing but you, your car, and a winding ribbon of tarmac, there’s a special kind of joy to tackling each circuit, be it the forested inclines of Spa, the historic loops of Monza circa 1966, or the ever-challenging Nürburgring Nordschleife. Damningly, Assetto Corsa – Italian for ‘Racing Setup’ – is at it’s best when there are no other cars on the track.
