Le Mans Ultimate
- February 20, 2024
- Studio 397
- 8h median play time
"Le Mans Ultimate" is the official game of the FIA World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans, offering an immersive experience for both sim racers and newcomers. The game features the latest manufacturer Hypercars from the 2023 season, including Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, and more. The game promises to grow and evolve with the real-life FIA WEC series, offering an exciting and dynamic experience for players.
Reviews
- The driving experience is immersive and feels great, with excellent force feedback and physics.
- The graphics and sound design are impressive, enhancing the overall racing experience.
- The game shows a lot of potential for future updates and improvements, with active developer support.
- The game suffers from frequent crashes and long loading times, making it frustrating to play.
- The user interface is laggy and unresponsive, especially during race sessions, hindering gameplay.
- There are significant issues with AI behavior and performance, leading to chaotic race starts and collisions.
- graphics698 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the stunning visuals, photorealistic details, and immersive environments, particularly at night. However, there are significant concerns regarding optimization, with reports of poor performance, stuttering, and low frame rates even on high-end systems. Overall, while the graphics show potential and are considered a step up from previous titles like rFactor 2, they still require further refinement and optimization to meet modern standards.
“Brilliant graphics and sim play.”
“The game has unlimited potential, its physics model is one of the best in the genre, and graphics are beautiful.”
“The graphics are excellent as are the sounds and sim dynamics.”
“The game is very laggy and there is low FPS even on low/medium graphics settings. I have a Core i7 processor, and this is still happening after even setting the priority on high.”
“Clean drivers are mixed with trash drivers; graphics are subpar and look like something from 2005.”
“Graphics are poor though; looks like 2013.”
- optimization522 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users reporting severe performance issues, including constant stuttering, crashes, and laggy menus. While some players have experienced decent performance on high-end systems, the majority find the game unplayable on lower settings, indicating a significant need for further optimization and bug fixes. Overall, the game's current state is considered poorly optimized, particularly for early access, leading to frustration among players.
“Optimizing the quality while maintaining performance.”
“Over the past few months, this game has hugely improved and I think it is a worthwhile game to play, my only issue being with FPS and overall performance.”
“For optimal performance, I recommend installing the game on an NVMe drive—the loading times are significantly faster compared to an SSD.”
“Absolutely abysmal performance and stability.”
“Just straight up unplayable for performance issues apparently.”
“The performance is horrible.”
- stability238 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and various bugs that hinder gameplay, particularly in the menus and online modes. While some players appreciate the driving experience and acknowledge the game's potential, they emphasize that it remains a "buggy mess" typical of early access titles. Overall, many recommend waiting for further updates and optimizations before fully engaging with the game.
“So far I had no glitches or issues.”
“I'm very pleased with the game so far, with no problems at all... it runs great!!!”
“I have a RTX 3070 and it runs great.”
“Countless freezes, crashes, bugs, etc. in the first 20 hours of playing.”
“The game freezes every one in three online games I try to join and keeps on doing so until I'm booted out of the lobby, which is slightly annoying as the game does not put you as DNS but as last place.”
“This game is buggy as hell.”
- gameplay89 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its solid driving mechanics and immersive experience, particularly in sim racing contexts, with many players enjoying the driving model and vehicle handling. However, there are significant concerns regarding optimization, bugs, and performance issues, including long loading times and occasional stuttering, which detract from the overall experience. While the game shows promise and has potential for improvement, it currently lacks some key features and requires further development to enhance stability and user experience.
“After 8 hours of gameplay, I can confidently say that I love the driving model in this sim.”
“The driving mechanics, especially at tracks like Sebring, feel amazing—even when using a low-end force feedback wheel.”
“Being an early access game, it has all sorts of issues which I'm sure they'll fix with time, but the core gameplay of driving is really solid.”
“Still lots of issues, bugs, and gameplay that needs to be worked on.”
“Gameplay-wise, at this early stage the content is on the lighter side, with only having a single-player race weekend mode and an online mode (which I have not tried at this stage and therefore will not be commenting on).”
“Yeah, it's early access or whatever excuses, but my 'gameplay' time is actually infinite loading time.”
- story24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized, with many users noting the absence of a traditional narrative or career mode, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the freedom to create their own story, the lack of structured content leaves others feeling that the game can become monotonous. Overall, the consensus is that the game currently lacks a compelling story or career mode, but there is hope for future updates.
“10/10 game, you really can write your own story.”
“I came only for career modes, like F1, or story like Assassin's Creed.”
“Before the hotfix, it wasn't worth it; however, now it's a different story.”
“☑ no story”
“If you're a person who likes an online racing game with some sort of a story mode/career mode, I sadly can't recommend this game as both of those things are not yet available. Hopefully, they will get the online mode up and running soon and also add a career mode in the near future, as the game can get boring at some point even for someone like myself who enjoys chill racing games.”
“» no career or story mode”
- monetization19 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 79 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with players expressing frustration over the requirement to purchase the game alongside additional monetization tactics. Many reviews highlight issues with game quality and cheating, suggesting that the developers prioritize profit over player experience. Overall, the sentiment is overwhelmingly negative, with users advising against spending money on the game.
“I don't feel like spending time and money on that cash grab.”
“Buy to play - you have to buy the game in addition to all the other monetization.”
“Update: game is a broken mess so do not buy a total cash grab and BS!”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from its numerous technical glitches, such as frequent crashes and absurd AI behavior, which players find amusing despite the frustrations they cause. Additionally, the comical nature of beginner races, where cars hilariously lock up their brakes, adds to the overall lighthearted experience. While some players express disappointment over missing features, the humorous aspects of gameplay and community reactions provide a unique charm.
“It's hilarious to follow cars in the beginner races because every single car, one by one, locks up their brakes and shoots smoke into the air.”
“It's hilarious reading some reviews of people who've played less than an hour of the game saying things like it doesn't have online reporting of dirty players, or no FOV adjustment.”
“During the whole time I played, I had two game crashes, no force feedback no matter what changes I made, and these loading times are actually hilarious.”
- music10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing quality and enchanting presence, particularly in the menus. However, some users have experienced technical issues, such as a black screen at launch where only the music plays. Overall, while the soundtrack is a highlight, there are concerns about the game's stability that need addressing.
“I enjoy doing laps while listening to music; it's very relaxing.”
“The icing on the cake was my first badge, 'Radio Ga Ga', one of my favorite songs from my favorite band.”
“After launch, it just blackscreens and the music plays, but nothing else works.”
“Love the game, love the soundtrack, love the project, but much work needs to be done...”
“The music in the menus is magical!”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring significant effort to manage effectively. While there are methods to mitigate grinding, they are frequently described as laborious, leading some to feel that extensive time investment is necessary to enjoy the game fully. Overall, the initial setup can be cumbersome, but many agree that the game becomes enjoyable once past these hurdles.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“There are things you can do to prevent it (listed on their web page), but they are often tedious and time-consuming.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is highly praised for its immersive quality, effectively recreating the iconic Le Mans experience through detailed vehicle models and realistically designed racetracks. Users highlight the impressive sound design and the overall authenticity that enhances the driving experience.
“It sounds amazing and recreates the atmosphere of Le Mans very well.”
“The tracks are very well modeled and the atmosphere when driving is very immersive.”
“The detailed vehicle models and realistically designed racetracks perfectly capture the atmosphere of the legendary 24-hour race.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by the tension and frustration players experience when navigating the challenges of driving mechanics, particularly in relation to throttle control and interactions with other cars. Users express a sense of caution and anxiety, as even minor mistakes can lead to significant setbacks, creating a heightened emotional investment in their performance.
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Players note that while the game is currently hindered by bugs typical of early access titles, the introduction of additional features is essential for enhancing its replayability. Many users feel that the game has improved significantly since its initial release, making it more enjoyable and engaging.
“Apart from some bugs, which are normal for them to be present, being an early access game, the introduction of some simple features is clearly necessary to make the game more playable.”
“I think PUBG was more playable on release.”