Volumiza
The alright "V", B-Boy cypher cat
Exactly this. It’s not perfect but is such an astonishingly well crafted game that plays so well, it is an incredible achievement. I agree, it’s the purest and best realised GT by a good way.It seems like the hardest part of being an artist is constantly reinventing yourself without losing what made you good in the first place.
It takes a great deal of skill to do that yet I find myself at 30, feeling the same way I did at 12-14 about this game. For all the shit he ate for GT5 (which was just a massive let down considering the hype), Yamauchi hasn't stopped working on his original idea and now he's at the point where he's potentially dropped his best game. 25 years doing virtually the same shit and your most recent iteration is arguably your best is pretty fecking impressive.
I think GT Cafe is utterly brilliant. Its nothing super unique or game changing but its approach to this style of game just gives a much more gratifying take on car collecting. Similarly, its a tribute to Japanese RPG like games (I get big Yakuza vibes from it) but it certainly adds depth and quality over all. I also reckon it has been setup for expansion much like missions.
edit: I’m really looking forward to going racing online too.